• Human Ecology Research
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.497-511
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• 2013

This study aimed to examine Korean men's experiences of work-family balance in dual income families with children under six years of age. We focused on identifying the difficulty of balancing work and family considering their individual, social, and cultural conditions. The method was a qualitative study involving two in-depth interviews with each of 12 men, and analyzing the data through the grounded theory approach. From the results, a model of men's work-family experience was constructed. It demonstrates the central phenomena (difficulties of balancing), the causal conditions (lacking time for family, seeking support from the employer, and learning husband's roles insufficiently), the contextual conditions (remaining paternalism and changing husband's roles), the intervening conditions (workplace, childcare support, and wife characteristics), and strategies (help from relatives, utilizing daycare centers, controlling birth, managing work conditions, and using family polices). We clarify the overall picture of working and family life experiences, and also show how men deal with their problems in their circumstances by balancing working and family life. In conclusion, males have difficulty participating in family life autonomously because of having less decision-making power than the wife. Moreover, the great responsibilities of the breadwinner disturb the work-family balance. Men devote themselves to working to hold a job instead of spending time with their family. However, they ultimately value work-family balance with respect to 'keeping a peaceful family life'.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.145-164
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• 2013

This study analyzed qualitative data to examine the attitude toward the conditions of and the barriers to the work- family balance among unmarried workers. The data was drawn from 5 focus groups consisting of 4 workers each. The 20 participants, aged 21 through 38, were interviewed in mini groups composed of 2 male workers and 2 female workers each. The research depicts four main themes about their work-family balance: the image of a dual-earner family, women's market labor, housework, and the ideal conditions of a dual-earner family. This research concluded that unmarried workers desperately want to be part of a dual earning family for economic survival. However, they also know that it would be very difficult to make ends meet and to live as dual-earner families because of the lack of a proper social support system. However, most of them believe that they must solve these problems on their own, and they do not expect to receive help from systematic public policies. They think that they should find solutions by rearranging the role divisions between the husband and the wife or by asking for help from their parents or other relatives. The only assistance they expect from the government are reliable child care facilities and governmental incentives to promote stimulate the family-friendly workplace.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.75-98
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• 2016

This study examines the work-life balance designing of new employees using qualitative research. Eight new employees at foreign IT companies in Korea were interviewed in two groups composed of two male workers and two female workers. The research determined two main themes and seven sub-themes related to the participants work-life balance using theme analysis. The first main theme was 'working conditions' which had sub-themes, 'performance-based system in foreign IT companies', 'flexible working conditions', 'family-friendly company culture', and 'positive evaluation of the company'. The second main theme was 'work-life balance' which included the sub-themes, 'changing priority during transitional periods of life', 'work-family balance designing as a family unit', and 'difficulties balancing between work and family'. The results revealed that workers prospected that flexible working condition might solve the demands of the child-rearing period and that work-family balance was determined as a family unit. Additionally, there were gender differences in the relationships between working conditions and work-life balance.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.622-631
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• 2021

This study was conducted to verify the effects of individual psychological capital, spousal support, and organization's family-friendly work culture on work-life balance in social workers. For this purpose, married social workers working in social welfare facilities in Chungcheongbuk-do were surveyed, and 331 collected responses were used in the analysis. Multiple regression analysis revealed that resilience and optimism in individual psychological capital, spousal support, and expectations on working hours in organizations' family-friendly work culture were significantly associated with the work-life balance. In addition, there were different factors influencing the level of work-life balance according to gender and age. The findings suggest that efforts to enhance awareness and improve working conditions, such as the development of self-care program, education on the necessity of work-life balance, and implementation of work-life balancing system, are needed to improve the work-life balance of social workers.