Work-Life Balance and Cultural Change: A Narrative of Eligibility

Using Schein's (1992) framework of cultural change, this study examined two institutions of higher education that have achieved or attempted a cultural change to understand if and how to develop a culture of work-life balance for faculty and staff. The results identified a narrative of eligibility that arose from the discourse of faculty recruitment/retention, defining work-life for tenured and tenure-track faculty only. Moreover, situating work-life in campus traditions and histories revealed the espoused beliefs of work-life as a gender issue and perpetuated the socio-historical connection of women, pregnancy, and work-life.