Working women – reconciling business and family responsibilities

Identitet pojedinca definiraju dvije temeljne životne sfere, a to su obitelj i rad. Unutar njih svaka žena preuzima niz različitih uloga koje se međusobno preklapaju i utječu jedna na drugu, što može dovesti do nemogućnosti usklađivanja obaveza. Ulaskom žena na tržište rada povećava se broj obitelji u kojima su oba partnera zaposlena i pridonose financijskoj stabilnosti. Usprkos tome, uključenost u obiteljske obaveze i posvećenost obitelji nije jednaka kod žena i muškaraca. Temeljna svrha rada je staviti u fokus poziciju žene kao zaposlene majke i kroz empirijsko istraživanje ispitati njena iskustva vezana uz usklađivanje obiteljskih, odnosno privatnih i poslovnih obaveza. Korištena je kvalitativna metodologija u sklopu koje je provedeno pet polustrukturiranih intervjua s ciljem dubljeg ulaska u istraživanu temu. Dobiveni istraživački rezultati ukazuju na to da sugovornice i poslovnu i obiteljsku sferu smatraju važnima, ali većinu svog vremena odvajaju za obitelj i brigu o djeci i kućanstvu, često stavljajući sebe na posljednje mjesto. Svo svoje slobodno vrijeme posvećuju obitelji, ali imaju jako malo vremena koje mogu posvetiti sebi. Općenito, može se uvidjeti da su sugovornice, kao zaposlene majke, u teškom položaju koji od njih zahtjeva usklađivanje dvaju važnih životnih područja.The identity of an individual is defined by two basic life spheres, family and work. Within them, each woman takes on a number of different roles that overlap and affect one another, which may make it impossible to coordinate responsibilities. The entry of women into the labour market increases the number of families in which both partners are employed and they contribute financially to the family. Despite this, involvement in family responsibilities and family commitment is not the same for women and men. The basic purpose of the paper is to focus on the position of a woman as a working mother and to examine her experiences related to reconciling family and business obligations through empirical research. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted as a part of the qualitative methodology and the main aim was to get deeper into the research topic. The research findings suggest that the interlocutors consider both the business and family spheres important, but they devote most of their time to family and household care, often putting themselves in the last place. They dedicate all their free time to family, but have very little time that they can devote to themselves. In general, it can be concluded that the interlocutors, as employed mothers, are in a difficult position that requires them to harmonize two important areas of life