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On the Way to Life-Domains Balance: Success Factors and Obstacles

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A Young Generation Under Pressure?

Abstract

A certain phenomenon appeared in political as well as scientific discussions in the last decade – the so-called “rush hour of life” (Bittman and Wajcman 2000). It is defined as “a certain stage of life, from the mid-twenties until the late thirties of age, when persons of both sexes who just have completed their education enter the labor market as well as start a family and thereby have to deal with both job/career demands and family/private demands at the same time” (Lothaller 2008, p. 4, translated by the author). In other words, two big life domains, namely occupation and family, are launched and become important at the same time for these persons rather than one after the other. This is because the starting age for both domains rises (e.g., due to higher and thereby longer education, people living longer at their parents’ home, insecurity at the labor market at the beginning of occupation), yet the age to complete said domain does not, since missed chances do not come back (cf. Bailyn 1977; Blossfeld 2008; Chauvel 2008; Klammer 2008; and Perrig-Chiello 2008). As a corollary to this, many seem to face overwhelming demands from apparently conflicting life domains.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Abbreviation: “WHI” for “work-home interference” (i.e., job-to-family conflict)

  2. 2.

    Abbreviation: “WIF” for “work interference with family” (i.e., job-to-family conflict)

  3. 3.

    Abbreviations: “WIF” for “work interference with family” (i.e., job-to-family conflict) and “FIW” for “family interference with work” (i.e., family-to-job conflict)

  4. 4.

    Data were collected as part of the European research project Family life and professional work: Conflict and synergy (“FamWork”, European Commission, Project No. SERD-2002). Further information available from www.eu-project-famwork.org. Results are presented shortly, details are available from the author on request. Outcome variables in hierarchical regression analyzes were job-to-family conflicts and family-to-job conflicts only.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2/III, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Harald Lothaller

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  1. Harald Lothaller
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  1. Generationen (SRzG), Stiftung für die Rechte zukünftiger, Ludwig-Erhard-Str. 16a, Oberursel, 61440, Germany

    Joerg Tremmel

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Lothaller, H. (2010). On the Way to Life-Domains Balance: Success Factors and Obstacles. In: Tremmel, J. (eds) A Young Generation Under Pressure?. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03483-1_6

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