SOCL 240 CH 12: Work and Families

Changes families make to reduce work-family/family-work conflict

-Employ service workers (SES specific -> those with higher SES can afford to do this) -Change dynamics/arrangements in family --Arrange for extended family to move in, contribute rent, child care, and/or housework support. --Split time - one spouse works in AM hours; other during PM hours --*Equally shared parenting* - minimize gendered division of labor especially during early childhood phase --Rise of stay-at-home dads (reversed gendered norms) - still not fully embraced by all dads and society more broadly

Changes employers make to reduce work-family/family-work conflict

-Ongoing debate over who should ultimately be responsible for diminishing work-family/family-work conflict: employers (market) or the government (state)? -Make Changes in the Workplace that are Family Friendly 1. Reduce worker hours 2. Make hours more flexible 3. Establish family supports by employers NOTE: Most of these *possibilities require support from BOTH the market place and government* -> Government to enforce uniformity of these regulations so that employers don't feel like competitors would have an advantage. And the market to agree and implement these regulations

market work

-Work done by employees for pay -In modern society, care work and housework are increasingly performed by people outside of the family and home (egs., nannies, maids, childcare centers, etc.)

housework

-Work to maintain a household's functions -Most this consists of cooking and cleaning -Others include: maintenance, yard work, paying bills, shopping -Compared to care work, this is seen as impersonal and solitary (but doesn't have to be). -NOTE: some of the more demanding this is now completed with the help of modern day appliances and technology (egs., refrigerators, vacuums, washing machines, etc.) -Care work and this can overlap and together can be very stressful

Work family conflict

-conflict that occurs when the time demands, strains, or obligations of work or family roles make it difficult to fulfill obligations in either role -Can be stress from work impacting family life or stress from family life impacting work. *Which is more impactful??* -*Stress originating from family* is more distressing that stress originating from work (Gareis et al. 2009) --Family schema more long lasting and entrenched than work schema --Family enrichment buffers conflict at work—family is ultimate resource -Single parents (84% of whom are single mothers) experience worse work-family conflict --Single parent households more likely to be in poverty and lack the ability to earn higher income. --There are simply not enough hours to earn money, do housework, and take care of children without conflict arising between these obligations.

Gender division of labor

-how work (all types) is divided up and differentiated between woman and men in society --Types of work most women do is often closely related to the work they traditionally performed within the home.

Motherhood penalty

-loss of earnings women experience after having children. --Women typically earn less if they have children. Why? 1. Women chose part-time work or decreased hours to take care of children 2. Employer discrimination -> people believe that mothers will be less devoted to their jobs and should be paid less and even not hired altogether NOTE: The severity of the penalty *depends on one's social class* -> mothers of low socioeconomic status are at a greater disadvantage because they often lack adequate resources for their families to buffer against the penalty

care work

-performed face-to-face for the purpose of enhancing the capabilities of another person -Interpersonal -Most fundamental type of this work = child care (intimate work that provides children with material, intellectual and emotional support) -this work also includes care for elderly family members and care for sick/ailing relatives

Work

-the exertion of effort to produce or accomplish something Three Types of this: 1. Care work 2. Housework 3. Market work

Problems with the Family Medical Leave Act

1. Leave is UNPAID 2. Many people aren't covered -> *Coverage is NOT guaranteed* 3. Required if you have 50+ employers + all government workers 4. Essentially covers only half of all US workers 5. Many employers offer leave only grudgingly

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

1993 -Entitled to UNPAID leave if you become too sick to perform job, need to take care of family due to birth, adoption, illness -Extends up to 12 weeks (3 months) per year -Essentially - employers must hold workers' jobs for them while they are away (and continue their health insurance)

Work and leave in the U.S. compared to other industrialized countries

The United States and Australia are the only developed country that do NOT require employers to offer some paid time off after the birth of a child.

Trends in Care work by Gender

This graphic shows the division of labor within married couples for child care. At one time, mothers once performed four times as much child care as fathers. Today, mothers only perform twice as much child care as men . These numbers still show a gender gap, but it has narrowed considerably .

Trends in Housework by Gender

Time use surveys show that married women *reduced their housework approximately by half*, while married men doubled theirs. -women still put in significantly more hours

Occupation segregation

men and women have jobs in separate occupations (i.e., market work)

separate spheres

the cultural doctrine under which *women were to work at home* in order to make it a sanctuary from the industrial world in which their husbands worked for pay