Developing work-family balance through conflict management

An often-neglected perspective is that work-family incompatibilities are not only intrapersonal role conflicts but also typically involve interpersonal conflicts. This study adopts an episodes approach and uses the theory of cooperation and competition to understand the interaction that promotes resolving work-family conflict incidents. Two-hundred and four Chinese dual-career parents each described a specific work-family conflict incident and responded to specific questions to code the interaction. Structural equation analyses indicated that cooperative goals facilitated constructive controversy that in turn promoted high quality resolutions, strong relationships, and confidence in the future of their work and family lives.