It is common to view work-family dilemmas like work-family conflict as the individual’s problem despite the fact that these kinds of dilemmas often have contextual sources. The aim of the present study is to explore the experience of work-family conflict among governmental employed managers by examining work demands, boundary setting strategies and organizational flexibility at the individual and at a contextual level where both the organizational belongingness and the gender composition is examined.

Our results show that organizational and contextual research on work-family issues contributes with knowledge about organizational aspects and processes that managers in organizations have to be aware of instead of understanding work-family dilemmas as individuals’ problems. We also conclude that a gender perspective both at the individual and at the organizational level is needed in the field of work-family research.