Month: October 2015

A few studies on the gender perspectives of work/life balance

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

After my post yesterday, I searched around to see what I could find.  I found two interesting studies in the Harvard Business Review and University of Kansas City.

In the 1st graphic it was interesting to me that 59% of men attributed personal success to rewarding relationships, when only 46% of women did.  Work life balance was very close and within 1% point of each other.  The 2nd and 3rd biggest gaps were between men and women’s views on Learning and Developing and Financial success.

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From http://hbr.org

With regards to Work/Life Balance, UMKC reported that men are 5% more satisfied with their balance than women.  They also found that men are consistently more happy at work and at home than women are.

workbalance

From law2.umkc.edu

Guilt and Balance

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

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Sorry I have not posted in awhile!  I have recently started a new job and have found myself, as I expected, working more hours than I have in awhile.  In my new position I have spent time thinking about the differences between men and women, and balance between work and home.  I posted somewhat of a stream of consciousness below, I would love to hear your thoughts!

I am constantly trying to make sure that I am contributing as much as a I should at work while balancing a life with my spouse and son at home.  There are days where I feel like I have figured it out and days that are just plain tough.  It is hard for me to be away from my family as much as I am but I feel genuinely happy about what I do and my career.  I am often tired of hearing about women who are trying to have it all or women who are constantly lamenting their guilt about being a working mom.  While I am all for balance and every mother finding her own way… I have to wonder, do men think about these things as much as we do?

I think that men and women are inantely different in the way we view different components of work and home life however I don’t know why.  I am constantly trying to better understand the variances between how men and women feel about working and being a parent.  The balance of work and home is an ever popular topic and yet one in which there will never be answer.