Introduction
The number of families where both parents work and pursue careers is increasing. Such couples need to consider long-term goals regarding their lifestyle and distribution of housework between parents. Also, when children are born, additional scheduling is needed to accommodate all responsibilities. The primary issue is that the majority of dual-career families have not made any long-term decisions. This fact creates concerns for businesses, the government, and children.
Problem Statement
Household responsibilities, child care, and a potential room for conflicts of interest are some of the issues that should be considered by families, and these problems affect corporations because they have to plan accordingly.
Stakeholder Analysis
Employees’ goals are achieving career development, reaching professional excellence, and earning more. Corporations cherish such aspirations and reward those who perform well. However, a conflict emerges because employees have family roles besides workplace responsibilities. When a child is born, for instance, an employee may want to take a leave. Commonly, women take maternal leaves, and businesses have become accustomed to such situations. However, with the increasing number of dual-career families, paternal leaves are also becoming usual. Businesses need to change their leave policies to comply with the regulations. A more substantial issue is caused by the absence of both a working husband and wife – the company will need to fill in their positions temporarily to ensure stable work operations. The government is also a stakeholder in this context – research is needed to determine the effects of dual-career lifestyle and children’s performance at school and their involvement in illegal activities. It is evident that when both parents work, children are given less attention, which may impact their attitudes at school.
Alternatives
For families, the case only suggests conducting careful planning before becoming a dual-career couple. For corporations, consideration of leave policies, flex-time, job-sharing, and other relevant rules is recommended. Research suggests that workplace characteristics impact work-family conflicts of couples that pursue careers. Development and flexibility, employee support on behalf of co-workers and supervisors, and job competence were found to be significant elements in relation to work-family issues (Kundu, Phogat, Datta, & Gahlawat, 2016). Also, there may be issues regarding societal expectations and job reconciliation – male workers returning from paternal leaves may face challenges in the workplace (Mauerer, 2018). Relationship maintenance can serve as a method for overcoming stress that results from attempting to balance work and family (Afifi, Harrison, Zamanzadeh, & Acevedo Callejas, 2020). However, couples need to attain training to apply relationship maintenance in practice.
Recommended Solution
The wants and desires of people change over time, and therefore, it is not possible to construct accurate and detailed plans regarding lifestyle in the context of dual-career preparation. Therefore, the only viable solution for couples is to maintain their relationships and support each other in overcoming stress. Corporations, besides implementing all the relevant policies, must ensure that all employees have favorable working conditions, and the workplace environment is supportive.
Conclusion
The increasing number of dual-career families is posing a challenge to corporations and the government. Businesses need to manage such couples adequately while aligning their performance to organizational objectives. The government needs to analyze how dual-career pursuits impact child development. Both parents need to receive maintenance from each other to cope with stress. Corporations need to consider workplace elements that may influence dual-career couples.
References
Afifi, T. D., Harrison, K., Zamanzadeh, N., & Acevedo Callejas, M. (2020). Testing the theory of resilience and relational load in dual-career families: relationship maintenance as stress management. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 48(1), 5-25.
Kundu, S. C., Phogat, R. S., Datta, S. K., & Gahlawat, N. (2016). Impact of workplace characteristics on work-family conflict of dual-career couples. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 24(5), 883-907.
Mauerer, G. (2018). Both parents working: Challenges and strains in managing the reconciliation of career and family life in dual-career families. Empirical evidence from Austria. Social Sciences, 7(12), 1-21.