A Qualitative Study of the Everyday Life Experiences of Working Mothers and their Children in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

This is an exploratory study which sought to know the everyday life experiences of working mothers in the financial sector of Accra, Ghana and their children. The hub of the study was to know how the family life looks like with the new demands of career women. Amongst the aims of the study was to investigate the working mothers ‟involvement in the everyday life of their children and how the children live their everyday lives with a working mother. A qualitative study, using a semi-structured interview guide was employed in gathering the data. The pattern of the questions that were asked was first, a narrative, followed by problem focused questions. Six pairs of families consisting of one mother working in the bank and one of her children were interviewed. The children were elementary school children within the age range of 10-12 years. The Qualitative Content Analysis was used in analysing the data. The results show that, the working mothers experience some form of stress in integrating their work and family roles. They expressed that, they mostly get home tired as a result of working throughout the day. A deep sense of motherhood was clear in their everyday routine, in that, they cared and thought of their children as it is expected of mothers. Their major challenge related to family life had to do with the amount of time they spend with their children which was reduced because of their work. It was also evident from the responses that, the working mothers needed and valued assistance with child care and domestic work because of their multiple roles.