Female professionals' concerns of work-life boundary: An exploratory study of Taiwanese banking industry

Abstract

Work-life issues gradually received much attention in contemporary Chinese society since the trend in communication and the diversity of labor market composition from recent economy development as well as technology innovation. Especially, female professionals make these so-called ‘virtuous wife, good mother’ face challenges to fit in with the demands in-between various life domains, such as family and organizations. To better understand the interactive effects between professionals' work-life concerns and coping strategies, semistructured interviews were adopted from 10 female professionals of Taiwanese banks to explore the following issues: the role expectations from daily life, the rationale of work-life boundary and the relevant coping mechanisms from work-life domains (e.g. technical support). Results show female professionals re-arrange their physical and psychological status to fit in with the gender stereotype and daily challenges from existing resource-demand context; the findings may bring practical implications for organizations to build up a family-friendly workplace.