From family to fortune: the dual impact of family-friendly policies and ethical work climate on employee career success

Purpose This study examines how and when family-friendly policies influence employee subjective career success in terms of work–home enrichment, perceived career success and work–home interference. Design/methodology/approach Pakistani employees ( n = 369) working full-time in multiple organizations participated in this study. Structural equation modeling in Mplus 8.3 was utilized to test the hypotheses. Findings The results demonstrate that family-friendly policies foster work–home enrichment and perceived career success while reducing work–home interference. Furthermore, the findings suggest that an ethical work climate, in conjuction with family-friendly policies, leads to positive outcomes regarding employees’ subjective career success. Originality/value Based on the broaden-and-build theory, the authors provide new theoretical insights into how and when family-friendly policies affect subjective career success in terms of work–home enrichment, perceived career success and work–home interference. They also identify new boundary conditions (i.e. ethical work climate) that moderate the effect of family-friendly policies’ effect on subjective career success.