DualvCareer Gropus

8/7/2019 DualvCareer Gropus

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DUAL CAREER GROUPS


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MEANINGDual-Career Partnerships

Couples in which both members follow their

own careers and actively support each otherscareer development.

Flexible work schedules

Adaptive leave policies

Work-at-home

On-premises day care

Job sharing


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DUAL CAREER COVERAGEDual careers role play

Review of research on personality dynamics of the dualcareer couple

Divide into groups and discuss chapter 20Case: Elizabeth Fisher (A), (B), (C)

Other research on dual careers: Life stages, organizationalresponses, & the comparative dimension

Review of geographical separation & how to cope with itClass discussion of the dual career lesbian couple & stress


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DUAL CAREERS ROLE PLAYForm 3 person groups

Conduct 1st role play

Conduct 2nd role play

Within the group discuss the observers

observations

Class discussion


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DISCUSSION QUESTIONSWhat was the range of solutions arrived at bycouples?

To what extent were these solutions satisfactory toboth members of the couple?

Would you characterize the various couples as:superordinate, synchronized, synthetic, severed?

What behaviors helped couples reach mutuallysatisfactory decisions? What behaviors restrictedtheir ability to reach such decisions?


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PERSONALITY

CHARACTERISTICSProminent need for

achievement

Each needs strokesfrom the other

Task persistence &

single-mindedness

Competitive & eachkeeps score


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GROUP WORK FOCUSWork-family conflict

Is WF conflict more likely to occur for you than FWconflict? Do women experience more conflict?

Work-family integrationWhere does the balance lie between conflict & enhancement?Which is more salient: status enhancement or personalityenrichment?

Positive & negative linkages between work and familyroles

Relate experiences encountered in your roles, the level ofinvolvement invested in your roles, & the attitudinalreactions to participation in your roles

Where is the balance between positive & negative?


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ELIZABETH FISHER (A)


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WHAT FACTORS SHAPE

ELIZABETHS JOB SEARCH INTHE BEGINNING OF THE

CASE?


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WHAT WAS ELIZABETH AND

PAULS INITIAL STRATEGY

Maori strategy design


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STRENGTHS WEAKNESSESSuccessful in

generating job

opportunities for

herself through on-

campus resources

Elizabeth creates some

limits

Not very creative ingenerating offersthrough other means

Job search too broad

Does not consider theeffect that MTS has onher job search

Communication as acouple is lacking


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WHAT WOULD A GOOD DUAL

CAREER JOB SEARCH LOOK LIKE?


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WHAT SHOULD ELIZABETH

DO?


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WHAT IS YOUR ASSESSMENT OF

ELIZABETHS NEW SEARCH?


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OBSERVATIONS OF DUAL

CAREER JOB SEARCHESA clear focus on the job search is important, butnot sufficient, to the avoidance of potentialproblems.

Time must be set aside for the sole purpose ofdiscussing job search.

Remain open to new learnings.

Do not avoid talking about the difficult trade-offs.

Be aware of forces that may suppress the act ofopen dialogue

Recognize that your partner is not on the MBAcycle


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OTHER RESEARCH ON DUAL

CAREERSLife stages

Organizational

responseThe comparative

framework


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LIFE STAGES RESEARCH


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CAREER & LIFE STAGES & PERSONAL

ENHANCEMENT: THEIR LINKAGES

Study by Uma Sekaran in CJAS

Career stages: exploration; establishment &advancement; growth, maintenance or stagnation;ultimate decline

Family life cycle stages from launching dualcareer family to the empty nest

Personal enhancement stages

Linkages among family life style, personalenhancement & career development stages &employee needs


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LIFESTYLE STAGES &

LINKAGESStage 1 finding their identity

Stage 2 establishing & becoming secure

Stage 3 asymmetrical, forced choice stage

Stage 4 asymmetrical burn-out stage

Stage 5 the problematic pre-retirement

years


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ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

SUGGESTIONSExamine recruitment policies to ensure that theyare conducive to the employment of dual careercouples.

Install sensible parenting leave policies; on-sitechild care facilities or pooled child care facilitiesclose to the place of work; & alternative workpatterns offered

Revise promotion policies to take account oflonger lives; allow multiple career paths; morechoice of time for career advancement


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ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES


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EFFECT OF POSITIVE HR POLICIES

ON FIRM-LEVEL PERFORMANCEStudy found that the presence of a bundle of work-family policies is positively associated withperceived firm-level performance.

Organizational performance, market performance, &profit-sales growth

Weak finding for the proportion of womeninteraction

The relationship between work-family & firmperformance does not appear to be moderated byfirm size.


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COMPARATIVE STUDIES


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COMPARATIVE STUDIES:

EXAMPLE OF CHINAArticle in AMJ last year comparing sources ofwork-family conflict in China & the United States

National differences in orientations to self &

family

Studied China and the States & found that thishypothesis was supported.

Also found that there was a limit work ethic maynot sustain employees if work pressurecontinuously results in work-family conflict


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GEOGRAPHICAL

SEPARATION


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GEOGRAPHICAL SEPARATION:

CHARACTERISTICS OF COUPLESwell educated & affluent professionals

Mean age: mid to late 30s

Over half married for more than 9 years

The longer couples are married the less stressful is theseparation

The length of time couples commuted varied frommonths to 14 years

Distance ranged from 40-2700 miles

Half were apart less than one week at a time


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DILEMMAS OF THE

COMMUTING LIFESTYLEPersonal & psychological dilemmas (mostimportant)

Identity dilemmaEmotional support dilemma

Intimacy dilemma

Social dilemmas

Work & career dilemmas

Situational dilemmas


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HOW TO SURVIVE GEOGRAPHICAL

SEPARATION?Be clear about your identity

Close communication & emotional supportestablished for a long time prior to establishing a

commuter relationshipBe accommodative of each others absences &preoccupations & conflicting work schedules &priorities

When reuniting dont waste time on other obligationsthan investing in yourselves

See the positive side to separation

Form network of relationships supporting the

commuting lifestyle


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SUCCESSFUL COMMUTER

COUPLESOlder

Long marriages

One already has an established career

No children at home

Other aids:

Adequate or high financial resources

Both enjoy intense career motivationsWeekly reunions

View separation as temporary (even though it is not)


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LESBIAN DUAL CAREER

COUPLE & STRESS


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COMPARISON OF LESBIAN &

HETEROSEXUAL DUAL CAREER COUPLES

Lesbian couples emphasized the maintenance of

equity in terms of financial matters

Distinct gender differences in the spilloverbetween work & family roles, with the husband

still identifying primarily with the breadwinner

role & the wives with the homemaker role

One similarity in all the couples one member ismore work-centered & the other more relationship

centered (but alternates in the lesbian relationship)


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STRESS & DUAL CAREER

COUPLES

Lesbian dual career relationships role overload,equity issues & time-based conflict mostimportant sources of stress

Heterosexual dual career relationship roleconflict & ambiguity important also roleoverload & time-based conflict

Disclosure at work this stressor was not presentin heterosexual couples

Only some organizations have employmentpolicies to lessen some of the problems of dualcareer couples


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STRESS & THE WOMAN

MANAGER


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MECHANISMS USED BY WORKING

WOMEN TO COPE WITH STRESS

POSITIVE

Talk to a friend (56%)

Take action (50%)

Exercise (36%)

Blow off steam (33%)

Engage in a hobby

(27%)

Get away from it all

(21%)

NEGATIVE

Drink coffee or soda oreat more (42%)

Keep it to myself(35%)

Act as if nothing muchhappened (30%)

Smoke cigarettes(23%)

Drink alcohol (15%)


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COPING WITH THE STRESS

OF DUAL CAREERS

Support system

Equity

How to cope with work overload issuesWork at allowing oneself to experience leisure

Examples: holidays, weekends out of town

Work on lessening household chores

Provide adequate care for child rearingModify your work to be more in tune with your

partners work


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THANK YOU

ASHUTOSH KUMAR

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DualvCareer Gropus