The Same, Only Different: Doing Management in the Intersection between Work and Private Life for Men and Women in Small-scale Enterprises

Emma Hagqvist, Stig Vinberg, Jonathan Q Tritter, Erika Wall and Bodil J Landstad
Additional contact information
Emma Hagqvist: Stockholm University, Sweden; Mid Sweden University, Sweden
Stig Vinberg: Mid Sweden University, Sweden
Jonathan Q Tritter: Aston University, UK
Erika Wall: Mid Sweden University, Sweden
Bodil J Landstad: Mid Sweden University, Sweden; Nord-Trøndelag Hospital Trust, Norway

Work, Employment & Society, 2020, vol. 34, issue 2, 262-280

Abstract: The aim of this article is to elucidate how male and female managers of small-scale enterprises in Norway and Sweden relate to and experience the intersection between work and private life. A qualitative content analysis was adopted to explore interviews with 18 managers. The analysis resulted in three primary categories: conflict as a part of the deal, using management to construct balance , and management identity contributing to enrichment. A key theme that emerged was doing management . Both men and women reproduced masculine values in describing their management identities and in explaining how they enacted management. This clear identification was used to legitimate conflict, construct balance and explain the interaction between work and private life as enriching. How the managers enacted gender emerged primarily in how they related to family responsibilities and their feelings of guilt in relation to home and children.

Keywords: enacting management roles; gender and management; small-scale enterprises; work–life balance; work–life conflict; work–life enrichment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017019871244 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:34:y:2020:i:2:p:262-280

DOI: 10.1177/0950017019871244

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Work, Employment & Society from British Sociological Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().