Work–family conflict between two greedy institutions – the family and the military

Abstract

The importance of getting the job done is taking over our personal lives and causing a potential work–family conflict. There are some institutions that have traditionally placed high demands on their members and have been termed ‘greedy institutions’. This article analyses the relationship between two greedy institutions – the family and the military – considering the demands they both place on their members. The article strives to establish which one of them is greedier and consequently responsible for a potential work–family conflict. The in-depth analysis is based on the findings of 10 years’ research among service members of the Slovenian Armed Forces and a sample of their families. The results indicate that: (1) both the family and the military might be greedy institutions, although especially during deployment the greediness of the military outweighs that of the family; (2) the contemporary military organization does not only require service members’ loyalty, but the whole family’s support; (3) Slovenian military families remain highly supportive, regardless of military demands; (4) there are no significant differences in balancing work/family between genders ( p = .119), with women reporting less work–family conflict than men ( p = .041) and women feeling more support for their deployment from their family and friends than men.