Work-nonwork conflict and the phenomenology of time: Beyond the balance metaphor

Most research on work-nonwork conflict emphasizes time allocation, evoking the metaphor of "balancing" time. Balance imagery is restrictive because it neglects the perceptual experience of time and the subjective meanings people assign to it. We propose an alternative metaphor of time as a "container of meaning." Drawing upon role-identity and self-discrepancy theories, we develop a model and propositions relating meanings derived from work and nonwork time to the experience of work-nonwork conflict. We argue that work-nonwork conflict is shaped not only by time's quantitative aspect but also by the extent to which work and nonwork time is identity affirming versus identity discrepant.