Impact of Spousal Support on Work-Family/Family Work Conflicts: A Qualitative Study of Married Working Women in Mauritius

Abstract

With free education, empowerment, and the escalating female labour force, women have been acquiring visibility in many professions that were once reserved for men. There is no denying the fact that there are societal pressures to either attune to the ‘family manager’ role or remain in the public sphere as working women. This study foregrounds women’s experiences at the individual level and employed either on shift or non-shift systems. The primary aim of this study is to investigate how spousal support (or lack of support) impacts on women’s work and family life. A qualitative method was favoured probing whether women encountered any conflict in carrying out the dual roles of homemaker and income earner, and how they interpret their experiences in tackling these roles. The research findings predominantly draw upon the interviewees’ narratives. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were carried out with married working women working under shift and non-shift systems. Thematic analysis was used to identify the cultural dimension between the office environment and household environment, which have been one of the prominent reasons for family-work or work-family conflict.