Literature review on theories of work-life balance / Hazuana Zulkiflee, Wan Edura Wan Rashid and Norfadzilah Abd Razak

Work-life balance reflects the equilibrium between career and family responsibilities. Individuals often face challenges in balancing work and family responsibilities, such as inter-role conflict between professional duties and family obligations. This study aims to analyze the literature review on various theories essential for understanding work-life balance concepts. Methodological articles analyzing literature reviews from journal articles on work-life balance discuss the theories commonly employed by researchers in this field. By analyzing works indexed in the Scopus database from 2022 to 2024, we employed thematic analysis to identify the common theories employed within the extant literature. Among the widely-used theories that were grounded to study work-life balance are identified namely Spillover Theory, Social Action Theory, Conservation of Resources Theory, Boundary Theory, Role Theory, and Compensation Theory. The findings suggest that work-life balance is a multidimensional construct that includes the perceived ability to balance work and non-work responsibilities and the feelings of satisfaction and fulfilment that result from navigating these competing priorities in modern life