This document outlines the Work/Family Border Theory, a new theory for achieving balance between work and family domains. It discusses limitations of previous theories like Spillover Theory and Compensation Theory. The Work/Family Border Theory defines how individuals manage balance across the borders of work and family. It proposes that borders and domains must work together, central participants have more control over borders, and communication between "border-keepers" and "border-crossers" helps maintain balance.

1. Work/Family Border Theory: A New Theory of Work/Family Balance
Editorial: Human Relations, 53(6), 2000

2. Background
• People are border-crossers who make daily
transitions between two worlds: the world of
work and the world of family.
• This theory has highlighted the complex
interaction between people and their work
and family lives.
• A framework has also been proposed for
attaining balance between the two domains.

3. Previous Work
• Spillover Theory:
• This theory put forward that irrespective of
physical and temporal boundaries between
work and family, both these domains
influence each other i.e., emotions and
behaviors happening at one sphere can be
spillover to the other domain and vice
versa.
• Compensation Theory:
• People who are less satisfied at their
workplace try to better perform in their
family that can give them fulfillment, and
vice versa.

4. Limitations of
Spillover and
Compensation
Theory:
• These theories put forward the mainstream of
ideas relating to workplace and family life.
However, they are inadequate:
• To fully explain the two domains from different
perspectives.
• To predict when and how the imbalance
between the two domains took place.
• To give the remedies and solutions if the
imbalance occurs between workplace and
family life.

5. Work/Family Border
Theory:
• Latest theory in the area of
work/family.
• Put forward to meet the flaws and
gaps of the previous theories
presented in this area.
• Defines how individuals working in
two domains i.e, workplace and family
manages to maintain a balance and
harmony across the borders of these
two inseparable domains.

6. Postulates of Work/Family Border Theory:
a) Borders and domains must work together for balance to occur.
b) Central participants in a domain will have more control over
the borders than peripheral participants.
c) Central participants in both domains will have greater
work/family balance.
d) Border-crossers with domain members having high other
domain awareness will have higher work/family balance.
e) Border-crossers with domain members having high
commitment will have higher work/family balance.
f) When work and family domains are different, border-crossers
will engage in less across-the-border communication.
g) Supportive communication between border-keepers and
border-crossers helps in maintaining work/family balance.