Developing Supportive Work-Life Initiatives: A Systemic and Intersectional Framework

Abstract

Although supportive work-life initiatives have advanced in recent years, existing literature shows inconsistent outcomes regarding the adoption and effectiveness of these initiatives. In this conceptual paper, we aim to highlight that an individual’s ability to freely negotiate and decide how to manage the relationships between their paid work and the rest of their life domains depends on their contexts and social identities. Leveraging literature from HRD and other fields, we argue that the design and implementation of effective supportive work-life initiatives require using systemic and intersectional perspectives. We propose a conceptual framework that maps various interconnected factors at the individual, organizational, and societal levels that influence an individual’s ability to access resources, adopt supportive work-life policies, and negotiate expectations about how they allocate their time. Scholars can use the proposed framework to analyze work-life issues from a contextualized and intersectional lens. For practitioners, the proposed framework can be a valuable tool to design and implement supportive work-life initiatives. We claim that organization development interventions, a significant stream within the HRD field, can be a powerful approach to designing and implementing supportive work-life initiatives that embrace the complexities and interconnections of individuals, organizations, and societies.