Exploring the work-life challenges and dilemmas faced by managers and professionals who live alone

摘要

This article aims to question the dominant understanding of work-life balance or conflict as primarily a work-family' issue. It does this by exploring the experiences of managers and professionals who live alone and do not have children - a group of employees traditionally overlooked in work-life policy and research but, significantly, a group on the rise within the working age population. Semi-structured interviews with 36 solo-living managers and professionals were carried out in the UK, spanning a range of occupations. In addition to previously identified work-life issues, four themes emerged that were pressing for and specific to solo-living managers and professionals. These are articulated here as challenges and dilemmas relating to: assumptions about work and non-work time; the legitimacy of their work-life balance; lack of support connected to financial and emotional well-being; and work-based vulnerabilities.