Which dominates? The relative importance of work and family

Abstract

In an attempt to understand family and work domains in the current situations employees found themselves, researchers have found that employees are juggling family and working life. It is as a result of this that the study sought to explore the choices men and women make whenever the two domains of work and family conflict with each other. The study argues that these choices are made to reflect men’s and women’s respective positions in these two domains. The data for this study was obtained from 30 respondents who came from dual income families and employed full time. Results indicated that there are gender differences in how respondents prioritise family and work demands whenever these two domains come into conflict with each other. It was concluded that choices made around family and work roles are strongly influenced by cultural expectations of being a father and a mother in our society.