The Effect of Work-Family Balance on Entrepreneurial Success and Health

This study investigates the relationship between work-family balance, perceived success and health. The broaden-and-build-up theory postulates that positive emotions build up over time and broaden the individual's ability and resources. Perceiving a balance between work and family can lead to emotional well-being, which create upward spirals of positive emotions. Furthermore, we predict additional work-family balance sources, such as having family partners, compared to non-family partners, to positively moderate the aforementioned relations. According to the emotional commitment theory, family partners can provide emotional, material and psychological support, which can intensify the positive effect of work-family balance. Empirical analysis of a cross-sectional sample of 240 SME from the French health organization (2015) confirms part of our expectations. However, even if there is a positive relation between work-family balance, perceived success and self-reported health, we find that work-family sources, such as having a family partner, compared to having a non-family partner, do not significantly moderate the relation.