• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to compared the length of working hours and its effects on family life for Korean and Japanese full-time working couples. For this study, the survey used structured questionnaires and time diaries(one weekday and holiday), and the data were collected in the fall of 1995. A subsample of full-time working couples, 82 couples from Seoul and 79 couples from Tokyo, was used for the purpose of this study. The major findings are as follows; 1) On average, the weekday working hours of Korean husbands were longer than Japanese husbands(11 hours 31 minute, 10 hours 52 minutes a day, respectively). Wives in both countries worked almost identical lengths of time (9 hours 2 minutes in Korea and 8 hours 42 minutes in Japan). Working hours of husbands were longer than those of wives in both countries. Husbands' overtime. Almost (90%) of our Korea sample worked 6 days or 5 1/2 days per week, however the majority (69%) of our Japanese sample worked only 5 days per eek. 2) More Korean husbands and wives reported that their family life was constrained by wives working hours than their Japanese counterparts did. 3) All wives in both countries reported that the husbands long working hours has effects on quality family time. Korean wives perceived that their working hours had effects on time spent on child care, however Japanese wives perceived that their working hours affected their personal time and housework time. Korean husbands agreed with their wives working hours negatively affected their personal leisure time. Japanese husbands reported that their working hours negatively affected their sleeping time.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.253-274
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• 2008

The link between work life and family life is an essential subject matter in understanding the lives of dual-earner couples. Concepts of spillover and crossover explain the link between work and family. The present study examines both the positive and negative aspects in these processes. The data come from the Sloan Working Families Study conducted by the Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work and NORC at the University of Chicago. The Experience Sampling Method employed explores directly the daily life experiences of the participants. The data were analysed using t-test. Both spillover and crossover were found in the lives of dual-earner couples in this study. Men and women brought happy emotions at work to home, but the data provide limited support for spillover of negative emotions. Gender differences were more apparent in examining the process of crossover. Men appear responsive to the positive and negative emotional experiences their spouse brought home while women were found not to be responsive to their spouses' positive emotional experiences at work. Furthermore, the analysis revealed an interesting trend concerning the emotions of working couples in that they generally seem to recover to their average level of emotions once home. This suggests that home can be a respite from strong emotions, a comforting place. By looking closely into the emotions experienced by working parents in their daily lives, this study adds contextual understanding concerning the link between work and family life. The findings on the effects of positive experiences at work invite social work practitioners and researchers to further investigate the phenomena of spillover and crossover processed in greater detail, taking into account this contextual aspect of family life as well as the work life of dual-earner couples.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.145-162
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to compare time use pattern of Korean working couples with those of Japanese counterparts. The data for240 Korean couples living in Seoul and 162 Japanese couples living in Tokyo were collected using structured questionnaire and time diary. The time use patterns of couples were analyzed according to employed status of wives. The results were as follows. The similar time use patterns were found between couples of two country. However the amount of time allocated for daily activities was found to be somewhat different. The amount of time spent by husbands on paid and house work was found to be different according to their wives employment status. The orean husbands of full-time employed wives and the Japanese husbands of part time employed wives spent the longest time on paid work. The Japanese husbands of full-time employed wives spent much more time on housework than those of Korean counterparts did. The social-cultural time of Korean couples was enerally longer than that of Japanese couples. The Korean couples spent more time on watching TV whereas the Japanese couples used more time doing family activities hobbies and moving for social-cultural activities.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.147-159
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• 1998

Given the dramatic increase in the percentage of married women working in clercial occupations and the inflexibility of work commitments for employees working in this domain, this paper investigates the division of household labor between married female clerical workers and their husbands, and their sources of external help. The total housework time of couples, the percent of total housework done by husbands, and a scale measuring the wife’s perception of the frequency with which her husband does specific household tasks are all used to measure the division of household labor between couples. Data for 143 couples were gathered from using structured questionares and the time dairies that included one weekday and one weekend day. The findings of this study are as follows; 1) The couples receive substantial support in housework from their mothers. 2) Wives spend an average of 23 hours and 26 minutes per week on household labor, whereas husbands spend an average 7 hours and 7 minutes per week. Husbands do an average of 20.9% of all housework done by the couples. Wives typically perceive that their husbands are not frequently participating in a variety of household tasks(mean = 2.88 on a 5-point Likert scale where 1=never and 5=always). 3) Multivariate analysis reveal that working hours is negatively related to while the presence of child under 6 years old is positively related to total housework. Time availability variables(e.g. working hours and the presence of child under 6 years old) and relative resource variables(e.g. the rate of wife’s income on that of husband) are related to the percent of total housework done by husbands. The sex-role attitude variables are related to the wife’s perceptions of the frequency with which her husband does specific household tasks.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.201-212
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• 2003

This study analyzed the objective indicators of household economic structures, such as income, expenditure, and debts, as well as a subjective evaluation of economic standards, and compared the households of commuting couples (so called Weekend couples) with those of non-commuting couples. Findings of this study are as follows. First, both husbands and wives in commuter marriages had a higher level of education, were younger, had poorer health, and had shorter working hours than the couples in non-commuter marriages. Second, commuting couples had a significantly higher income than non-commuting couples. In addition, commuting couples had a greater amount of savings, had a higher cost of living, and lower debts than non-commuting couples. Third, commuting couples evaluated their status of household economy more negatively than non-commuting couples. Despite the fact that the commuting couples were more affluent in terms of the objective indicators, including income, savings, and assets, their level of health and psychological well-being were compromised. Lastly, factors determining commuter marriages were the number of years the husband has spent in his job, and the husband's level of education. The shorter the tenure of the husband's job, and the higher the level of husband's education, the more likely the couple was in a commuter marriage.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.355-370
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of work-family compatibility in the everyday experiences of dual-earner families. By comprehensively describing how dual-earner families manage daily life, this study shows their current situations. In particular, this study overcomes the limitations of previous studies using the phenomenological research methods. Previous studies partially dealt with the problems of dual-earner couples, such as the role conflict of wives and husbands. However, this study broadly demonstrates how wives and husbands as independent individuals manage their lives by working together for a living. Participants were 6 males and 6 females, who lived in Gwangju metropolitan city. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using the method of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen in Moustakas (1994). The results of this study display that dual-earner couples work for a living, but work is the driving force in their life. Family provides dual-earner couples with a stable life, but their stable life is possible by social support like the assistance of a mother-in-law. Dual-earner couples consider work and family as the essential axis of life, thus they give the same value on work and family. Even though dual-earner couples have a difficult time educating their children because of long working hours and coming home late, they positively combine work and family meeting the needs of self-improvement. Therefore, it is necessary to create a working environment that provides enough time for housework and childcare.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.81-103
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• 2005

The main purpose of the research was to prove, in a practical sense, the relationship among perceived equity, role stress and life satisfaction of employed wives working in sales departments. The subjects were employed wives working in sales departments who have at least one child and a spouse, living in Seoul and the Metropolitan area. The final data analysis used 487 out of 668 questionnaires. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS/PC WIN which included frequencies, mean, percentages, Pearson's correlation, Cronbach's ${\alpha}$, factor analysis, multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study were as follows: 1) As their education level was low, the education level of their spouse was high, the communication level between couples was high, and the self-oriented perfectionism was low, their perceived emotional relationship was equal. As they were old, the communication level between couples was high, and the self-oriented perfectionism was low, their perceived position in sharing household chores was equal. On the other hand, as they were younger, the education level of their spouse was high, the reason for getting a job lay in supporting the family, and overtime hours worked, there was a higher level of role stress. 2) The influential variables which affect the life satisfaction, in order of importance, were communication level between couples, mother's role stress, age, non-financial reason of getting a job, and sharing household works. For relative contribution degree about life satisfaction, psychological variables among independent variables were revealed as the most influential ones. Thus, efficient communication between couples affected the life satisfaction to a great degree. Furthermore, the study proved that not only role stress variables but also perceived equity variables contributed to the life satisfaction.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.213-220
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• 2003

In this study, I analyzed dual-career commuting couples time use. Concretely, this study compared the husband with the wife on the becoming a commuter family, the living apart on weekdays. And it examined time use on weekdays and weekends by the time amount of each activities and the ratio of actor on each hour. The survey participants included 131 married people who were dual-career commuting couple and who were maintained separate residence and work place. The major findings are as follows: First, weekday separation of the dual-career commuting couples is largely due to career. This kind separation is mostly due to sociostructural labor market factor and individual factor to increasing working women. Second, 94.6%(53) of male participants were resident living apart from their family on weekdays. Third, the most wives mentioned some kind of emotional liberation such as freedom on weekdays. Finally, there was gender difference in the time spent on each activities when dual-career commuting couples are living together and they are apart. Especially the most gender difference on weekdays is household work time and leisure time.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.33-60
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• 2018

This research was conducted to identify factors that affect work-life balance and happiness among married working couples with a double income. To this end, a survey was administered to 260 married working couples in the Seoul metropolitan region. The analysis of the survey responses using the SPSS (Ver. 21) program yielded several important results. First, the variables that significantly affected work-family balance included the number of family dinners eaten together, meaning of life, efforts to strike a work-life balance, and the availability of social institutions and policies that promote work-life balance. Variables that significantly affected work-leisure balance included meaning of life, number of family dinners eaten together, gender, and the availability of social institutions and policies that promote work-leisure balance. As for work-growth balance, significant variables included meaning of life, communication with colleagues, income, and meaning of work. Finally, variables that significantly affected happiness included meaning of life, income, communication with colleagues, and work-growth balance. Based on these results, follow-up research needs to be conducted on various groups to help determine the factors that will ensure their work-life balance and happiness.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.25-42
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of wives' economic contributions and sex-role attitudes on couples' decision-making for use in family education and to improve stable couple relationships. This study targeted 286 married women who have a child or children. The main results of this study indicate that almost half of the participants showed that their couple decision-making, economic resource contributions and sex-role attitudes were husband-dominated. Additionally, the participants' most modern sex-role attitudes were toward gender stereotypes, though the most conservative attitudes were toward women and men's household lives. The variables that distinguished between husband-dominated and equality couples were age, education level, spouse's average income and resource evaluation; related, age, education level, spouse's average income, contribution toward household management and the occupational life of the woman were the variables that distinguished between husband-dominated and wife-dominated couples. This study also revealed the variables that affect couples' decision- making, demonstrating the necessity of considering several variables in the approach to the decision-making process of individual couples.