How do women balance multiple roles during the post-maternity-leave period?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The complex lives of women have made role management a challenge because, in addition to holding down time-consuming jobs, women are responsible for family management. The objective of this study is to identify the tactics used by women during the post-maternity-leave period to reconcile conflicting role-related demands when the women return to work. Through a qualitative investigation that included 28 in-depth interviews and content analysis, ten tactics were identified. All interviewees are Brazilian, and data were collected between March 2021 and January 2022. The maternity leave of all interviewees lasted 120 days, which is a standard period in Brazil. Our results represent an advance in what is known in terms of the experience of women negotiating their roles during the post-maternity-leave period. To cope with challenges related to overlapping role demands, women assume an active stance and apply integration and segmentation to their roles while executing them at different times of the day or simultaneously.