IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v31y2017i4p640-656.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the work–life challenges and dilemmas faced by managers and professionals who live alone

Author

Listed:
  • Krystal Wilkinson

    (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

  • Jennifer Tomlinson

    (University of Leeds, UK)

  • Jean Gardiner

    (University of Leeds, UK)

Abstract

This article aims to question the dominant understanding of work–life balance or conflict as primarily a ‘work–family’ issue. It does this by exploring the experiences of managers and professionals who live alone and do not have children – a group of employees traditionally overlooked in work–life policy and research but, significantly, a group on the rise within the working age population. Semi-structured interviews with 36 solo-living managers and professionals were carried out in the UK, spanning a range of occupations. In addition to previously identified work–life issues, four themes emerged that were pressing for and specific to solo-living managers and professionals. These are articulated here as challenges and dilemmas relating to: assumptions about work and non-work time; the legitimacy of their work–life balance; lack of support connected to financial and emotional well-being; and work-based vulnerabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Krystal Wilkinson & Jennifer Tomlinson & Jean Gardiner, 2017. "Exploring the work–life challenges and dilemmas faced by managers and professionals who live alone," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(4), pages 640-656, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:4:p:640-656
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017016677942
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017016677942
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0950017016677942?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Friese, Carrie & Becker, Gay & Nachtigall, Robert D., 2006. "Rethinking the biological clock: Eleventh-hour moms, miracle moms and meanings of age-related infertility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1550-1560, September.
    2. Lynn Jamieson & David Morgan & Graham Crow & Graham Allan, 2006. "Friends, Neighbours and Distant Partners: Extending or Decentring Family Relationships?," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 11(3), pages 39-47, September.
    3. Özbilgin, Mustafa F. & Beauregard, T. A. & Tatli, Ahu & Bell, Myrtle P., 2011. "Work-life, diversity and intersectionality: a critical review and research agenda," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 36557, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Richard Donkin, 2010. "The Future of Work," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-27419-8, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paola Rebughini, 2011. "Friendship Dynamics between Emotions and Trials," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(1), pages 119-127, February.
    2. Nancy Elizabeth Doyle & Almuth McDowall, 2019. "Context matters: A review to formulate a conceptual framework for coaching as a disability accommodation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-30, August.
    3. Siti Khadijah Zainal, 2013. "Job Characteristics as the Antecedents of Work-to-family Enrichment: A Literature Review," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 4(8), pages 394-401.
    4. Lynn Jamieson, 2011. "Intimacy as a Concept: Explaining Social Change in the Context of Globalisation or Another Form of Ethnocentricism?," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(4), pages 151-163, December.
    5. Sarah Milton & Kaveri Qureshi, 2022. "Reclaiming the Second Phase of Life? Intersectionality, Empowerment and Respectability in Midlife Romance," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(1), pages 27-42, March.
    6. Ana M. Morales-Hernández & Carlos Fernández-Hernández & Flora M. Díaz-Pérez & Carlos G. García-González, 2022. "Rural tourism networking and covid-19 crisis: a gender perspective," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 16(4), pages 1111-1137, December.
    7. Degli Esposti, Sara & Pavone, Vincenzo, 2019. "Oocyte provision as a (quasi) social market: Insights from Spain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 234(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Nancy Elizabeth Doyle & Almuth McDowall & Raymond Randall & Kate Knight, 2022. "Does it work? Using a Meta-Impact score to examine global effects in quasi-experimental intervention studies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, March.
    9. Andrea Gragnano & Silvia Simbula & Massimo Miglioretti, 2020. "Work–Life Balance: Weighing the Importance of Work–Family and Work–Health Balance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-20, February.
    10. Val Gillies, 2011. "From Function to Competence: Engaging with the New Politics of Family," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(4), pages 109-119, December.
    11. Campbell, Patricia, 2011. "Boundaries and risk: Media framing of assisted reproductive technologies and older mothers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 265-272, January.
    12. Samantha Evans & Madeleine Wyatt, 2023. "A Bridge over Troubled Borders: Social Class and the Interplay between Work and Life," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(1), pages 137-156, February.
    13. Jacqui Gabb, 2011. "Family Lives and Relational Living: Taking Account of Otherness," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(4), pages 141-150, December.
    14. Asseburg, Julia, 2018. "Work-family conflict in the public sector: The impact of public service motivation and job crafting," EconStor Preprints 183185, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    15. Klimczuk, Andrzej, 2017. "Work, Domestic Work, Emotional Labour," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 1-4.
    16. Desy, Alexandra & Marre, Diana, 2024. "The reproductive journeys of French women over 40 seeking assisted reproductive technology treatments in Spain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).
    17. Shaw, Sally, 2019. "The chaos of inclusion? Examining anti-homophobia policy development in New Zealand sport," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 247-262.
    18. Van Laer, Koen & Janssens, Maddy, 2014. "Between the devil and the deep blue sea: Exploring the hybrid identity narratives of ethnic minority professionals," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 186-196.
    19. Janet Green & Philip Darbyshire & Anne Adams & Debra Jackson, 2015. "Desperately seeking parenthood: neonatal nurses reflect on parental anguish," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(13-14), pages 1885-1894, July.
    20. Anna Carreri, 2020. "Control on the ‘Boundary-Work’ in Work-Life Articulation for Flexible Knowledge Workers. Insights into Gender Asymmetries," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-15, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:4:p:640-656. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.