Employee Age and the Work–Family Interface: A Meta‐Analysis and Framework Integrating Life Span and Life Course Perspectives
通过元分析整合生命全程与生命历程视角，发现年龄与工作-家庭冲突负相关、与工作-家庭增益正相关，且性别、职业、国家背景等因素调节这些关系，为制定年龄包容性政策提供依据。
ABSTRACT Research on the relationship between age and the work–family interface (WFI) is critical to effective human resource management. Yet, findings remain inconsistent and lack theoretical integration. We conducted a meta‐analysis ( k = 256, n = 186,109) integrating lifespan and life course perspectives to develop a model of the relationship between age and the WFI. Drawing on socio‐emotional selectivity theory (SEST), a prevalent lifespan approach, results reveal a significant linear relationship between age and the WFI, with variation contingent on the construct and directionality. Age was negatively associated with work‐to‐family conflict, family‐to‐work conflict, and family‐to‐work enrichment, and positively associated with work‐to‐family enrichment and work–family balance. We integrated a life course view to examine how personal (gender, race, age cohort), situational (job, marital status), and contextual (national, global) factors moderate these relationships. Declines in work‐to‐family conflict with age occurred for men but not women, suggesting a widening gender gap for older compared to younger workers. The negative association between age and work‐to‐family conflict was stronger than for family‐to‐work conflict among older adults (over age 50 cohort) and professionals. Younger adult workers under 30 reported significant work‐to‐family conflict. The relationship between age and the WFI was significantly moderated by national (U.S., Non‐U.S.) and global (Global North, Global South) contexts, with the strength of age‐related patterns in work–family conflict varying by gender and job status. Our results highlight that future HRM studies and organizational practice should focus on advancing age‐inclusive policies to better address the increasingly varied age and work–family relationships across many employee subgroups.