skip navigation

Not in the United States?
change your preferences.

The Work and Family Handbook

Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives and Approaches

• Edited by Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Stephen Sweet

• Price: $85.00
• Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
• Pages: 816
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 16th December 2005
• ISBN: 978-0-8058-5026-0

About the Book

The Work and Family Handbook is a comprehensive edited volume, which reviews a wide range of disciplinary perspectives across the social sciences on the study of work-family relationships, theory, and methods. The changing demographics of the labor force has resulted in an expanded awareness and understanding of the intricate relations between work and family dimensions in people's lives. For the first time, the efforts of scholars working in multiple disciplines are organized together to provide a comprehensive overview of the perspectives and methods that have been applied to the study of work and family. In this book, the leading work-family scholars in the fields of social work, psychology, sociology, organizational behavior, human resource management, business, and other disciplines provide chapters that are both accessible and compelling. This book demonstrates how cross-disciplinary comparisons of perspective and method reveal new insights on the needs of working families, the challenges faced by those who study them, and how to formulate policy on their behalf.

Reviews

"This handbook is an important resource for those interested in any aspect of work-family research. Extensive chapter bibliographies; detailed subject index makes it easy to locate topics. Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduate through professional collections."
—CHOICE

"...the 'Handbook' represents a rich and valuable collection that will be important for any scholar whose research and teaching focuses on work, family, or the links between the two. For sociologists with an interest in work and family, the volume is a rich source of stimulating insights and findings from other disciplines....will also be useful to work-family researchers who would like to broaden their methodological repertoires."
—Contemporary Sociology

"The Pitt-Catsouphes, Kossek, and Sweet edited volume is a must read for scholars and practitioners interested in the field of work and family. The book provides important work/family insights for individuals and corporations and poses the next set of questions that will drive important discussions and research over the next decade."
—Linda K. Stroh
Loyola University of Chicago

"The Work and Family Handbook is a unique, comprehensive, and much needed addition to the burgeoning field of work-family studies. With insightful overviews and cutting edge scholarship from a veritable 'who's who' of researchers, Pitt-Catsouphes, Kossek, and Sweet have given us an indispensable volume that deserves a place on the bookshelf of every scholar who wants to know where the field stands today and where it is going."
—Kathleen Gerson
New York University

"The Work and Family Handbook will help faculty to develop work-family content for their classes. Students will be particularly interested in the chapters that introduce different research methodologies. The Handbook is a 'must read' resource for graduate students who have an interest in work/life issues."
—Stewart D. Friedman
University of Pennsylvania

Table of Contents

Contents: R.M. Kanter, Foreword: Beyond the Myth of Separate Worlds. Part I: Families and Jobs in the 21st Century. M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek, S. Sweet, Charting New Territory: Advancing Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives, Methods, and Approaches in the Study of Work and Family. A.S. Wharton, Understanding Diversity of Work in the 21st Century and Its Impact on the Work-Family Area of Study. S.R. Marks, Understanding Diversity of Families in the 21st Century and Its Impact on the Work-Family Area of Study. Part II: Disciplinary Approaches and Theoretical Perspectives. E.E. Kossek, S. Sweet, M. Pitt-Catsouphes, Introduction: The Insights Gained From Integrating Disciplines. E. Boris, C.H. Lewis, Caregiving and Wage-Earning: A Historical Perspective on Work and Family. E.L. Kelly, Work-Family Policies: The United States in International Perspective. M.F. Riche, Demographic Implications for Work-Family Research. A.M. Zvonkovic, M.L. Notter, C.L. Peters, Family Studies: Situating Everyday Family Life at Work, in Time, and Across Contexts. P. Richardson, The Anthropology of the Workplace and the Family. S. Sweet, P. Moen, Advancing a Career Focus on Work and the Family: Insights From the Life Course Perspective. R.C. Barnett, K.C. Gareis, Role Theory Perspectives on Work and Family. F.M. Deutsch, Experimental Social Psychology and the Study of Work and Family. N. Gerstel, N. Sarkisian, Sociological Perspectives on Families and Work: The Import of Gender, Class, and Race. R. Drago, L. Golden, The Role of Economics in Work-Family Research. C.A. Thompson, L.L. Beauvais, T.D. Allen, Work and Family From an Industrial/Organizational Psychology Perspective. M.C. Still, J.C. Williams, A Legal Perspective on Family Issues at Work. M. Pitt-Catsouphes, J.E. Swanberg, Connecting Social Work Perspectives to Work-Family Research and Practice. Part III: Methodological Approaches. S. Sweet, M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek, Introduction: How Diverse Methodologies Inform Understandings of Work and Family Relations. C.N. Darrah, Ethnography and Working Families. E. Ochs, A.P. Graesch, A. Mittmann, T. Bradbury, R. Repetti, Video Ethnography and Ethnoarchaeological Tracking. J.T. Bond, E. Galinsky, Using Survey Research to Address Work-Life Issues. J. Smithson, Using Focus Groups to Study Work and Family. A.C. Crouter, A.E. Pirretti, Longitudinal Research on Work and Family Issues. B. Schneider, In the Moment: The Benefits of the Experience Sampling Method. S. Lewis, M. das Dores Guerreiro, J. Brannen, Case Studies in Work-Family Research. S.J. Lambert, Both Art and Science: Employing Organizational Documentation in Workplace-Based Research. M. Hyland, S.E. Jackson, A Multiple Stakeholder Perspective: Implications for Measuring Work-Family Outcomes. R. Swisher, Hierarchical Models for Work-Family and Life Course Research. S.M. MacDermid, A. Harvey, The Work-Family Conflict Construct: Methodological Implications. M.B. Neal, L.B. Hammer, D.L. Morgan, Using Mixed Methods in Research Related to Work and Family. Part IV: Advancing Policy and Organizational Change. M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek, S. Sweet, Introduction: Cultivating Organizational Change and Advancing Public Policy. E.E. Kossek, A. Friede, The Business Case: Managerial Perspectives on Work and the Family. C.R. Feldblum, R. Appleberry, Legislatures, Agencies, Courts, and Advocates: How Laws Are Made, Interpreted, and Modified. L. Bailyn, A. Bookman, M. Harrington, T.A. Kochan, Work-Family Interventions and Experiments: Workplaces, Communities, and Society. B. Harrington, J.B. James, The Standards of Excellence in Work-Life Integration: From Changing Policies to Changing Organizations. B.W. Wolkinson, R. Ormiston, The Arbitration of Work and Family Conflicts. K. Christensen, Leadership In Action: A Work and Family Agenda for the Future.