With the close economic relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland, work‐related commuting across the border is emerging as a common work/family arrangement in Hong Kong. To examine the costs and benefits of this at the individual and family levels, a cross‐sectional survey with quota sampling was conducted. The target group of the survey was couples with one spouse working across the border and their children between the ages of 8–17, if there were any. A resilience perspective was adopted to address both the positive and negative impacts of the work arrangement on family relationships.
Findings of the survey indicate that disruption in the fulfillment of parental obligations is the most significant cost of the cross border work arrangement. Fathers are more likely to be marginalized in their parental role due to their higher frequency of travel and limited contacts with the children. For mothers with children at dependent age, limitations in parental involvement due to the work arrangement bring a strong sense of guilt. Work‐family conflict significantly intensified their intention to end the cross‐border work. On the other hand, the results indicate that commuting assignments can be stimulating and enriching to a marriage. To maximize the benefits of the cross‐border work arrangement and minimize its negative impacts, family‐friendly work policies and a family‐friendly work schedule are strongly recommended. Successful coping strategies and the necessary resources for the successful adjustment should be further examined.

隨著香港與內地密切的經濟關系，與跨境工作有關的工作/家庭安排正成為一個在香港常見的現像。為了研究這種安排在個人和家庭層面上的成本效益，作者進行了一個具有代表性的配額抽樣調查。調查的對像是其中一方需跨境工作的夫婦；以及如他們有子女的話，子女的年齡必須介乎8至17歲之間。本研究同時處理跨境工作安排對家庭關系的正面和負面影響。
調查結果發現，未能履行父母的義務是跨境工作安排最大的成本。由於頻密的跨境工干和跟子女的接觸有限，父親更容易被排斥於其父親的角色以外。由於跨境工作的安排以致未能與仍然是依賴年齡的子女有更多的聯系，也為母親帶來強烈的罪疚感。工作與家庭的衝突大大增加了他們結束跨境工作的意願。另一方面，研究發現這種工作安排可以刺激和豐富婚姻。為了發揮跨境工作安排最大的好處，並盡量減少其負面影響，作者強烈建議有利雇員發展家庭生活的工作安排。有效的的應對戰略和所須的資源則需要進一步的研究。

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