Entrepreneurship and the intersection of work, leisure, and family

The purpose of this study was to critically examine the experience of entrepreneurship for women and men in home-based businesses, and in particular to explore how these entrepreneurs manage and negotiate the competing life spheres of work, family, and leisure. The study examined the values assigned to work, family and leisure, the extent to which conflicts were experienced between life spheres, and whether the entrepreneurs were able to achieve a sense of balance in their lives. Particular attention was paid to the role of gender and gender relations in determining the daily life experiences of the entrepreneurs.; A feminist qualitative methodology was utilized to gather data from 13 entrepreneurs (7 men and 6 women) who owned home-based businesses located in St. John's and Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador. Nine of the businesses were sole-proprietorships and two were partnerships (owned and operated jointly by both spouses), as well, all of the businesses had been in operation for at least two years. The majority of the entrepreneurs were married (n = 11) and six of the families had young children living in the household. The other two entrepreneurs were single (with one living with an opposite sex partner and the other recently divorced). In-depth interviews were conducted with the entrepreneurs and with five of their life partners. The interviews focused on the daily life experiences of the entrepreneurs, including the time spent on work, family and leisure, as well as the kinds of activities involved, and the experiences and valuations of each life sphere. In addition, reasons for moving into entrepreneurial work were explored. The life partners were asked about their experiences of living with an entrepreneur and about family and leisure activities. The data were analyzed qualitatively, using the constant comparison method, and the Q.S.R.*N.U.D.ist. software programme to search for emergent themes. Validation interviews were conducted, both with the entrepreneurs and with the life partners, to test these emergent themes.; Overall, it was evident that entrepreneurial work does not provide easy solutions to quality of life concerns for employed people. While this form of employment does have some advantages (e.g., greater ability to combine work and family for women, a larger potential income), it also has many disadvantages (e.g., leisure constraints, lack of freedom), and continues to reinforce traditional ideologies of gender. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...