Work-family interface in the context of career success: A qualitative inquiry

Work-family researchers are increasingly recognizing the need to expand their focus to advance the field. One population largely neglected by work-family researchers is individuals who have been extremely successful in their careers. In addition, organizational career scholars have largely neglected the interplay between employees' work and family lives. This study contributes to the work-family literature by studying work-family interface (WFI) in the context of career success. We sought to explore the lived experiences of 28 distinguished professors who are among the top 2-5% of scholars in their field, to provide an in-depth understanding of their WFI and the prominent factors affecting it over their careers. Our findings have theoretical implications for both work-family and career success literatures.