Understanding differential organizational responses to work/life issues: The role of beliefs and decision‐making styles of chief executive officers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore differential adoption of work/life programs by organizations by studying CEOs. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework was developed from interview data from 26 Denver‐area (Colorado, USA) CEOs. Findings – A decision‐making model was conceptualized as the major finding of this study. CEOs decided on work/life programs on content‐based bottom‐line arguments, on process‐based criteria, such as moral, spiritual, or flexibility beliefs, or on personal experiences that these programs return to the bottom line. If a CEO decided based on bottom‐line arguments, the main variable is whether or not retention is important. Research limitations/implications – As a qualitative study, caution should be exercised in generalizing to the general population of CEOs, particularly those who choose not to adopt work/life programs. Practical implications – The study provides data useful for top management persuasion, executive development, understanding executive decision‐making processes, and understanding factors important to work/life program adoption. Originality/value – Many factors have been studied concerning differential work/life program adoption, including the composition of the HR team. This is the first study to consider the influence of CEOs as key decision‐makers in the adoption decision. This study also offers a model that potentially explains the decision‐making process used by executives for human resource programs, and perhaps other programs as well.