Sahgal, Punam
Career couples: managing work-family roles - 1999 - p.12-22 - Apr-Jun
Career couples in managerial positions face increasing pressures and demands. In the work role, pressures may be related to higher responsibilities as they move to senior positions and in the family role, they may be related to career versus home conflicts and marital relationship problems. The results of a study on male and female managers did not indicate any difference in the level and type of stress experienced by them. However, it was observed that females managers felt discriminated against as far as promotion opportunities were concerned. There was a general unwillingness on the part of the top management, which comprised mostly of males, to entrust responsibilities beyond a certain point to female managers. The prejudiced assumptions of superiors about the ability of women to rise to very senior levels influence their career growth. At the same time, women themselves tend to curtail their career aspirations as family takes a priority over career. To be able to manage their multiple roles effectively, women need to value and respect their work, negotiate role responsibilities and seek support of others. Organisations also need to have more family responsive policies like flexible work scheduling, job sharing, variable starting and leaving time, leave policies, etc. Such policies would improve the overall qualify of worklife and encourage women to contribute more productively to the organisation. - Reproduced
Management
Managers
Women executives
Career couples: managing work-family roles - 1999 - p.12-22 - Apr-Jun
Career couples in managerial positions face increasing pressures and demands. In the work role, pressures may be related to higher responsibilities as they move to senior positions and in the family role, they may be related to career versus home conflicts and marital relationship problems. The results of a study on male and female managers did not indicate any difference in the level and type of stress experienced by them. However, it was observed that females managers felt discriminated against as far as promotion opportunities were concerned. There was a general unwillingness on the part of the top management, which comprised mostly of males, to entrust responsibilities beyond a certain point to female managers. The prejudiced assumptions of superiors about the ability of women to rise to very senior levels influence their career growth. At the same time, women themselves tend to curtail their career aspirations as family takes a priority over career. To be able to manage their multiple roles effectively, women need to value and respect their work, negotiate role responsibilities and seek support of others. Organisations also need to have more family responsive policies like flexible work scheduling, job sharing, variable starting and leaving time, leave policies, etc. Such policies would improve the overall qualify of worklife and encourage women to contribute more productively to the organisation. - Reproduced
Management
Managers
Women executives