ABSTRACT
This article uses work–life interrelationships as a lens through which to identify communication concepts that span the traditional “division divide” between organizational and family communication and to identify potential substantive contributions to worklife research that might be made from integrative perspectives. We review extant worklife research within the communication discipline to identify themes and methodological approaches represented to date; we also identify lines of research in both organizational and family communication that have not yet been tied to work–life research but that have strong potential connections. We explore three theoretical perspectives for bridging workplace and private–life frames of reference: structuration, systems, and relational dialectics. Within each perspective, we identify integrative directions for future research. We conclude with me tadis cursive reflections on obstacles to and pathways for spanning division divides.
