The Professional, the Personal, and the Ideal Worker: Pressures and Objectives Shaping the Boundary between Life Domains

Dumas, Tracy L.; Sanchez-Burks, Jeffrey

doi:10.5465/19416520.2015.1028810

Cited by 138 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 160 publications

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“…Indeed, "organizations often assume that commitment to family compromises performance in managerial roles and consequently restricts the career opportunities" (Graves, Ohlott, & Ruderman, 2007: 44). Those workers who take leave or request to use FWAs violate notions of the ideal worker and the Protestant Relational Ideology, or the "deep-seated belief that affective and relational concerns are considered inappropriate in work settings" (Dumas & Sanchez-Burks, 2015;Sanchez-Burks, 2004: 265). In Switzerland, evidence for a "maybe baby" phenomenon suggests that employers and coworkers may view childless women with uncertainty and as a potential inconvenience in the event that they might decide to have children (Gloor, Li, & Feierabend, 2018).…”

Section: Mechanism 2: Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Work–Family Backlash: The “Dark Side” of Work–Life Balance (WLB) Policies

Perrigino¹,

Dunford²,

Wilson³

2018

ANNALS

122

125

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Although continuing to capture the attention of scholars, the study of "work-family backlash" remains plagued by a lack of conceptual clarity. As a result, there is growing evidence to suggest that there is a dark side to work-life balance (WLB) policies, but these findings remain scattered and unorganized. We provide a synthesis of this literature, defining work-family backlash as a phenomenon characterized by negative attitudes, negative emotions, and negative behaviors-either individual or collective-associated with WLB policies [i.e., on-site provisions, leave policies, and flexible work arrangements (FWAs)] within organizations. We conceptualize and define four primary mechanisms involving multiple levels of analysis through which the phenomenon operates. More micro levels of analysis within organizations are characterized by (1) an inequity mechanism, (2) a stigma mechanism, and (3) a spillover mechanism. Although less developed in the literature to date, more macro levels of analysis-including the organization and societal levels-are characterized by (4) a strategic mechanism. We explain these four primary mechanisms-including the theories and literatures on which they are grounded-and develop an original conceptual model to catalyze future research. 600

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Section: Mechanism 2: Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Work–Family Backlash: The “Dark Side” of Work–Life Balance (WLB) Policies

Perrigino¹,

Dunford²,

Wilson³

2018

ANNALS

122

125

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“…The idea that work and life are independent domains that do not influence one another is the traditional perspective on the work-life interface, particularly in Western settings, which has been dubbed the ideology of separate spheres (see Kanter, 1977). This viewpoint can be traced to Aristotle (Gelfand, Leslie, & Fehr, 2008) and is supported by role theory and boundary theory (Dumas & Sanchez-Burks, 2015). Role theory posits that the most effective way to manage roles is to keep the tasks and responsibilities associated with each role as distinct as possible and to prevent roles from influencing one another (Goode, 1960;Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosenthal, 1964;Katz & Kahn, 1978).…”

Section: A Segmentation Work-life Ideologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ideal worker norm is countered by theoretical perspectives that identify individuals' personal lives as the center of social life and therefore raise questions about the utility of placing higher relative priority on work (cf. Dumas & Sanchez-Burks, 2015). For example, in developmental psychology, Bronfenbrenner's (1986) theory specifies family as a central determinant of child development.…”

Section: A Work Priority Ideologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Work-Life Ideologies: The Contextual Basis and Consequences of Beliefs About Work and Life

Leslie

King

Clair

2019

AMR

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Work-life scholars have devoted considerable attention to understanding the relationship between work and life but surprisingly little attention to understanding how individuals think about the relationship between work and life. We propose that individuals hold three worklife ideologies, which we define as beliefs about how work and life are related: a fixed (versus expandable) pie ideology, a segmentation (versus integration) ideology, and a work (versus life) priority ideology. Beliefs about the world come, in large part, from the world itself. We therefore advance propositions regarding the contextual antecedents of work-life ideologies; exposure to contexts that prime scarcity, boundaries, and market forces increase the extent to which individuals hold fixed pie, segmentation, and work priority ideologies, respectively. For each prime we also provide four examples of objective contextual features-one each at the family, organizational, community, and societal level of analysis-that make the relevant prime salient and shape the associated work-life ideology. Finally, we propose that work-life ideologies are consequential because they affect individuals' work-life preferences and how they make sense of demands and resources, which, in turn, affect work-life conflict and enrichment. Our research advances understanding by expanding theory regarding the critical role of cognition in navigating work and life.

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“…According to Clark (2000), people cross these boundaries daily, balancing between domain integration and segmentation. Integration strategies encourage permeability of boundaries between domains, while segmentation strategies aim to sustain distinct realms of responsibility (Ashforth et al, 2000;Dumas and Sanchez-Burks, 2015).…”

Section: Work-family Boundary Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of mobile technologies for work-to-family boundary permeability: The case of Finnish and Canadian male lawyers

Choroszewicz

Kay

2019

Human Relations

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This article explores work–family interface and the use of mobile technologies (MTs) among male lawyers in Quebec (French Canada) and Finland – two civil law contexts with reputations for legislation friendly toward work–family balance. Drawing on 34 interviews with male lawyers and combining two theoretical lenses, shifting ideals of fatherhood and work–family boundary theory, our study shows how men’s preferences for work–family boundary management relate to diversifying models of fatherhood and family. In Finland, male lawyers more readily embrace family responsibilities and they strive to set firm boundaries to curtail work spilling over into family life. Yet, the cultural and professional norm of men as breadwinners remains strong, especially for Canadian male lawyers whose spouses more often assume primary responsibility for childcare. Our study offers qualitative markers of boundary management styles and strategies (spatial, temporal, and psychological) of male professionals – as struggling segmentors, struggling integrators, and integrators. We observe that senior male lawyers, living in more traditional family models, frequently model integrating behaviours, such as around-the-clock availability via MTs. This modeling establishes expectations of what represents a committed professional worthy of promotion. These practices play an important role in sustaining and reproducing gender inequalities in organisations that employ professionals.

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The Professional, the Personal, and the Ideal Worker: Pressures and Objectives Shaping the Boundary between Life Domains

Cited by 138 publications

References 160 publications

Work–Family Backlash: The “Dark Side” of Work–Life Balance (WLB) Policies

Work–Family Backlash: The “Dark Side” of Work–Life Balance (WLB) Policies

Work-Life Ideologies: The Contextual Basis and Consequences of Beliefs About Work and Life

The use of mobile technologies for work-to-family boundary permeability: The case of Finnish and Canadian male lawyers

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