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Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Title: Experiences of modern-day motherhood and work: An interpretative phenomenological study of professional working mothers' self-care and coping Objective: This study explores the experiences and understandings of self-care and coping in professional working women in South Africa who are first-...

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Main Author: Mahadeo-Diercks, Sarika
Other Authors: Zolfaghari, Badri
Format: Thesis
Language:Eng
Published: Graduate School of Business (GSB) 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author Mahadeo-Diercks, Sarika
author2 Zolfaghari, Badri
author_browse Mahadeo-Diercks, Sarika
Zolfaghari, Badri
author_facet Zolfaghari, Badri
Mahadeo-Diercks, Sarika
author_sort Mahadeo-Diercks, Sarika
collection Thesis
description Title: Experiences of modern-day motherhood and work: An interpretative phenomenological study of professional working mothers' self-care and coping Objective: This study explores the experiences and understandings of self-care and coping in professional working women in South Africa who are first-time mothers. Working mothers find it difficult to balance work and home responsibilities, and often at the expense of self-care. Method: The sample comprised five mothers of singletons working in business or the corporate sector, who had integrated back into work for at least six months after maternity leave. They began by drawing a picture of how they saw themselves coping with the demands of being a professional working mother. Their portrayal provided a strong introduction to the conversation about their experiences of self-care and coping post-motherhood. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The participants descriptions highlighted the challenges of meeting the demands of being a working professional and a first-time mother. The participants' accounts offered deep insights into their experiences of motherhood, self-care and coping. This study suggests that participants found the experience of motherhood a transition that they were not fully prepared for, regarding increased demands and unrealistic expectations. There was a strong sense of pressure on them to live up to the ideals of motherhood. Self-care was challenging particularly once they had returned to work in relation to time, energy, and support. Conclusion: Self-care was an enabler to coping and lack of self-care led to poor coping. Keywords: Professional working mothers, self-care, coping, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39611
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language Eng
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
publishDateSort 2024
publisher Graduate School of Business (GSB)
publisherStr Graduate School of Business (GSB)
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39611 Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis Mahadeo-Diercks, Sarika Zolfaghari, Badri Business Title: Experiences of modern-day motherhood and work: An interpretative phenomenological study of professional working mothers' self-care and coping Objective: This study explores the experiences and understandings of self-care and coping in professional working women in South Africa who are first-time mothers. Working mothers find it difficult to balance work and home responsibilities, and often at the expense of self-care. Method: The sample comprised five mothers of singletons working in business or the corporate sector, who had integrated back into work for at least six months after maternity leave. They began by drawing a picture of how they saw themselves coping with the demands of being a professional working mother. Their portrayal provided a strong introduction to the conversation about their experiences of self-care and coping post-motherhood. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The participants descriptions highlighted the challenges of meeting the demands of being a working professional and a first-time mother. The participants' accounts offered deep insights into their experiences of motherhood, self-care and coping. This study suggests that participants found the experience of motherhood a transition that they were not fully prepared for, regarding increased demands and unrealistic expectations. There was a strong sense of pressure on them to live up to the ideals of motherhood. Self-care was challenging particularly once they had returned to work in relation to time, energy, and support. Conclusion: Self-care was an enabler to coping and lack of self-care led to poor coping. Keywords: Professional working mothers, self-care, coping, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) 2024-05-14T12:18:48Z 2024-05-14T12:18:48Z 2023 2024-05-14T12:15:30Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39611 Eng application/pdf Graduate School of Business (GSB) Faculty of Commerce
spellingShingle Business
Mahadeo-Diercks, Sarika
Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_full Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_fullStr Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_full_unstemmed Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_short Working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
title_sort working mothers self care practices as a coping mechanism an interpretative phenomenological analysis
topic Business
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39611
work_keys_str_mv AT mahadeodierckssarika workingmothersselfcarepracticesasacopingmechanismaninterpretativephenomenologicalanalysis