Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T00:40:37.472Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Snakes and Ladders: Relocation and the Dual Career Couple

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Jennifer Pierce  and
Brian L. Delahaye
Jennifer Pierce
Affiliation:
School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Australia, 4001
Brian L. Delahaye
Affiliation:
Adult and Workplace Education, Queensland University of Technology, Locked Bag No 2, Red Hill, Australia, 4059
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The dual career couple is a contemporary and growing phenomenon in western industrialised nations. There are numerous human resource management issues associated with the dual career couple. The focus of this paper is on just one of these issues — employee relocation. The research reported here found that dual career employees are concerned about their partner's career prospects and unless current career levels can be maintained for the trailing partner, organisations may experience relocation resistance. Of specific interest in the Australian context is that organisations with operations in country areas may be particularly affected, since country areas are less likely to offer desirable career opportunities for trailing partners. Further, organisational mobility expectations frequently force couples to decide which partner's career will take precedence. Historically it has been the male partner's career, even in dual career relationships. The findings from this study suggest that such decisions are becoming more complex, with couples placing greater emphasis on economic and quality of life concerns. Traditionally, organisations have relied on employee mobility as a career development strategy. However, greater emphasis on long-term human resource planning is advocated to facilitate career development strategies which are less reliant on geographical relocation. Further, if organisations are to retain their dual career employees, relocation assistance packages may need re-assessment to reflect the needs of those employees who are unwilling to sacrifice their partners' careers for the sake of their own.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , March 1996 , pp. 1 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adie, JA & Carmody, HI (1991) Families at Work. Practical Examples from 140 Businesses Melbourne: Council for Equal Opportunity in EmploymentGoogle Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1991) Census of Population and Housing Catalogue No. 2722.0 Canberra: AGPSGoogle Scholar
Babbie, E (1989) The Practice of Social Research 5th Ed Belmont, California: WadsworthGoogle Scholar
Bruce, W & Blackburn, JW (1992) Balancing Job Satisfaction and Performance. A Guide for Human Resource Professionals Westport, Connecticut: QuorumGoogle Scholar
Bruce, WM & Reed, CM (1991) Dual-Career Couples in the Public Sector New York: QuorumGoogle Scholar
Carmody, H (1989) Work and Family Paper presented to the Australian Family Research Conference, Ballarat AustraliaGoogle Scholar
Coe, T & Stark, A (1991) On the Move: Manager Mobility in the 1990's London: British Institute of ManagementGoogle Scholar
Cooper, CL & Lewis, S (1993) The Workplace Revolution: Managing Today's Dual Career Families London: Kogan PageGoogle Scholar
Courier Mail Family Incomes on Rise 4 Oct. 1995 p3.Google Scholar
Daly, A (1989) Women in the Workforce and Family Structure in Australia Paper presented to the IUSSP 21st General Conference, 09, NewDelhiGoogle Scholar
Deutschman, A (1991) “Pioneers of the New Balance” Fortune 123(10) pp 60–68Google Scholar
Driessnack, CH (1987) “Spouse Relocation: A Moving Experience” Personnel Administrator 32(8) pp 95–102Google Scholar
Forster, NS (1990) “Employee Job Mobility and Relocation” Personnel Review 19(6) pp 18–24Google Scholar
Foxman, LD & Polsky, WL (1988) “Spousal Employment Assistance” Personnel Journal 67(2) pp 36–38Google Scholar
Glesne, C & Peshkin, A (1992) Becoming Qualitative Researchers. An Introduction, New York: LongmanGoogle Scholar
Herbert, TT and Daitchman, J (1986) “The Canadian Dual-Career Couple: Relocation and the Corporate Response” Business Quarterly 51(2) pp 54–60Google Scholar
Higgins, CADuxbury, LA & Irving, RH (1992) “Work-Family Conflict in the Dual-Career Family” Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes 51(1) pp 51–75Google Scholar
Hiller, DV & Dyehouse, J (1987) “A Case for Banishing Dual-Career Marriages from the Research Literature” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49 11 pp 787–795.Google Scholar
Limerick, DC & Cunnington, B (1993) Managing the New Organisation: A Blueprint for Networks and Strategic Alliances Chatswood, New South Wales: Business and Professional PublishingGoogle Scholar
Maas, F (1989) “Paid Work and Family Life”, Family Matters: AIFS Newsletter Issue 24 08 pp 50–51Google Scholar
Mathews, PA (1984) “The Changing Workforce: Dual-Career Couples and Relocation” Personnel Administrator 29(4) pp 55–62Google Scholar
McEnery, JM & Lifter, ML (1987) “Demands for Change: Interfacing Environmental Pressures and the Personnel Process” Public Personnel Management 16(1) pp 61–87Google Scholar
Newgren, KEKellogg, CE & Gardner, W (1987) “Corporate Policies Affecting Dual Career Couples” Advanced Management Journal 52(4) pp 4–9Google Scholar
Newgren, KEKellogg, CE & Gardner, W (1988) “Corporate Responses to Dual Career Couples: A Decade of Transformation” Akron Business and Economic Review 19(2) pp 85–96Google Scholar
Poloma, MMPendleton, BF & Garland, TN (1981) “Reconsidering the Dual-Career Marriage. A Longitudinal Approach” Journal of Family Issues 2(2) pp 205–224Google Scholar
Reed, C & Cohen, L (1989) “Anti-Nepotism Rules: The Legal Rights of Married Co-Workers” Public Personnel Management, 18(1) pp 37–44Google Scholar
Ricklin, H (1991) “Spouse Career Relocation Assistance Is Becoming an Important Element of the Corporate Benefits Package” Employee Benefits Journal 16(1) pp 33–35, 38Google Scholar
Sathe, V (1983) “Implications of Corporate Culture: A Manager's Guide to Action” Organizational Dynamics 12 pp 5–23Google Scholar
Sekaran, U (1986) Dual-Career Families: Contemporary Organizational and Counselling Issues San-Francisco: Jossey BassGoogle Scholar
Shaklee, H (1989) “Geographic Mobility and the Two-Earner Couple: Expected Costs of a Family Move” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 19(9) pp 728–743Google Scholar
Shellenbarger, S (1992) “Lessons from the Workplace: How Corporate Policies and Attitudes Lag Behind Workers' Changing Needs” Human Resource Management 31(3) pp 157–169Google Scholar
Thomas, PB & Thomas, RE (1989) “Nontraditional Scheduling: A Vehicle for Attracting the Brightest and the Best” CPA Journal 59(11) pp 74–79Google Scholar
Wallston, BSFoster, MA and Berger, M (1978) “I Will Follow Him: Myth, Reality or Forced Choice — Job-seeking Experiences of Dual Career Couples” Psychology of Women Quarterly 3(1) pp 9–21Google Scholar