Work and Family

Davis, Smith, & Marsden (2000) - opinion survey.

-About 50% of people surveyed felt "somewhat successful" at achieving balance -15% reported a "lack of success" -33% "done a good job" balancing -Among dual career earners - those with preschoolers least likely to report successful balance - only 10% of this group felt that they performed both roles well -More success in balancing when: Regular hours , Supportive supervisors, Job security

U.S. 1993 - Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

-Americans place high value on individualism; raising the next generation as private rather than public concern.

The Business Case for WLB.

-Beauregard & Henry (2009). Human Resource Management Review -Review of literature on Work-Life Balance (WLB). -Concluded that: -WLB programs positively influence recruitment and retention -Employees use of programs may be low due to concerns that may reduce chances for promotion, make them appear less committed -Supportive management and climate needed to reduce work-life conflict.

Black Women, Work, and Family

-Black women have historically worked outside the home -Much of the attention to women working refers to middle class White women's participation in workforce -79.2% of Black married women with children under 18 are employed -69.2% of White married women with children under 18 are employed. -Even greater differences when consider mothers with children under age of 3: -70.3% Black married women employed -57.4% White married women employed

Men, Work, and Family

-Both work and home spheres demand time -Many workers feel overwhelmed -Almost 2/3 of men and women would like to reduce work hours by about 11 hours per week (Polatnick, 2000). -Increasing numbers of men are participating in family and child care. -More men questioning traditional roles. -Married fathers spend significantly more time with their children now compared to men in 1965. -45 minutes per day in 1965 -1.3 hours per day in childcare or combination of childcare and some other task

Government Sponsored Programs in Europe

-Germany 1883; Sweden 1891; France 1928 -European view: society bears some responsibility for family well-being; gain from investing in the next generation

Effects of Work/Life Balance on Employees

-Haar et al. (2014). Journal of Vocational Behavior -Effects of work-life balance (WLB) on 1,416 employees from 7 different cultures -Found that WLB was: -positively related to job and life satisfaction -negatively related to anxiety and depression. -For individualistic cultures the relationship between WLB and job and life satisfaction was especially strong

The Second Shift

-Home and child care work after arriving home from paid work -Women's paid employment has increased significantly in past 30 years -however most home and child care responsibilities still fall to women -Men's participation in unpaid household and child care labor has not changed as much in comparison -Time spent on child care and housework varies from study to study and from year to year -Women consistently spend more time on such tasks than men -For example, in 1965 women spent an average of 21 hours and men spent an average of 2 hours per week on housework -In 1987 women reported spending about 19 hours per week and men about 6.8 hours per week on cooking, cleaning, & other housework -Researchers have found that single men do more housework than married men, and single women do less housework than married women.

Many developing countries also support paid parental leaves

-Jamaica - 8 weeks at minimum wage -Nicaragua - 12 weeks at 60% of worker wages -Zimbabwe - 3 months at 70%

Time Shortages

-Many U.S. workers feel pressed for time as they try to accommodate demands of work and family (Jacob & Gerson, 2001) -Especially characteristic of dual earner families where both partners work full time. -43% always felt rushed (Davis, Smith, & Marsden, 2000)

Title VII.

-May not treat women differently than men -May not treat men differently than women

Kaufman & Uhlenberg (2000)

-Men under 35 were more likely to cut back on paid work hours in order to be with their young children. -Men who are fathers tend to earn more than men who aren't. -However, men who participate in more child care earn less than men who do not . -For example, men in dual career marriages tend to earn less (about 25% less) than men whose wives were not employed -May be more harshly sanctioned than women -Women are expected to care for families -don't have this same expectation of men

Benefits of Multiple Roles . Article: Ruderman et al. (2002). Benefits of multiple roles for managerial women. Academy of Management Review, 45, 369-386.

-Past research has focused on work/family conflict and stress that working women experience. -Current study - multiple roles in life (e.g., family and work) may have a positive effect on work performance and life and work satisfaction.

Obtaining Adequate Child Care

-Primary source of stress among employed parents. Most child care centers operate only during standard business hours. -Only 3% offer evening care (Hofferth, 1999) -Problem for parents who do shift work, evening work -High cost and inaccessibility of child care force some parents to leave their children home alone (Capizzano, Tout, & Adams, 2000). -1/10 children 6-9 years-old whose mothers are employed are regularly left without any child care at all -1/10 cared for by mother at work

Women in the Workforce

-Women who to stay at home are able to do so because family income is high enough. -Representation of women as stay at home moms doesn't reflect reality -Only 17% of married couples consist of an employed husband and a non-working wife. -Women likely to continue to participate in workforce in large numbers due to Economic pressures, Rise in single parenting, Psychological benefits associated with work

Family and Medical Leave Act

-applies to organizations with 50 or more employees -12 weeks unpaid time off with continued job security and benefits, -Due to own illness, illness of spouse, parent, or child or for birth, adoption, or placement of foster child

Western European Policies (Norway and Sweden)

-most extensive; parents get one year of paid leave with 80% of wages;

Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)

-prohibits discrimination because of pregnancy and related medical conditions -Does not require pregnancy related benefits or leave -Prevents organizations from being able to drop pregnant women from medical or benefit plans that cover other temporary health issues

Gupta (1999)

-when a woman marries or cohabitates with a man she adds an average 4.2 hours a week in household labor; men decrease their household labor by 3.6 hours

Role accumulation theory

-with each role taken on new skills may be acquired -these new skills then may be applied to other

Bond, Galinsky, & Swanberg (1998)

-workers whose employers provide little or no flexibility for dealing with home/work conflicts were less satisfied with their jobs and less committed to their employers

Bianchi et al. (2000)

men in U.S. do more routine housework than they used to, but women still perform twice as much.

Equal Pay Act (1963)

oldest legislation enforced by EEOC

Morris (1997)

surveyed employees working in family friendly organizations - found that only 1/3 of employees of both sexes agreed that it was possible to get ahead at work and still devote enough time to their families

Banchefsky & Park (2016), Psychology of Men and Masculinity

-Changing Stereotypes of Fathers -Fathers might be viewed as having more maternal traits (e.g., kind, understanding) and fewer paternal traits (e.g., stern, authoritative) over time -Might be viewed as engaging in both more traditional maternal (e.g., arrange for babysitter) and paternal (e.g., provide household income) roles. -Participants randomly assigned to imagine typical father -1950s or the present or in 2050. -Results: Mothers and fathers were viewed as becoming more alike from past to the present and continuing into the future. -Difference primarily due to changing roles, particularly for fathers

Regardless of effects on employee Work-Life Conflict, WLB programs are associated with:

-Competitive advantage in recruiting -More positive job-related attitudes, work effort, and citizenship behaviors -Enhancement of company image; more attractive to investors

Larson & Richards (1994) - U.S. study.

-Couples reported what they were doing when beeped by researchers. -Husbands much more likely to be engaged in leisure activities when at home -Early evenings especially varied by sex -Husbands tended to unwind and begin leisure activities -Wives focused on housework and childcare

Expected to be in two places at the same time

-Doctor's appointments, home maintenance calls, deliveries, etc. occur during standard business hours -Lack of control over work schedules is source of stress -Workers seek flexibility in their work schedules

FMLA inadequate in a number of ways

-Doesn't require paid leave, so little help to those who cannot afford unpaid leave -Covers only those workers in establishments with at least 50 employees and who worked for at least 1,250 hours in the past year. -About ½ of U.S. workers work in small businesses and are not covered

History of Work and Family

-Dominated by beliefs that women's place in the home -Men openly paid more than women because "family wage" -Pay disparities widely accepted until 1960s

Elderly Relatives

-Elderly may need help with shopping, meals, arranging for outside services, and responding to emergencies -Women participate more often than men -Women working full time are 4x more likely to be primary caregivers to elderly relatives than men who work full time -Women spend an average of 17 years caring for children and 18 years caring for aging parents. -May take up all or most of a woman's adult employment years

Scheduling Demands

-Expected to be in two places at the same time

However, since 1965 U.S. women have decreased hours of house work by almost ½.

-Tend to cook less, clean less, wash fewer dishes (Robinson & Milkie, 1997). -Some services can now be purchased. child care, nursing homes, cleaning services, grocery delivery, take-out restaurants (Glass, 2000).

Problems when

-employers believe workers should put work above all other commitments and activities -crisis-oriented work patterns and chaotic work routines that demand workers constant presence -makes leaving to go home difficult; productivity and commitment are measured by "face time" instead of by the amount of work accomplished -identify as "committed" only those workers who are willing to subordinate family obligations to work

Multiple roles may

-enhance self-worth -allow more chances to use talents and skills -result in positive emotional response

Gendered stereotypes - men as providers; women as caregivers

-lower earnings for women who are parents compared with those who are not -higher earnings for men who are parents compared to those who are not -May reflect differences in behaviors -Men who become fathers tend to increase their time at work -Women (particularly married women) who become mothers decrease their time at work