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Practices of Dual Earner Couples Successfully Balancing Work and Family

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ABSTRACT

Researchers have long explored conflict and strain in dual-career couples. Recently, the focus has begun to shift toward documenting the adaptive strategies of dual-earner couples in balancing family and work. The current study investigates workplace practices perceived as supportive in balancing work and family. Respondents were middle-class, dual-earner couples (N=47) who described themselves as successful in balancing family and work. These supportive practices include: flexible work scheduling, non-traditional work hours, professional/job autonomy, working from home, supportive supervisors, supportive colleagues and supervisees, and the ability to set firm boundaries around work. Additionally, many participants describe their efforts to actively secure employment at workplaces that offered family–friendly alternatives, and describe the tradeoffs they are willing to make.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development and Family Studies Department, Colorado State University, 101 Gifford Bldg., Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1570, USA

    Shelley A. Haddock, Toni Schindler Zimmerman & Scott J. Ziemba

  2. Department of Applied Psychology, Antioch New England Graduate School, 40 Avon Street, Keene, NH, 03431, USA

    Kevin P. Lyness

Authors
  1. Shelley A. Haddock
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  2. Toni Schindler Zimmerman
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  3. Kevin P. Lyness
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  4. Scott J. Ziemba
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Correspondence to Shelley A. Haddock.

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Haddock, S.A., Zimmerman, T.S., Lyness, K.P. et al. Practices of Dual Earner Couples Successfully Balancing Work and Family. J Fam Econ Iss 27, 207–234 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-006-9014-y

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