Dual Careers,Dual Loyalties: Management Implications of the Work/Home Interface

Abstract

Despite major changes in the labour-force characteristics over the past three decades, resulting in significantly more women not only working but pursuing careers, employers have frequently failed to address the organizational implications of these trends. As dual-career couples become more prevalent, employees' conflicting demands of home and work are exacerbated when both partners strive for upward career progression, and the resulting pressures may adversely affect their work performance, since home and work cannot be compartmentalized. Employers should now face the reality of structural changes in the workforce, and acknowledge the conflicting loyalties facing dual-career couples juggling multiple demands. More flexible employer responses to the work/ home interface have been shown to achieve more effective utilization of human resources, generating both individual and organizational benefits.