Wall Journal

This chapter was excerpted from Dayle M. Smith (2000). Women At Work: Leadership for the Next Century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Cynthia A. Thompson

and

Laura L. Beauvais

I love my life! My husband and I have arranged our work lives so that we

can spend as much time as possible with our kids, and still feel like we’re

making a difference at work.

—JESSICA DEGROOT, FOUNDER. THE THIRD PATH INSTITUTE

It just got to be too much. Monday through Friday I caught the 6:30 train for the city, and didn’t return until 6 P.M. . I loved my job, the money was good, but there was no flexibility, no possibility for part-time work. And I really missed my kids. My husband was making more than I did and we

finally decided we could live on his salary. So I quit.

—LISA CELONA. FORMER NASDAQ EQUITY TRADER. CURRENT AT-HOME MOM

I spent four years working for an insurance company as director of media services. Because my wife was a performer in New York City and had to work evenings; I was the primary caregiver for our two children. That meant I had to leave work earlier than any of the other managers, and that caused a lot of friction and resentment... The tension it created for me at work was instrumental in my eventually having to leave the company.

—MICHAEL KERLEY, PRESIDENT, CREATIVE DIALOGUES

Chapter Overview

This chapter focuses on how women (and, increasingly, men) attempt to balance the multiple competing demands on their time and energy. The authors discuss the types of conflicts that often occur as employees try to meet the needs of their spouses, children, elderly parents, community, and employers. They discuss both the positive, life- enhancing effects of participating in multiple roles, as well as the inevitable stresses and strains associated with life’s daily traumas (e.g., the baby is sick and can’t go to day care, an elderly mother slips, breaks her hip, and needs immediate help). The authors describe both...