Work-Family Experiences and Physical Health: A Summary and Critical Review
Author(s):
- Joseph Grzywacz
- Jenna Tucker
Document type: Encyclopedia Entry
Appears in: Work and Family Encyclopedia
Year: 2008
Topic:
- Health
- Stress
- Wellbeing
- Work and Family
Discipline:
- Inter-/multi-disciplinary
Abstract:
This entry focuses on what is known about the physical health implications of experiences at the work-family interface. Our focus on physical health is not intended to elevate the salience of physical health or, conversely, to marginalize the meaning and significance of mental health. Rather, the focus on physical health is simply a tool to avoid the monolithic handling of “health” by acknowledging the unique etiology of somatic and psychiatric disorder, and to narrow the scope of research for this entry. Likewise, the emphasis on “work-family” experiences rather than “work-life” acknowledges that the dominant focus of research to date has been on the former rather than the latter.