Can Organisations Respond to the Role Overload in Dual‐Earner Families?

The interaction of work and household responsibilities in dual‐career families is described. If married, the woman manager almost always faces the traditional demands placed on women by husband and family. The notion of “role overload” is developed but it is stressed that this need not mean that a woman′s productivity on the job suffers. Organisations need to recognise that women′s work patterns differ from men′s and should evaluate quality of work, not necessarily the number of hours on the job. By understanding the demands women face and by providing women the flexibility needed to deal with them, both the quality of working life for women and their contributions to the firm can be enhanced.