Antecedents of Work-Family Conflict
Among Dual-Career Couples: An
Australian Study
by David F. Elloy, School of Business Administration, Gonzaga University, Spo
-
kane, Washington 99258; and Catherine Smith, Business and Law Faculty, Central
Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland.
Over the past three decades, Western industrialised nations have witnessed major
changes in their labour force characteristics. Of particular importance has been
the steady increase of women in the workforce, due not only to economic neces
-
sity, but also to their needs for personal development and financial independence,
similar to those of men. Women increasingly expect to combine a paid job with
motherhood, and, dual-earner households have become more prevalent. As a re-
sult, few families now fit the traditional mould of the man as sole breadwinner
and the woman as housekeeper and primary care-giver.
In Australia, dual-earner dyads constitute 52% of couple families in the la-
bour force (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996). Between 1979 and 1996 the
number of dual-earner couples increased by 58%, while in the same period the to-
tal number of couple families increased by only 24%, attributable to a 66% rise in
the number of women workers, changing community attitudes, more flexible
working arrangements, and better child-care availability (Australian Bureau of
Statistics, 1997).
Growing numbers of women are pursuing longer-term careers, often
through the ranks of management. A career implies a longer term developmental
occupation or profession, with a sequence of connections and networks over time,
although this does not preclude lateral or downward moves or temporary with
-
drawals, in response to changed organisational and personal circumstances
(Smith, 1998). Women’s career possibilities and aspirations have been fuelled by
higher educational achievements, increasing numbers of female role models, and
equal employment opportunity and affirmative action legislation. This has re
-
sulted in the growth of dual-career households, which have been referred to as
“the workplace revolution” (Cooper & Lewis, 1993).
The dual-career relationship exemplifies the complex interaction of career
and gender roles in modern society (Hansen, 1984). It implies a psychological
commitment of marital or de facto partners to both family relations and their indi
-
vidual careers, and has been hailed the ideal middle-class marital relationship
(Hertz, 1986), since it affords both partners an opportunity for maximising both
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