The aim of this study was to investigate experiences of hassles and uplifts among women. One hundred working mothers were interviewed using the Target Complaints instrument. Content analysis, resulting in both qualitative categories and quantitative variables, was used. Working mothers' hassles were mainly generated by their social, temporal and doing contexts and illustrate the importance of considering women's total patterns of everyday occupations and not focusing one-sidedly on the work situation when treating occupation-related ill-health. Women's uplifts were experienced through the social context and by doing such different occupations as going to the movies, cleaning the house, or attending a class. This indicates the appropriateness of using a client-centred approach in interventions with openness to the client's unique situation. Unexpected occupations were identified almost exclusively among the hassles. This is important knowledge for occupational therapists since women will continue to be dual workers and at potential risk of developing unbalanced and detrimental patterns of occupations, in turn causing ill health. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.