6533b839fe1ef96bd12a6714
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Narratives of Spousal Support for the Careers of Men in Managerial Posts
Heikkinen SuviAnna-maija Lämsäsubject
isätOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementmenfathersGender Studiesspousal supportcareernarrativesPhenomenon0502 economics and businesstyöuraNarrativeta512doing gendermanagersField (Bourdieu)05 social sciencesLife satisfactionGender studiesRomanceDoing gender050903 gender studiesSpouseTragedy (event)miehet0509 other social sciencesPsychologySocial psychology050203 business & managementdescription
This article analyses the narratives of men managers to see how they perceive their wives' support in relation to their careers. Our aim is to focus on different forms of spousal support and explore how the support can evolve in the course of the men's careers. We are also interested in what kind of gender relations men produce when narrating their experiences of spousal support for their career. The research material comprises interviews with 29 managers who are fathers. In contrast to many previous studies, the results here suggest that spousal support is not a fixed or uncomplicated phenomenon but is constructed as various and flexible by men: negotiated , enriching and declining. The narrative analysis, in which we detected three different story‐lines — romance, ‘happily‐ever‐after’ and tragedy — shows that the most positive narratives in terms of life satisfaction and career success were those in which spousal support was constructed as negotiated and men were willing to be flexible and adaptable in their gender relations with their spouse. More attention to a father's work and family integration is needed in the field of management and organizations. peerReviewed
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-11-16 | Gender, Work & Organization |