ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author detects whether the couples had redefined their family order to suit their three-job situation or not. He does this by analysing three aspects of the couples' relationships: definition of family order; quality of interaction; and household management style. Effective management of household work requires a specific arrangement of the household that fits in with the available resources of a three-job family. Families under the Trade-off model differed in their household management style from families under the Rigid model, mainly in the ways in which they had reorganised their family in line with available resources. They had redefined their perceptions of what constituted a good family life. Through trial and error they had also learned that a renegotiated family arrangement can be practicable and satisfying. Families under Rigid families’ model faced more problems than families under the Trade-off model because they were not prepared to compromise and renegotiate what constituted a 'good family life'.
