Citation

Vuga J, Juvan J. Curr. Sociol. 2013; 61(7): 1058-1077.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0011392113498881

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The importance of getting the job done is taking over our personal lives and causing a potential work-family conflict. There are some institutions that have traditionally placed high demands on their members and have been termed 'greedy institutions'. This article analyses the relationship between two greedy institutions - the family and the military - considering the demands they both place on their members. The article strives to establish which one of them is greedier and consequently responsible for a potential work-family conflict. The in-depth analysis is based on the findings of 10 years' research among service members of the Slovenian Armed Forces and a sample of their families. The results indicate that: (1) both the family and the military might be greedy institutions, although especially during deployment the greediness of the military outweighs that of the family; (2) the contemporary military organization does not only require service members' loyalty, but the whole family's support; (3) Slovenian military families remain highly supportive, regardless of military demands; (4) there are no significant differences in balancing work/family between genders (p = .119), with women reporting less work-family conflict than men (p = .041) and women feeling more support for their deployment from their family and friends than men.

Language: en