The business owner balancing act: Exploring work-life balance in entrepreneurs

Abstract

An entrepreneur is an individual who takes initiative to bundle resources in marketcapturing ways and is willing to pursue his or her venture despite risk and uncertainty. Approximately 27 million working-age Americans are starting or running new ventures, yet not enough is known about how these individuals navigate their work and home lives. This chapter reviews what has been discovered about entrepreneurial work-life balance. In doing so, we focus on three influencing factors: identity as an entrepreneur, boundary preferences between life and work domains in an entrepreneurial context, and both the role and the business stress that entrepreneurs may feel. We then explore how entrepreneurs can use different boundary management tactics (e.g., behavioral, temporal, physical, and communicative) to better balance their work and home lives, as well as how being an entrepreneur may impact work respite and recovery from work stress. Finally, we conclude with future research directions for scholars to further develop the theoretical and practical ideas presented.

Publication Title

Work-Life Balance in the 21st Century: Perspectives, Practices and Challenges

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