2019 Annual Conference

Human Resource Development and Training

Shared Concurrent Session (Approx. 12 or 20 minutes)

Employing organizations should not lose sight of the human aspects that drive us - our relationships and the pursuit of meaningful work. Productivity is sharpened when work-life needs are met. This collaborative autoethnography illuminates those human aspects by examining the experiences of a small yet diverse group of working parents.

Those interested work life, autoethnography, and meaningful work.

To understand the boundaries between the domains (family, work, school, and community) that make demands on workers’ lives. To understand these boundaries and how they affect the lives of our students as adult educators or the lives of workers subordinate to us as administrators.

Work–life is a system composed of three intersecting forces: individuals, organizations, and government, and three corresponding dimensions: work–life balance, work–life initiatives, and work–life policy (Munn et al., 2011, p. 1). Work–life balance is simply “how individuals choose to prioritize their work, family, individual, and community responsibilities” (Munn et al., 2011, p. 1). While there is research on work-life in AE/HRD (i.e. Crooker, Smith & Tabak, 2002; Lee, 2018; Morris, Heames & McMillan, 2011; Munn, 2013) there have been no firsthand accounts using autoethnography as the method of inquiry.

Autoethnography is a form of reflexive ethnography in which the “author has to gaze back on himself” to explore one’s experiences in a context (van Amsterdam, 2014). It can provide an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to share their “exploration of professional experiences and one’s place in organizational structures and communities,” connect those experiences with theory and socio-cultural implications (Grenier, 2016). The purpose of this research is to use collaborative autoethnography to understand the work-life experiences of a small yet diverse group of working parents, male and female, partnered and single all with children under six.

After presenting the themes, participants will be engaged through a dialogue around the issues. We will also have discussion prompts prepared to elicit further perspective and experience in the area. The discussion will help to progress our work in this area.