Strategies to Facilitate Work and Family Balance in the Nualjit Community of Bangkok

Abstract

This chapter uses qualitative interview data to examine informal strategies used to navigate work-family demands by residents of an urban slum in Thailand. Five primary themes emerged from the interviews with members of the Nualjit Community, centrally located in Bangkok. Results indicate that the following are critical to achieving balance between work and family obligations while living with limited financial means: (1) Convenient, stable employment; (2) Sequencing of work; (3) Extended family households with multiple incomes; (4) Care mobilization; and (5) Mobilizing support from neighbors. These strategies, while similar to those used the world over by low-income families, play out uniquely in the Thai cultural context with distinct implications for individual and family well-being.