The image of the family among males and females in managerial positions

Abstract

The transformation of the traditional family with its clearly defined role positions led to the recognition of the right of individuals to experiment in their personal lives, the right to self-realization, and the right to an individual life strategy. Career success has an ambiguous and uncertain impact on marital relations, which requires not only the development of strategies and tactics of a supportive relationship by psychologists, but also a thorough theoretical and empirical study. Our study investigates the image of the family among males and females in managerial positions. The sample included 30 men and 30 women with a high professional status. The following methods were used to collect empirical data: The Distribution of Roles in the Family and Satisfaction with Family Relationships Questionnaire developed by one of the and The Nature of Interaction Between Spouses in a Conflict Situation Test. The following processing methods were used: Student’s t-test to determine the statistical significance of differences in mean values, and factor analysis. All calculations were made using the Statistica software package (version 10). The results show that the image of the family is different in males and females in managerial positions: in the families where the woman has a managerial position, she does most of the housework, while in the families where the man has a managerial position, family responsibilities are distributed mostly equally. Women managers are more prone to conflict behavior in the family and have more complaints about their life partners than men managers, but still accept their husbands’ values. In general, managers of both genders characterize their marriages as successful and are satisfied with family relationships, which can characterize both women managers and men managers as individuals who are successful in their family life. The differences in the family image between men and women managers is explained by the difference in the variables characterizing the distribution of roles in the family, satisfaction with family relationships, and conflict in the family.