How was your day? It's more than just a greeting: communication about work in dual-career marriages

Date

2004-05

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how dual-career married couples describe and experience communication about work. Communication about work in the marital relationship has direct implications on the quality of marital interactions in dual-career couples. While there were data that support work influences on marital interactions m dual-career marriages (Burke & Weir, 1976; Moore, 1980; Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976; Krueger, 1985), there was little evidence that described communication about work in dual-career marriages. Through the use of m-depth interviews, this study not only allows for a greater understanding of communication about work in dual-career couples, but also affords a greater understanding of marital interactions in general, as they influence two very large spheres of interactions, work and family. The findings revealed the categories of features and functions of communication about work which led to the emergence of multiple subcategories and themes. From the findings, five lessons regarding communication about work were derived which revealed the power and intricacies of work talk in dual-career marriages.

Description

Keywords

Husband and wife, Dual-career families, Work and family, Sex role, Married people -- Employment

Citation