Work-family enrichment in Korea: Construct validation and status

Abstract

Purpose - The aim of this study is to validate the Korean version of the work-family enrichment (WFE) scale and identify the current status of work-family enrichment of workers within the Korean cultural context. Design/methodology/approach - The authors performed a forward and backward translation procedure to develop the Korean version of the WFE scale, which contains the linguistic equivalence between the two language versions of the WFE scale (English and Korean). Also, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were utilized to test the psychometric fit of the underlying structure of the Korean WFE scale compared with the English version. Findings - The results indicate that the Korean version of the WFE indicates psychometric properties parallel to the English version of the WFE. The findings also include differences in the WFE mean scores for Korean workers based on demographic and work-related variables. Originality/value - As in the USA, improving the work-family balance is perceived as a social imperative in other cultural settings. Empirical studies conducted in the Korean context can potentially demonstrate how individualist-based hypotheses regarding work-family interface fit a collectivist-based cultural setting.