Implications of Work-Family Connections for Children’s Well-Being across the Globe

The purpose of this chapter is to provide insights on the implications of parental work for children’s well-being as embedded within varying cultural and societal contexts. The chapter begins by describing salient dimensions of parents’ work (i.e., work status and hours, work conditions and experiences, work-family conflict, work-related beliefs) and processes that link parents’ work to child well-being (i.e., spillover, crossover). The chapter then discusses specific cultural factors that play a role in the relationship between the work-family interface and child well-being. The final section briefly highlights potential areas for future research and policy implications for work-family linkages to child well-being. The focus is on broad indicators of children’s well-being, including psychosocial (e.g., relationships, problem behavior) and physical health, and educational and vocational outcomes (e.g., academic achievement, work ethic), as the specific nature of positive child well-being varies to some degree across cultural contexts.