Goals, gender-related self-concept, and work-life balance in long-term life pursuit. Findings from the Erlangen longitudinal study BELA-E

Work-life balance is analyzed from the perspective of the long-term structuring of work and private life. It is tested longitudinally whether personal goals (goals pertaining to parenthood, goals in child-care, work-life goals) and the gender-related self-concept (instrumentality and expressiveness) at age 27 and 29 predict parenthood, how child-care was organized and the employment status of mothers and fathers at age 34 in a sample of highly educated professionals. The data show that women's goals were more oriented towards work-life balance than men's. In support of the hypotheses wish for children and expressiveness predicted parenthood. Personal goals predicted women's parenthood, but not men's. They also predicted mothers' employment status when their children were older than 3 years. Child care of children under 3 years was as planned for almost 80% of the fathers, but only for 44% of the mothers.