Heather S. McMillan

Constructs of the Work/ Life Interface: A Synthesis of the Literature and Introduction of the Concept of Work/Life Harmony

The purpose of this article is to identify construct definitions and measurement tools for the work/life interface concepts: conflict, enrichment, and balance. An understanding of these concepts is critical to HRD professionals because interventions designed to counter work/life interface issues cannot be strategically created, and culture changes cannot be effectively addressed until the discipline understands the nature and the organizational implications of employees’ work/life interface. A new construct called work/life harmony and the work/life harmony model are introduced to aid in the understanding of the work/life interface.

Organizational Change and Characteristics of Leadership Effectiveness

The existing literature suggests that numerous variables affect a leaders effectiveness. In this study, the authors examine behaviors associated with leadership effectiveness in driving change. Results indicate that specific leader behaviors—the ability to motivate, communicate, and build teams—are predictors of successful implementation of organizational change.

Who Will Attend? Characteristics of Couples and Individuals in Marriage Education

There are two purposes of this marriage education marketing study: (1) to compare the self-reported intra- and interpersonal qualities of 121 married couples (n = 242 individuals) attending a marriage education program with 46 married couples (n = 92 individuals) who were contacted through marketing promotional materials to attend the program but did not participate and (2) to determine if intra- and/or interpersonal qualities would predict the likelihood of marriage education attendance versus nonattendance. Results showed that compared with program nonparticipants, program participants reported lower levels of self-esteem, marital communication quality, marital commitment, marital satisfaction, family strengths, less consensus and intimacy, less fulfillment of marriage expectations, and increased levels of marital conflict. Levels of religiosity and fusion were the same for participants and nonparticipants. Wald logistic regression analysis indicated communication was the only significant predictor of marriage education participation. Implications for marriage education programming and practitioners are outlined.

Examining the Relationship Between Work/Life Conflict and Life Satisfaction in Executives The Importance of Problem-Solving Coping Interventions and HRD

The Problem Determining “what” and “how” people are satisfied personally and with work has become an ongoing stream of research for both academics and practitioners. Yet research has contributed to confusing the issue and has not been able to provide any distinct answers to this problem. The Solution This study goes beyond current research by examining how problem-focused coping resources are used to ameliorate the negative relationship between work/life conflict and life satisfaction. Based on a sample of 491 executives, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the mediational ability of problem-solving coping. Problem-solving coping was found to partially mediate the negative relationship between work/life conflict and life satisfaction. The Stakeholders Human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners interested in researching and reducing work/life conflict. A discussion of the importance of HRD interventions targeting problem-focused coping skills is included.