Dual-Career Couples at the Crossroads: How Gender Role Beliefs, Organizational Role Stress, and Couple Coping Strategies Intersect

Abstract

Employees often struggle to balance the roles expected of them – by their organization, their perceptions, and their actual roles. This challenge is particularly acute for newly married dual-career couples, where both partners work full-time in demanding professional or managerial jobs. The extent to which these couples can effectively communicate their issues to their partner, and how the partner understands and responds to them, determines how they deal with their daily stressors. This research examines the Gender Role Beliefs, Organizational Role Stress, and Dyadic Coping Styles of newly married dual-career couples, and investigates the mediating effect of Dyadic Coping Style on the relationship between Gender Role Belief and Organizational Role Stress. The study involved a sample of 50 newly married (≤2 years) dual-career couples aged 21 to 35 years, who were selected using purposive sampling and followed ethical guidelines. Standardized measures include Gender Role Belief, Dyadic Coping Inventory, and Organizational Role Stress. The findings indicate that Dyadic Coping Style acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between Gender Role Belief and Organisational Role Stress. There were no significant gender differences in Gender Role Belief, Organisational Role Stress, and Dyadic Coping Styles. The partial mediating effect of a normal dyadic coping style suggests that couples can hold feminist gender role beliefs while also maintaining moderate organizational role stress. This highlights the importance of effective communication and mutual support within the couple as they navigate the challenges of dual-career life.