Abstract
Despite a spate of media attention in recent years and implications for both work and family relationships, communication scholars have yet to study work-spouse relationships. Since popular press sources have often focused on the nature of and propriety of such relationships, the purpose of this study was to empirically examine how work spouses characterized their relationships. We analyzed 269 participants’ open-ended responses to a survey, which yielded five categories: (a) characteristics of a work spouse, (b) conditions for the work-spouse relationship, (c) characteristics of the work-spouse relationship, (d) functions of work spouses, and (e) ways of managing the work-spouse relationship. From this analysis, we construct a definition of the relationship and chart a course of future research for communication scholars.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 487-508 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Communication Studies |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 20 2015 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Communication
Cite this
Work Spouses : Defining and Understanding a “New” Relationship. / McBride, M. Chad; Bergen, Karla Mason.
In: Communication Studies, Vol. 66, No. 5, 20.10.2015, p. 487-508.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Work Spouses
T2 - Defining and Understanding a “New” Relationship
AU - McBride, M. Chad
AU - Bergen, Karla Mason
PY - 2015/10/20
Y1 - 2015/10/20
N2 - Despite a spate of media attention in recent years and implications for both work and family relationships, communication scholars have yet to study work-spouse relationships. Since popular press sources have often focused on the nature of and propriety of such relationships, the purpose of this study was to empirically examine how work spouses characterized their relationships. We analyzed 269 participants’ open-ended responses to a survey, which yielded five categories: (a) characteristics of a work spouse, (b) conditions for the work-spouse relationship, (c) characteristics of the work-spouse relationship, (d) functions of work spouses, and (e) ways of managing the work-spouse relationship. From this analysis, we construct a definition of the relationship and chart a course of future research for communication scholars.
AB - Despite a spate of media attention in recent years and implications for both work and family relationships, communication scholars have yet to study work-spouse relationships. Since popular press sources have often focused on the nature of and propriety of such relationships, the purpose of this study was to empirically examine how work spouses characterized their relationships. We analyzed 269 participants’ open-ended responses to a survey, which yielded five categories: (a) characteristics of a work spouse, (b) conditions for the work-spouse relationship, (c) characteristics of the work-spouse relationship, (d) functions of work spouses, and (e) ways of managing the work-spouse relationship. From this analysis, we construct a definition of the relationship and chart a course of future research for communication scholars.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84945490176&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10510974.2015.1029640
DO - 10.1080/10510974.2015.1029640
M3 - Article
VL - 66
SP - 487
EP - 508
JO - Communication Studies
JF - Communication Studies
SN - 0008-9575
IS - 5
ER -