Work-life challenges and coping mechanisms among professional women in urban China

Abstract

This study explores the experiences and reactions of professional women in urban China to work-family conflict in challenging work, family, and cultural environments. The study is based on 26 semi-structured interviews with working women from a variety of professions in Chinese cities, using a grounded theory design. Open, axial and selective coding were used to analyze the data and determine emergent categories, relationships between categories, and a conceptual model of work-family balance. The results indicate that the factors of long working hours, role overload, unequal domestic work, inadequate support systems, and continuing gendered expectations all contribute to emotional stress and limited career progression. Pressure is relieved by workplace flexibility, family and community supports, affordable childcare, and individual coping strategies; however, these do not completely mitigate structural and cultural limitations. The study builds a grounded theory model that describes how the work responsibilities and family responsibilities drain time, energy, and emotional resources, and how support systems and flexibility buffer these stresses. In practical terms, the results indicate that employers need to make flexible working more commonplace, offer family-friendly supervision and facilitate access to childcare, and that policymakers should improve access to affordable childcare and encourage more equal gender norms. The paper provides context-specific qualitative evidence from urban China and implications for organizations that want to increase women's employment, well-being, and long-term sustainability.