Making it work as a working mother: The role of paradox mindset in positive appraisal of working motherhood tensions

• Main Author: HUANG, Tengjiao
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Tensions; paradox mindset; work-family conflicts; positive appraisal; Family, Life Course, and Society; Social Psychology and Interaction
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/210; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1210&context=etd_coll
• Institution: Singapore Management University

A prolific body of research on work-family interface documents the simultaneous, yet conflictual demands women face in fulfilling their roles as a career woman and a mother. However, little is known about how women cope with these contradictory tensions associated with working motherhood. This is important as many working women may decide to postpone motherhood to avoid the accompanying tensions. In this light, the current research leverages on the burgeoning literature on paradox management to investigate the role of a paradox mindset in positively appraising tensions to motivate dual career-motherhood endeavors. In positively appraising career-motherhood tensions, a paradox mindset is argued to encourage dual goal pursuits via two possible paths – acceptance and appreciation of these tensions. Findings underscore appreciation of tensions as an important aspect of positive appraisal that explains how a paradox mindset can be harnessed to encourage the simultaneous pursuit of career aspirations and motherhood. Specifically, findings of a correlational study on working females provide evidence that a paradox mindset promoted intention for dual career-motherhood pursuits via appreciation of tensions, albeit not via acceptance of tensions.