39-6 Work-Family Conflict and Enrichment: An Exploratory Study of Dual-Career Adults' Experience
The study aimed to explore the work-family conflict and enrichment experience of dual-career adults. The participants were 41 adults who worked over 40 hours per week and lived with their children under 18 years old. Participants' age ranged from 28 to 55 (M = 38.4 years; SD = 6.81 years). Data were collected from nine focus groups and were analyzed using the grounded theory. The results were divided into experience of work-family conflict and experience of work-family enrichment. The experience of work-family conflict was induced into background, conflict experience, and coping strategies. The background consisted of job type and system, family structure, the influence of society and culture, and the resources system. The conflict experience was divided into work to family conflict experience and family to work conflict experience. The former included the conflict in the external family and the conflict within the inner self, whereas the latter was comprised of the conflicts of work involvement and performance, the conflict of career development, and the conflict within the inner self. The coping strategies were skills/abilities and cognitive adaptation. The experience of work-family enrichment entered into work-family enrichment, family-work enrichment, work experience enrichment for the self and family experience enrichment for the self. Both work-family enrichment and family-work enrichment were related to resources/benefits, and spiritual meaning. The work experience enrichment for the self included enhancing the sense of achievement, self-esteem, confidence, self-growth and the connection to society. The family experience enrichment for the self included the balance being maintained in life, and providing a more fulfilling life. In dual-career adults' experience, conflict, enrichment and self interacted and were closely correlated to each other. A discussion based on the results and suggestions for practice and future studies were provided.
Keywords
dual career adults ； work-family balance ； work-family conflict ； work-family enrichment
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