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When Work Is Home: Agency, Structure, and Contradictions

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: butlermodaff{at}gmail.com.

	Abstract

The authors describe the work experiences of in-home day care providers, particularly their relationships with the parents of the children for whom they care throughout the day. The authors identify two unintended consequences of the providers’ organizing structures and policies: feelings of stress and underappreciation in potential interactions. Ironically, the providers also instituted these same structures and policies to stay home with their own children and meet their own financial needs. This double bind of agency and constraint produced stress, which in turn compromised their interactions with their family and friends. Findings highlight the difficulties involved in managing work and family from a home-based business and draw particular attention to the relational challenges faced by the providers.

First published on August 21, 2008, doi:10.1177/0893318908323151

Management Communication Quarterly 2008;22:232.

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2008


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