Work-life interaction among Afrikaans speaking secondary school educators in the North West Province : a phenomenological study

Abstract

In contemporary society, work and home represent the two most significant domains in the life of a working individual. In order to help an individual live optimally, the work and personal life domains must no longer be regarded as separate domains, but as highly interrelated. The work and personal life domains must influence each other in a positive way to assist the individual in his daily responsibilities at work and in his personal life. A high proportion of employed workers, however, have serious difficulties in combining obligations in their work and personal lives. Educators are one of the occupations that may find it difficult to integrate their work and personal life. The objectives of this research were to determine how Afrikaans-speaking educators experienced Work-Personal Life Interaction (WPLI), to determine the domains in Afrikaans-speaking educators' lives that could interact with one another, to determine the main antecedents and consequences of WPLI for Afrikaans-speaking educators and to investigate which strategies Afrikaans-speaking educators used to deal with WPLI issues. A non-probability purposive voluntary sample (N = I I) of Afrikaans-speaking secondary school educators was used from the North West Province (in the Potchefstroom and Promosa areas). A qualitative design from a phenomenological approach was used to determine educators' experience of WPLI. Content analysis was used to analyse, quantify and interpret the research data. The results indicated that educators experienced certain aspects in their work environment and personal lives as demanding. Certain dimensions were identified in both their work and personal lives. As a result of a demanding work environment, they experienced time and strain-based conflict between their work and personal lives. However, it was found that educators possessed various factors that facilitated their WPLI and strategies they used to deal with WPLI issues. Recommendations were made for the organisation and for future research.