Autonomy: the panacea for self-employed women's work-life balance?

This study aims to increase our knowledge of the work-life balance (WLB) of self-employed workers, a changing but often neglected group in work-family research. A growing number of women are starting their own business in order to combine paid work and family life. This interview study (N = 24) examines how self-employed women with children feel they manage paid work and other life domains in the Netherlands. Autonomy appeared to be an important resource, allowing them to combine their work more easily with childcare, household duties, and social and personal life. However, the degree and nature of that autonomy and the ability to use it varied among the self-employed in this study owing to work-related factors such as sector, work location, employees, and years of experience. Another important resource leading to greater satisfaction with the WLB was the ability to define and reflect on personal goals in work and other life domains.