Dark Clouds and Windows of Hope; An Explanation of the Model of Work-Life Relationships in the Academic Community

As we are experiencing complex interactions among people's personal and professional lives today, theorists are increasingly trying to understand these relationships more deeply in order to develop theoretical knowledge. Meanwhile, organizations and administrative managers are trying to identify the preferences and needs of the employees in order to balance these two areas. The concept of work/life relations was considered aiming at designing a model that includes a two-way relationship and both negative and positive aspects of interaction between work and life. Due to the nature of knowledge work and its special requirements, this research has selected the faculty members of the Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies as its sample. Accordingly, using semi-structured interviews with 18 faculty members, the data were collected and analyzed through qualitative method of thematic analysis and QSR NVivo software in a model consisting of four comprehensive themes, 10 organized themes and 30 basic themes. Constant mental engagement, multiplicity and diversity of work plans, overflow of negative / positive work and family attitudes, demanding family tasks, family support, and fear of caring for and improving life skills included the constituent dimensions of this model.  In addition to the negative side (the inconsistency between work and life), the positive side of this concept (enrichment of work and life) was also taken into account.