Differences in work/family orientations: workforces in Venezuela, Chile, Mexico and the United States

Balancing the relationship between commitment to work and commitment to family is becoming a major issue in the modern workplace of industrialized nations. In addition, regional economic integration is fast becoming a reality in all three legs of the TRIAD (Europe, Japan, and the United States). Rationalized production is occurring at a fast pace across North America. The Enterprise for the Americas Initiative seeks to extend the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) from the Alaskan Yukon to Tierra del Fuego in Southern Chile and many American corporations are moving some production jobs to countries in Latin America. In spite of these labour trends, very little is known about the attitudes of workforces in these emerging labour markets regarding the balance between commitments to work and family. Results of research comparing work‐family orientation values among Chile, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States are presented. Implications for both researchers and managers are discussed.