THE FAMILY RESPONSIVE WORKPLACE

Women's entrance into the labor market in large numbers has exacerbate d incompatibilities between employer and family interests. Research re veals that conflict between paid work and family responsibilities has been linked to decreased employee productivity as well as decreased fa mily functioning. In this review, we explore the nature of job/family incompatibility, organizational interests in family responsive policie s, and the current prevalence of various policies within work organiza tions. We then review what is known about the effectiveness of particu lar family-responsive policies on organizational and family functionin g. Finally, we consider barriers to further institutionalization of fa mily responsive policy and suggest future research and policy directio ns.