Work-Life Balance in Athletic Training: A Perspective of the Athletic Trainer's Spouse

Informal support systems, such as spouses, friends, and family members, have been identified as possible facilitators to achieving a work-life balance (WLB) for athletic trainers. Little, however, is known about the spouse and their experiences facilitating a WLB. A total of 17 spouses (11 females and six males) of full-time athletic trainers completed our study. The participants journaled their responses to 14 open-ended questions that pertained to WLB. A general inductive approach revealed three major themes: (a) living in time blocks, (b) frequent work schedule changes, and (c) the duty of multiple roles within the family construct. Three more themes emerged as strategies that spouses utilize: (a) intentional planning, (b) adaptation, and (c) workplace integration. Although spouses face many challenges in their own lives, they acknowledge their support toward their spouse's WLB. Spouses reported overall satisfaction with their current WLB but identified many ways it could be improved.