His or her work–life balance? Experiences of self-employed immigrant parents

• Published in: Work, employment and society Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 624 - 639
• Main Author: Munkejord, Mai Camilla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications Ltd 01.08.2017; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Articles: Flexible work and work–life balance; availability approach; Dual career couples; Families & family life; Family work relationship; gender; Gender relations; Immigrants; migrants; Noncitizens; Nordic dual-earner family model; Parents & parenting; Samfunnsvitenskap: 200; Self employment; self-employed parents; Social science: 200; Social work: 360; Sosialt arbeid: 360; VDP; Work; Work life balance; Work-Leisure conflict; Working mothers; availability approach; self-employed parents; gender; work–life balance; migrants; Nordic dual-earner family model
• ISSN: 0950-0170; 1469-8722
• DOI: 10.1177/0950017016667041

The question of how to achieve ‘work–life balance’ has been a central debate for several decades. Hitherto, this subject has primarily been explored in organizational contexts; less is known in the context of self-employment. This article advances our understanding of work–life balance by analysing the everyday stories of self-employed immigrant parents in Norway. In this study, work–life balance is constructed in contrasting ways between mothers and fathers on the individual level and simultaneously in binary and potentially competing ways on the couple level. Hence, through an analysis of the participants’ work and family availabilities, this study sheds light on how gender relations may be shaped at the micro level within the Nordic dual-earner family model.