ABSTRACT

In a neoliberal socio-political climate, there is increased pressure at work as well as greater expectations regarding the performance of non-work roles. These factors compound the challenge of coping with interrole conflict. In more economically developed countries, work-life balance is a term that has come to dominate the conceptualization of interrole conflict negotiation within public discourse. The manner in which this term has been adopted within the context of neoliberal ideology has shifted the responsibility for managing interrole conflict from the organizational and policy (macro) level to the individual (micro) level. This process has resulted in a maladaptive situation in which the individual seeks to independently regulate conflicting role demands with problem-focused coping strategies that are largely inspired by performance management techniques of the workplace. In response to this situation, it is first necessary to examine the implicit assumptions held within the public’s understanding of the work-life balance concept and to assess how these assumptions shape the strategies taken up by the individual to cope with interrole conflict. Secondly, there is a need to develop coping strategies that are better adapted to address personal objectives. Alternative models issued from occupational science research, such as occupational balance, lifestyle balance, or life balance, may be better suited to understand and address interrole conflict negotiation on an individual level.

摘要

在新自由主义的社会政治氛围中，工作压力越来越大，对非工作角色的表现的期望也越来越高。这些因素加剧了应对角色间冲突的挑战。在经济更发达的国家，工作与生活的平衡是一个在公共话语中主导角色间冲突谈判概念化的术语。在新自由主义意识形态背景下采用该术语的方式已将管理角色间冲突的责任从组织和政策（宏观）层面转移到个人（微观）层面。这个过程导致了一种适应不良的情况，在这种情况下，个人试图通过以问题为中心的应对策略来独立调节相互冲突的角色需求，这些策略主要受到工作场所绩效管理技术的启发。针对这种情况，首先有必要检查公众对工作与生活平衡概念的理解中隐含的假设，并评估这些假设如何影响个人为应对角色间冲突而采取的策略。其次，需要制定更适合实现个人目标的应对策略。来自休闲科学研究的替代模型，如休闲平衡、生活方式平衡或生活平衡，可能更适合理解和解决个人层面的角色间冲突谈判。