The Fun Stuff

From my one-on-one meeting with Dr. Zamora last week, I was able to gauge the direction I need to be headed in and narrow down the focus of my thesis. This week, I wanted to focus on the more enjoyable aspects of my paper. Dr. Zamora and I had discussed coming up with interview questions and determining who my interviewees would consist of. I also wanted to focus on the contributing factors to work-life imbalance. With this, I am looking to interview four women.  I will also be including myself in the case study. I would like the chosen women to be of different job titles and hierarchies. By doing this, I will see if there are any patterns, perhaps among women who have been in their field for a certain period of time or those who have just begun. As of right now, my interviewees consist of an Assistant Director in her early thirties who has been with her department for 5+ years, an Activity Coordinator in her early fifties who has been with her department for 10+ years and has children, and an Academic Specialist in her early twenties who has been with her department for five months and also takes classes. I am still looking for one more individual. I have drafted a few questions that I have come across while conducting research that I could potentially use regarding my interview questions. I am looking to narrow the interviews to six open-ended questions. I may do one or two questions that have the interviewees utilize a scale of 1-5, but I feel as if open-ended questions allow the participants to provide the interviewer with more insight and explanation. 

Possible Interview Questions:

1. How would you describe the management style for your department?
2. Could you benefit from delegating tasks and giving tasks to another employee?
3. How often do you take work home? 
   1. Why?
4. What can be done to enhance your work-life balance?
5. What boundaries do you set to have a positive work-life balance?
6. What does work-life balance mean to you? What does it look like?

Contributing factors to work-life imbalance:

1. Excessive work hours
2. Poor supervision
3. Low compensation 
4. Ideal worker norms