Bruening, Dixon - Situating Work–Family Negotiations Within a Life Course.pdf - Psychologia - koni86

DOI 10.1007/s11199-007-9350-x

–

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Situating Work – Family Negotiations Within a Life Course

Perspective: Insights on the Gendered Experiences

of NCAA Division I Head Coaching Mothers

Jennifer E. Bruening & Marlene A. Dixon

Published online: 15 November 2007

# Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007

Abstract Despite the progress women have made since the

inception of Title IX, many still face discrimination in the

sport workplace. Given the assumption that time-use is

gendered, the traditional culture of US intercollegiate sport

stands in sharp contrast to the evolving notion of work-life

balance. This study employed a qualitative life course

perspective to examine the experiences of seventeen head

coach mothers in NCAA institutions. Results focus on the

participants

The current study utilizes human development theory to

examine the complex gendered web of relationships

operating within the lives of seventeen NCAA Division I

coaches who are mothers. Using a qualitative approach of

in-depth semi-structured interviews, the participants

explained their life trajectories, including common threads,

turning points (e.g., career choices, relationship milestones,

arrival of children, etc.), and important life linkages (e.g.,

spouse/partner, children, employer, staff) as they progress

along their life course pathways (Sweet and Moen 2006 ).

This contributes to the literature by demonstrating how the

complex, gendered evaluations interact with sport work-

place structures and cultures to impact the lives of

individuals in the sport industry (Shaw and Frisby 2006 ).

When addressing sport management scholars, Frisby

( 2005 ) borrowed from Alvesson and Deetz ( 2000 )to

explain her contention that the majority of management

research has focused on financial gains for managers and

organizations and little has directed attention to

Keywords Work-life balance . Employee well-being .

Gender . Sport management

those

affected by managerial actions, such as workers [and]

marginalized populations . . .

“

Introduction

(Frisby 2005 , p. 6). In doing

so, research highlighting the predominantly male super-

visors rather than the subordinates has facilitated the

reproduction of the gendered culture of athletics. Even as

employees have expressed their desire to work fewer hours

with more autonomy over those hours,

”

Investigation into work-family conflict in the sport industry

has been somewhat limited, in spite of its potential

influence on experiences and retention of female coaches.

high degrees of

institutional inertia ensure that the structure and culture of

work are not responsive to workers

“

J. E. Bruening ( * )

Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut,

2095 Hillside Road, Unit 1110,

Storrs, CT 06269, USA

e-mail: jennifer.bruening@uconn.edu

”

(Clarkberg and Moen 2001 , p. 1120). In college athletics, as

with other corporate settings, the concepts of work and

career trajectories have become institutionalized. For

instance, working excessive hours has commonly translated

into a sign of

’

changing preferences

M. A. Dixon

University of Texas,

Austin, TX, USA

commitment, productivity, and motivation

for advancement

(Clarkberg and Moen 2001 , p. 1116) and

rarely have employees been asked their preferences for their

”

Sex Roles (2008) 58:10

historical/social context, biography, relation-

ships, interplay between these factors, and most importantly

the role of administrators as life linkages. The results

suggest that it is insufficient for managers to view the

employee in isolation or to neglect the organizational

culture in athletics. Supervisor attention to this, while time

and effort-intensive, can impact employee well-being.

’

“

Sex Roles (2008) 58:10

–

111

work schedules. Additionally, the institutionalization of this

culture has established a barrier that limits employees from

expressing their preferences without being asked, as they

have perceived a risk to their career progress by doing so

(Golden 2001 ).

historically have been underrepresented in managerial roles

(Acosta and Carpenter 2006 ; Shaw and Frisby 2006 ),

placing them further in the minority. Consequently, since

workers in managerial roles tend to have more control over

both the number of hours worked and the scheduling of

those hours (Fagan 2001 ; Golden 2001 ), women have

found themselves less likely to be in control of their own

schedules. As

Work and Family: Realities and Complexities

has increased, howev-

er, even those women who have attained managerial

positions (e.g., head coaches), have found that increased

autonomy has also meant increased pressure to succeed and

increased hours in order to do so (Capelli et al. 1997 ; Fagan

2001 ; Hochschild 1997 ).

urthermore, women with full-time jobs and preschool-

aged children have been faced with negotiating child care

and, in some cases, additional domestic help (Sullivan

1997 ) in order to manage daily demands. Often, among these

mothers,

“

work-time intensity

”

A demanding organizational culture, or what scholars term

the

greedy workplace

”

(e.g., demanding of long hours,

see Bruening and Dixon

2007 ; Coser 1974 ; Dixon and Bruening 2007 ; Hochschild

1997 ; Nippert-Eng 1996 ) has, and continues to, character-

ize many sport environments. As a result, those who work

long hours (particularly when those hours are visible to

supervisors and co-workers) and travel constantly for

competition and recruiting have been viewed as ideal

workers. These work patterns have come to be seen as

“

face time;

”

child care arrangements are as important as job

requirements for working nonstandard [hours]

and expected in order to be successful.

Beyond the structural factors that affect the work

”

(Fenwick

and Tausig 2001 , p. 1182), whereas among men, the pre-

sence of children of any age has been shown to be of little

consequence in their ability to work nonstandard hours

(Presser 1995 ). Typically when mothers with young children

work evenings and weekends, such as in coaching, they have

relied on their partner/spouse to provide childcare (Fagan

1996 , 2001 ; Martin and Roberts 1984 ). As these families

have scheduled what amounts to shift work for childcare

(i.e., daytime care responsibility falls primarily to the

mother or paid childcare providers and evening/weekend

care falls to the father), the time couples and families

spend together has been greatly reduced in many cases.

The result has been that mothers and couples

”

family

experiences of employees highlighted above, previous

research specific to the sport context has also demonstrated

the role of individual factors on the experience of work and

family (Dixon and Bruening 2005 , 2007 ). The growing

trend of dual career couples and working single parents,

particularly those engaged in high-powered careers such as

sport, has resulted in a

–

”

(Becker and Moen 1999 , p. 995). Some have been

grounded in individual choices, such as scaling back work

commitments and/or career progression to reduce work

“

broad range of coping strategies

–

family coping strategies as gender roles and hegemonic

definitions have shaped and constrained choices. In fact,

researchers have explained that individual level behaviors

(e.g., stress and guilt) and choices (e.g., sacrificing family

time for work obligations or vice versa) have not solely

reflected micro level negotiations of working parents,

particularly mothers, but also interrelated macro level

socio-cultural and organizational realities influencing those

choices (Dixon and Bruening 2005 , 2007 ; Kanter 2006 ;

Kay 2003 ).

Following the assertion that socio-cultural and organiza-

tional factors shape and constrain individual behaviors,

Dixon and Bruening ( 2005 ) also argued that these factors

impact organizational behaviors, ultimately influencing

managerial perceptions of work and family and, as a result,

workplace diversity. Traditionally during the child bearing

years,

gain less

satisfaction from their own time away from employment

“

”

(Fagan 2001 , p. 1206) than they would if that time was

spent together or as a whole family. This lack of satis-

faction eventually impacts employees

well-being (Golden

2001 ) characterized by negative health outcomes (e.g.,

stress-related heart, gastrointestinal, and neurotic disor-

ders; Bohle and Tilley 1990 ;Coffeyetal. 1988 ;Costaet

al. 1989 ), increased work family conflict, decreased

marital satisfaction/happiness, and decreased family satis-

faction (Fenwick and Tausig 2001 ).

In summary, the combination of full-time employment

in a managerial role and attempting to raise young

children has placed certain women in unique positions.

These women have been impacted in both their career and

family lives

’

often facing stress, guilt, and other negative

health outcomes and sometimes facing marital difficulties,

career loss or both. They are confronted daily with the

individual, socio-cultural, and structural factors that have,

and continue to, affect their work and non-work decisions

(Dixon and Bruening 2005 )as

—

full-time employment has not been established as a

norm for mothers

“

(Fagan 2001 , p. 1209). As a result, those

who do work full-time and raise children have represented a

minority position in the workplace. Additonally, both in the

general workplace and in athletics specifically, women

”

gender differences remain

in working-time schedules and domestic responsibilities

“

”

“

excessive travel, and

“

normal

family conflict (Becker and Moen 1999 ).

Socio-cultural norms have also played out in work

Sex Roles (2008) 58:10

–

workplace culture has equated to

increased pressure to work excessive hours and/or travel

frequently. This pressure has made it difficult for women in

dual career relationships to survive, let alone compete in

male-dominated careers (Fagan 2001 ).

How, then, do managers approach employees who

represent the combination of being female, having a

demanding workload and maternal responsibilities? Very

little previous research has acknowledged the complexity, or

the tendency, of work and the management of work to be

“

traditional

”

(Featherman 1983 ;Moen 2001 ) as social change and

political events in addition to gender, age, social class, and

race/ethnicity affect individual pathways, or the choices

presented to individuals and their subsequent decisions

and outcomes. As such, transitions, or major turning

points in the life course (e.g., entry into school, becoming

a parent), and trajectories (e.g., educational trajectory,

career trajectory, family trajectory) have become central

concepts in life course theory (Elder 1985 , 1998a , b ). And

as transitions are

“

always part of social trajectories

”

(Elder

”

to other lives. Social networks whether through family,

school, or church, form the foundation of the life course as

“

linked

lives are lived interdependently, and social and historical

influences are expressed

messy, ambiguous, political, and fragmented

”

(Frisby 2005 ,

through the linkages of individ-

ual lives (Elder 1998a ,p.4).

In summary, life course theory examines

”

impacts of

existing (often outdated) institutional arrangements

“

(Sweet

and Moen 2006 , p. 190) and how employees and the

significant people in their lives cope with and maneuver

through the challenges of daily life have set the stage for

further investigation (Elder 1985 ;Moen 2003a , b ;Moenand

We th ingt on 1992 ). In particular, the findings of previous

studies have revealed how

”

asequenceof

socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts

over time (Giele and Elder 1998 , p. 22). The life course

paradigm (see Fig. 1 ) incorporates individuals

“

historical and

socio-cultural contexts, their social networks, and the life

choices, or transitions. The components of the paradigm

present themselves or are created, then intersect to form the

various trajectories of the life course (Giele and Elder 1998 ).

’

individual attitudes and behav-

iors reflect larger structural and social forces at work, not

simply individual choices

“

”

(Bruening and Dixon 2007 ).

Purpose of the Study and Research Questions

The Life Course Perspective

–

family conflict in sport, the current study expanded into

human development theory in order to examine the complex

gendered web of relationships operating within the lives of a

specific group of women in sport careers. In focusing on

Over time, scholars have struggled to develop a compre-

hensive theoretical framework through which to examine

the interactive and dynamic nature of human behavior

(Giele and Elder 1998 ; Hagestad and Newgarten 1985 ).

Eras of intense social change (e.g., The Women

“

the

s Libera-

tion Movement, the Civil Rights movement, the Title IX

era)

’

(Moen

2001 , p. 97) of individuals, the current study is framed in the

career and life trajectories (Moen 2001 )orthe

”

seemed especially consequential in altering the life

course of individuals and age groups

“

threads of

(Elder 1985 , p. 23).

Yet researchers traditionally utilized methods analyzing the

social situation or impact of environment on the individual

(Bronfenbrenner 1979 ) or focusing on groups or individuals

over extended periods of time or life histories without

successfully integrating the two. As life course theory and

research gradually evolved, a shift toward investigations

built on the model that

”

(Moen 2001 , p. 105) the participants follow as

they progress along their life course pathways. In doing so,

”

Historical and

Socio-Cultural

Contexts

”

(Giele and Elder 1998 , p. 8) occurred. This shift highlighted

the ways in which socio-cultural and organizational level

elements affected individual choices and pathways, as well

as the ways in which individuals responded to socio-

cultural and organizational expectations with either confor-

mity or resistence (Giele and Elder 1998 ).

Life course theory, then, has come to reflect

“

life course change is bidirectional

Transitions/

Turning Points

Human Agency

Linked Lives

how

society gives social and personal meanings to the passing

of biographical time

“

Trajectories

of the

Life Course

(Hagestad 1990 , p.153). Historical

and socio-cultural contexts have influenced this time

”

Fig. 1 Life course model (adapted from Giele and Elder 1998 ).

(Fagan 2001 , p. 1208). So potentially, promoting the

managerial presence of women who have young children

can add to the diversity of the workplace, and even begin to

reshape gender relations (Shaw and Frisby 2006 ). In reality,

the current

1998a , p. 1), so are all aspects of the life course

p. 5). In addition, the attention paid to the

Based in the somewhat limited investigation into work

ways that gender shapes the choices and life chances

continuity

Sex Roles (2008) 58:10

–

113

(Claussen 1995 , 1998 )within

the lives of the participants such as career choices,

relationship milestones, and the arrival of children while

acknowledging the role of human agency (Elder 1985 )inthe

decisions the participants have made at these critical

junctures. Embedded in these transitions are relational

contexts (Moen 2001 ; Sweet and Moen 2006 )orthoseto

whom the participants have

“

turning points

”

Rather than placing emphasis on organizational effi-

ciency and effectiveness, this inquiry makes a significant

contribution to the literature by examining the lives of

the coaches themselves and how complex, gendered

evaluations impact the lives of individuals in the sport

industry (Shaw and Frisby 2006 ). Such discussion can aid

in understanding how individuals who do not

’

with workplace norms and structures face sizeable

obstacles in gaining full access to the sport workplace

(Frisby 2005 ).

‘

comply

(Elder 1998a , b ).

Specifically, the current study focuses on the following

research questions, while acknowledging that all operate

within a gendered context:

“

linked lives

”

Method

1. What objective and subjective evaluations by both the

participants and others to whom their lives are linked

(e.g., family of origin, spouse/partner, employers) deter-

mine the trajectories of the lives of the participants?

2. How did

Participants

“

turning points

”

redirect the participants and

The participants in the current study (see Table 1 for a

summary) were 17 NCAA Division I head coaches who

were also mothers. They represented the sports of rowing,

volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, basketball, and gymnas-

tics and hailed from multiple geographic regions. As we

sought to examine the experiences of women who had

their life courses?

3. How did these turning points highlight the gendered

nature of the sport context?

Table 1 Biographical and social context of division I coaching mothers.

Pseudonym Sport

Age Years as

head coach

Spouse/partner

occupation

Marital

status

Ages of

children

Fathers ’

occupation

Mothers ’

occupation

Casey

Lacrosse

Sport management Married

Mathematician Stay-at-home

mom

Karen

Basketball 37

Finance

Married

6, 4,

16 months

Trolley Driver Stay-at-home

mom

Melanie Gymnastics 37

Higher education Married

2, 6 months Engineer

Hairstylist

Margaret Volleyball

Real estate

Married

Construction Nurse

Darlene

Tennis

College athletics Married

4, 2

Scientist

Real estate

Danielle

Soccer

Real estate

Separated 4, 21 months Carpenter

Optician

Karla

Volleyball

Engineering

Married

7, 6, 4, 2

Labor

negotiator

Teacher

Andrea

Soccer

College Athletics Married

Computer

analyst

Nurse

Nikki

Volleyball

College athletics Married

8, 5

Real estate

Stay-at-home

mom

Jane

Basketball 39

Higher education Married

10, 5

Pilot

Travel agent

Jaden

Softball

Stay at home

Partnered 2

Sales manager School clerk

Jessica

Volleyball

College athletics Married

4, 2

Consultant

Nurse

Denise

Soccer

College athletics Married

3.5

Purchasing

Personal

business

Desiree

Softball

College athletics Married

3.5

Professional

Stay-at-home

mom

Susan

Rowing

College athletics Married

2, 4 months Not given

Stacy

Soccer

Professional

Divorced 4, 2, 2

FBI agent

Stay-at-home

mom

Sarah

Volleyball

College athletics Married

4, 1

Coach

Teacher

this investigation positions the lives of the participants in

context within their biographies, which include gender, age,

culture, and historical/social influences. Next we focus on

transitions or

Sex Roles (2008) 58:10

–

grown up as athletes in the Title IX era, our criteria specified

participants should be 40 years of age and younger. The

women in the study were at most 8 years old when Title IX

was first passed in 1972, so their formal or organized athletic

involvement had spanned the entire life of the statute.

Division I head coaches were selected to focus on a group

of women who would be under particular pressure to

succeed in the workplace and have high expectations placed

on them professionally.

Participants were identified via snowball sampling. Initial

contacts were made through the authors

key decision points in career and family lives for both

partners. Next, they were asked to detail their individual,

work, and other factors that they thought impacted their

work and family lives.

While all questions were covered in each interview,

following a semi-structured approach, not all were neces-

sarily asked in the same order and participants could stray

from the format to explore areas that were of interest and

importance to them. Probes such as,

“

How did that make

How did your spouse/partner, children, or

athletic director respond to that?

”

,or

“

personal networks

and then those women identified others who fit the criteria

for the study. Potential participants were then informed of the

study via email. Upon a response from the potential

participants indicating interest in taking part in the study,

the researchers telephoned the women to explain the study in

further detail and make formal consent and interview

arrangements.

’

”

,or

“

Where did that

were particularly helpful for eliciting

rich information from the participants especially as they

described key decisions and turning points. Interestingly,

the participants often stated that they had never given much

thought to how their decisions impacted other decisions, yet

in explaining them, they could easily trace one event

”

linkages to another. This is certainly consistent with a life

course perspective (Sweet and Moen 2006 ), and also served

to increase the participants

’

Interviews

interest and investment in the

project as some began a post hoc analysis of their life

decisions.

The conversations were digitally recorded and each

interviewer also took detailed field notes. The interviews

and accompanying notes were then professionally tran-

scribed. Using a transcriber who was not a part of the

interview process assisted the researchers in assessing what

was actually said, not what they inferred from the

conversation (Neuman 2000 ). Following transcription, the

participants were given the opportunity to check their

interview document for accuracy of recording and meaning

(Altheide and Johnson 1994 ; Neuman 2000 ).

’

s campus or at a neutral site (e.g.,

coaching convention) and lasted from 45 min to 2 h. The

interviews followed a semi-structured format, allowing for

a more balanced exchange between the researcher and

respondent (Neuman 2000 ) where the participants could

express information in their own terms, not in ones imposed

by the researchers. The researchers divided the interview

administration based on their geographic proximity to the

participant. One researcher conducted ten interviews, the

other seven. Prior to each interview, the researchers

discussed the interview guide and research questions to

assure they were conducting the interviews in similar

manners. Following each interview, the researchers again

discussed the course of the interview to debrief the other.

This communication throughout the data collection phase

served to connect the researchers, helped align their

interviewing styles, and revealed any trends in the

collection process as well as with emerging themes.

Questions followed an interview guide (see Appendix A )

that was developed from previous literature in the areas of

life course theory (Sweet and Moen 2006 ) and work

’

Data Analysis

Once the member check process was completed, the data

were coded using an open-coding process (Altheide and

Johnson 1994 ). Using open-coding,

“

(Neuman

2000 , p. 421). Both researchers participated in this process

by using two interview transcriptions as test cases. We

independently coded each transcription, and next composed

a collective master coding scheme based on what each of us

had test-coded. After discussion, we agreed upon which

themes could be condensed, which needed to be expanded,

and finally definitions for each theme. In this study, most of

the themes utilized were derived from the existing

literature, with allowance for flexibility and openness to

other potential themes (LeCompte and Preissle 1993 ;

Neuman 2000 ). For example, the themes of

”

family

conflict (e.g., Allen et al. 2000 ; Dixon and Bruening 2005 ,

2007 ; Dixon and Sagas 2007 ; Netemeyer et al. 1996 ), and

gender studies in sport (Inglis et al. 2000 ; Knoppers 1992 ;

Shaw and Frisby 2006 ). Participants were first asked a

range of biographical/social context questions including

tracing their own and their family of origin

–

s involvement

with sport and their own career progression. The women

were then asked to trace their spouse

’

“

career

s career progression

and their relationship/family progression, while identifying

’

trajectory,

sibling and parent sport involvement

”

(i.e.,

biographical context), and

“

administrator support/life link-

you feel?

decision lead you?

The coaching mothers gave voluntary consent to participate

in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The interviews took

place on the participant

the researcher locates

themes and assigns initial codes or labels in a first attempt

to condense the mass of data into categories

”“

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