Alignment Of Role Spaces Of Women To Achieve Work-Home Equilibrium? A Timeline Study In India

Abstract

With more women professionals permeating the managerial workforce, the correlation between their work and non-work realms and its impact on productivity has become a matter of intense scrutiny. Organizational studies seem to suggest that the struggle to balance work and family causes dysfunctionalities in both. Yet, as millennials continue to advance, the labour force participation rate of educated, career-oriented women are bound to rise making it imperative for organizations to take note of female talent.

Given the transforming social situation, there are changes in the challenges of work-life as well. The workload from office is infringing into home time and home demands are not abating, straining the finite physical and mental resources of women. This has become even more critical during the recent pandemic when the woman is working from home while the family is also at home demanding more of her time and attention.

Using Role Space Maps, a unique method of data collection, we mapped out the roles women play at a couple of different stages in their lives and discussed how they juggle their work-life and non-work life. Findings therefrom established an important link between multiple roles and both psychological and effectiveness outcomes. This study fosters assimilation of earlier forms of work-related stress with Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress to offer a more comprehensive image of the adaptive attributes of taxing incidences. The findings support the feasibility of applying role accumulation perspective to managerial women. Implications for organizations are also discussed.