Quality of Life in Dual-Career Families: Commuting versus Single-Residence Couples

Abstract

This study examined the quality of life of women and men in two types of dual-career families. Individuals from 90 commuting and 133 single-residence dual-career couples were compared on measures of satisfaction and stress. Commuters were more satisfied with their work life and with the time they had for themselves, and were more dissatisfied with family life, with their partner relationships, and with life as a whole. Commuters did not report experiencing a more stressful lifestyle than did single-residence dual-career respondents, and commuters reported significantly less overload. There were no significant interactions of gender with dual-career family type on measures of either satisfaction or stress. Among commuters, there were no significant differences in self-reported satisfaction or stress between those who traveled and those who stayed at the primary residence, and there were no Commuter Role (traveler vs. nontraveler) x Gender interactions. We concluded that the commuting lifestyle can have both rewards and costs, and that in some ways single-residence dual-career lifestyle may be more stressful and dissatisfying.