O equilíbrio trabalho/família nos advogados

: diferenças de género

Abstract

Balancing professional and family life is one of the great challenges in developing countries and is one of the main topics of discussion in the European Union. The majority of studies on the management of work and family roles focus on the negative aspects of this balance (the work/family conflict), rather than exploring the potentially positive results of good management of work and family roles (work/family enrichment). The main aim of this paper is to identify the level of perception of the work/family conflict and work/family enrichment, as well as the valance of influences, or in other words, the influence of work on the family and the influence of the family on work, focussing on the differences between the genders. We carried out an exploratory, descriptive and correlational study, using quantitative research methods, with a sample of 267 lawyers from large Portuguese firms based in Lisbon. The results allow us to establish the validity of a multidimensional structure of work/family conflict and enrichment, as well as the relevance of gender in this issue. Women experience greater conflict in terms of work-family tension and related to time and family-work tension. Married women with two children feel the greatest conflict in terms of family time and work time. Both men and women experience greater time-related work-family conflict the higher the average numbers of hours worked per week. Women experience a higher level of enrichment in terms of work-family development and familywork feelings. Older women show greater work/family development and lesser family/work affect, with married women with more than two children showing the greatest enrichment indices in terms of family-work efficiency. The longer the professional experience women have, the greater the level of enrichment related to work-family development and the lesser the level of enrichment in terms of family-work development. The older men are, the lesser their family-work development, affect and efficiency; and the shorter their professional experience, the greater the level of enrichment in terms of workfamily efficiency. Work/family conflict and enrichment have a inverse relationship.

Date of Award	2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Célia Ribeiro (Supervisor)