“We Have to Do It the Best Way We Can. Together”: A Phenomenological Study of the Work–Family Interface in Copreneurial Businesses

Abstract

This paper aims to advance our understanding of the intricacies of how copreneurial couples navigate their work–family interface when boundaries are blurred. While there are many studies of work-life balance and of managing family businesses, studies of the work–family interface in micro-businesses are relatively rare. Our contribution lies in extending work–family interface theories within a copreneurial context by offering a new theoretical lens, the phenomenological notion of togetherness, which we elaborate as a relational attunement and emotional sharing that involves an implicit sense of care and consideration. We do so by drawing on a study of couples who own small copreneurial leisure and tourism businesses in Greece, to elaborate how they navigate the day-to-day challenges of balancing work and family life. We elucidate their lived experience by drawing on a rarely used methodology in the field—Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.