Work-life balance and male lawyers: a socially constructed and dynamic process
| Published date | 04 June 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2017-0038 |
| Date | 04 June 2019 |
| Pages | 866-879 |
| Author | Galina Boiarintseva,Julia Richardson |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour |
Work-life balance and male
lawyers: a socially constructed
and dynamic process
Galina Boiarintseva
School of Human Resources Management, York University, Toronto, Canada, and
Julia Richardson
School of Management, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to theorize men’s experiences of work-life balance in male-dominated,
high-performance industries.
Design/methodology/approach –This study provides an in-depth qualitative study comprising
interviews and informal conversations with male lawyers in Canada.
Findings –This study highlights the socially constructed nature of male lawyers’experiences of work-life
balance and the recursive impact of industry, professional and societal expectations and norms.
Research limitations/implications –A relatively small sample size, suggesting the need for further study
with a larger and more diverse sample. The study was conducted in Canada –other national contexts may
furnish different results.
Practical implications –This study identifies the need for greater awareness of how institutional,
professional and societal expectations and norms impact on men’s experiences of work-life balance in
male-dominated, high-performance industries.
Social implications –This paper indicates that greater attention needs to be paid to work-life balance
among men in male-dominated, high-performance industries.
Originality/value –This paper explores men’s experiences of work-life balance in a male-dominated
industry within an interpretivist paradigm.
Keywords Gender, Work-life balance, Male lawyers, Qualitative
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The relationship between work and other areas of life has been an area of longstanding
interest to scholars and public policy makers. In recent years, it has also been the focus of
increasing public concern, with greater recognition of the need for what is now widely
understood as “work-life balance.”Indeed, some scholars have reported that opportunities
for work-life balance and flexible work hours to support it are “non-negotiable”for the next
generation of workers (Anderson et al., 2017).
Although work-life balance scholarship has historically focused on women, there are
now clear indications that it is also a growing concern for men (Evans et al., 2013). A study
commissioned by the Families and Work Institute, for example, revealed that men may now
experience more work-life conflict than women (Aumann et al., 2011). However, whereas
recent work-life balance research has focused on how women with high-status jobs reconcile
tensions between their work and family responsibilities (McDonald and Jeanes, 2012), we
still know very little about how men in similar positions manage theirs despite the
increasing evidence of that work-life balance is also a growing concern for them (OECD,
2015). A further consequence of the focus on women’s work-life balance is that industries
traditionally dominated by women (such as education and some fields of medicine such as
nursing) have received more attention than industries dominated by men. Therefore, we also
still know very little about work-life balance in industries such as mining and law
(Richardson et al., 2015; Fox, 2014; Pillay et al., 2013).
Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 4, 2019
pp. 866-879
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-02-2017-0038
Received 8 February 2017
Revised 7 March 2018
Accepted 25 October 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
866
PR
48,4
To continue reading
Request your trial