The Effects of Community Demands, Resources, and Strategies on the Nature and Consequences of the Work‐Family Interface: An Agenda for Future Research

• Published date: 01 December 2005
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2005.00343.x
• Date: 01 December 2005
• Author: Patricia Voydanoff

The Effects of Community Demands, Resources, and

Strategies on the Nature and Consequences of the

Work-Family Interface: An Agenda for Future Research

Patricia Voydanoff*

Abstract: This article presents a broad conceptual framework that suggests ways in which community demands,

resources, and strategies influence relationships between work demands, resources, and family well-being. Within-

domain and boundary-spanning community demands and resources are proposed to combine with work demands

and resources in relation to work-family conflict and facilitation. Boundary-spanning community strategies are

expected to mediate and moderate relationships between work-family conflict and facilitation and family well-being.

The paper closes with an agenda for future research and a strategy for policy and practice.

Key Words: community demands, community resources, community strategies, family well-being, work-family

conflict, work-family facilitation.

It has become evident over the past few decades that

work and family are interrelated domains. Based on

this realization, scholars from several disciplines

began investigating the nature and extent of linkages

between the two domains (Eby, Casper, Lockwood,

Bordeaux, & Brinley, 2005; Geurts & Demerouti,

2003; Perry-Jenkins, Repetti, & Crouter, 2000).

Until recently, this research has focused exclusively

on interrelationships among the work and family

domains. However, scholars and practitioners have

begun to recognize that workplaces and families are

embedded in the communities in which they are

located. Understanding how communities may both

help and hinder the efforts of work organizations,

families, and individuals to enhance work-family

integration provides a necessary foundation for de-

signing work, community, and family policies and

programs that increase families’ abilities to meet the

needs of their members.

Most definitions of community, which focus on

territory or social relationships, are too broad to be

useful for viewing community as a context for work-

family role coordination. It is more useful to

consider community as a combination of interre-

lated components. Two of these are community

structure and community social organization. Com-

munity structure encompasses the physical infra-

structure of territorial communities, social and

demographic composition, and institutional resour-

ces. Community social organization refers to the

ability of a community,usually a neighborhood,to real-

ize the common values of its residents and to maintain

effective social controls (Mancini, Martin, & Bowen,

2003; Sampson, 1999). In addition, the opportunities

and constraints associated with community structure

and social organization are interpreted and acted upon

by community members. Members develop percep-

tions of their communities (e.g., the quality of their

structure and social organization and sense of commu-

nity) and participate in communities in various ways

such as volunteering, giving and receiving informal

help, and using community services (Furstenberg &

Hughes, 1997; Voydanoff, 2001).

This article proposes and elaborates a conceptual

framework for examining how community charac-

teristics influence relationships between work

*Patricia Voydanoff is a Senior Research Associate at the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469-1445 (Patricia.

Voydanoff@notes.udayton.edu).

Family Relations, 54 (December 2005), 583–595. Blackwell Publishing. Printed in the USA.

Copyright 2005 by the National Council on Family Relations.