Chapter 11 Family Dynamics
family leave policies
used for pregnancy and sick time
shift work and family life
-1/5 of all americans work a nonstandard shift or schedule -men more likely than women to work an alternate shift, blacks more likely than whites, -more common in some occupations- food preparation, service work, protective services -most research on this is negative- more negative spillover, lower job, marital, and sexual satisfaction, poorer health, etc. -some positive outcomes- ability to take turns, to have a parent home with the children all the time, increase father child closeness, save money on childcare,
At-Home Fathers and Breadwinning Mothers
-6.5 percent of families with children under 15 -dads stay home due to unemployment, disability, retirement, school, or something else -economic impact- live on less money but spend less on child care, men do surrender the provider status, does not seem to have the same consequences for stay at home men -social impact- experience isolation, may become target of criticism -marital impact- men likely to share or do most of the housework, sometimes find positive changes like high levels of communication, empathy, and appreciation among couple -parental impact- fathers get to know children better, moms have more piece of mind knowing the kids are home with dad -personal impact- reshuffling of priorities and new social identity, moms may make work a large part of their identities
older children, school age child, and self care
-after school programs, but many are not free and older children often see them as for little kids -self care- children care for themselves without adult supervision -those who most need supplementary child care are most often the families than cannot afford it
three macro level changes contribng to the increase of non standard work schedules
-changes in the economy- large increase in the service sector of the economy -changes in demopgraphics- both delayed age at marriage and sizeable increases in dual earner couples have contributed to an increased demand for entertainment and recreation at night, a need also for medical services 24 hours a day -changes in technology-computers, faxes overnight mailing and others have made around the clock offices a . norm for many corporations
the need for adequate child care
-child care is expensive and not accessible to all mothers
caring for children
-engagement with children- time spent in direct interaction with a child across any number of activities (father's engagement 45% less than moms) -accessibility- availability to a child when the parent is in the same location but not direct contact (fathers accessibility 66% less than moms) --moms spend 3-5 hours of active involvement for every hour a father does --moms involvement is oriented toward practical daily activity- feeding bathing, dressing, fathers spent in play --moms are almost entirely responsible for child care- planning, organizing, scheduling --women are primary caretakers men are the secondary
four primary aspects of the homemaker role
-exclusive allocation to women rather than to adults of both sexes -association with economic dependence -status as non-work, which is distinct from "real" economically productive paid employment - primary to women-that is, having priority over other women's roles
families in distress
-in hardship- economic strain, rates of infant mortality, alcoholism, family abuse, homicide, suicide, and admissions to psychiatric institutions and prisons sharply increase -one spouse has an increase in housework -children report more problems at home than to children of employed parents -types of families hardest hit by unemployment are single mother households
policies to ensure that employees receive adequate wages to provide for their families and to protect them from discrimination in hiring, advancing, or pay
-include increasing the minimum wage so families can provide, policies to ensure fair employment, measures to ensure pay equity between men and women, affirmative action programs for women and ethnic groups
why did women's employment increase
-increases in the numbers of single mothers, resulting from increasing divorce rates and births to unmarried women -increases in women's educational attainment -pro-employment messages and the equal opportunity emphasis of the women's movement -better job opportunities for women -decline in men's wages and the reduced availability to support families on one income
effect on employment and educational opportunities
-lack of child care or inadequate child care has the following consequences: --prevents mothers from taking paid jobs --keeps women in part time jobs, with little pay and few benefits --keeps women in jobs for which they are overqualified and prevents them from seeking or taking promotions -sometimes conflicts with a woman's ability to do her work --restricts women from participating in education programs
inflexible work environments, stressful households, and the time bind
-many families do not have the option to reduce their work schedules to minimize family work conflict -found that employees werent using the family benefits that were offered by a company named americo and that was because they would rather be at work because of how stressful family life has become -some controversy to this but it proves that just because there are policies in place does not mean they are in use
peer and postgender marriages
-many family's believe their division of labor is fair -peer marriages of post gender- take concerns for fairness and sharing to heart in how they structure each facet of their relationships- based on principles of deep friendship, fairness, and sharing- these types of relationships avoid many of the trappings that usually come from more traditional divisions of labor like female powerlessness and resentment -children receive care from both parents and form stronger bonds with dads
factors that influence men's involvement in housework
-men's socialization experience and modeling of parents -men's status in the workplace- if masculinity is challenged at work they may not do housework at home to avoid being seen as feminine -men's age and generation- older men do less housework than younger men do -having children skews housework to more being done by women -husbands gender ideology about what a husband ought to do is actually NOT a strong determinant of what housework her does
coping with unemployment
-not always bad, some families can experience increased closeness -several important coping behaviors assist families in economic distress caused by unemployment: --defining the meaning of the problem- may need to remind themselves that they may not have lost their job because of personal failure- could have just been laid off --problem solving- attack the problem by beginning to search for another job, dealing with the consequences, or improving the situation --managing emotions- family must talk with one another about feelings, need to support and encourage one another to seek individual or family counseling to cope if problems get out of hand
emotional distress
-when men fail as workers they likely feel as though theyve failed as husbands -men can experience emotional withdrawal, spousal abuse, marital distress, increased alcohol use, and diminished self identity -if families suffer downward mobility because of fathers unemployment- spousal and father child relationships are likely to be strained if unemployment continues -women suffer when they lose their job as well but it is not as detrimental usually because they did not "put all of their identity eggs into one work basket"
economic discrimination
-women experience more poverty because of wage gap -the more women dominate an occupation the less it pays
sexual harassment
1)the abuse of power for sexual ends- unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature as a condition of instruction or employment 2)the creation of a hostile environment- created through sexual harassment in which the harassed person's ability to learn or work is negatively influenced by the harasser's actions -ILEGAL -consequences- some people quit their jobs, victims often feel depressed anxious ashamed and angry
it's about time
142.2 million Americans employed in July 2012- 81% full time, of the 27.7 million people employed part time- 8.2 million were in such positions for economic reasons such as inability to obtain full time positions or cut backs at their job -the remaining were employed part time by choice -60% of children were born to dual earner households , nearly a third had fathers employed but not mothers, 7 % had moms employed but not dads, 4% neither parent employed -little difference between mom and dad time at work but big difference between work done at home
family policy
A set of objectives concerning family well-being and specific measures initiated by government to achieve them.
women's traditional family work
Expected to perform all household tasks and child care, even if she is employed outside of the home -many stay at home moms are unhappy with housework and find it repetitive but are happy with other aspects of role such as rearing children and mastering cooking
shift couples
Two-earner households in which spouses work different, often nonoverlapping shifts, so that one partner is home while the other is at work. -in households with children, outcomes associated with shift taking are mixed
different approaches to work
US is the only advances economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation -overwork carries consequences
time strains
Wherein workers feel they do not have or spend enough time in certain roles especially true for the role of parenting -more fathers than moms reported feeling they did not have enough time with their children and spouses - life satisfaction was significantly reduced for mothers but not for fathers when they felt that they have spent too little time with the kids -feelings of insufficient time spent with spouse was associated with increased distress in women not men -feeling of insufficient time for oneself- reduced levels of family and life satisfaction for men not women -fathers articulated feeling strained for time with both their spouses and their children - but the feelings did not negatively affect them as much as women
crossover
a situation in which one's job-related emotional state affects one's partner in the same way direct crossover- occurs through empathy of one spouse for that the other is experiencing indirect crossover- results more from conflict between spouses that might result from negative spillover -wives job induced exhaustion crossed over to husbands and husbands job derived life satisfaction crossed over to wives life satisfaction
emotion work
activities that are designed to manage the emotional climate within families and relationships, such as providing emotional support, eliciting and sharing feelings, and monitoring the relationship for signs of trouble or problems -women do more emotion work and report being less satisfied by how these roles are divided
typical dual earners
although fathers have increased their participation in housework and child care, they have made smaller increases in the frequency in which they clean. if we are to develop a more equitable division of labor we need to see housework and childcare as different aspects of the same thing: domestic labor that keeps the family running
women's employment patterns
because of the family demands they face women must consider the hours they can work, what time of day, and whether there is adequate say care -women's employment rates no longer drop during child bearing years -no longer immediately leave workforce when have a baby -of those women who worked jobs while pregnant a little over 20% stayed at home for the entire first year of child's life -when family demands increase wives are more likely to cut back jobs
Women in the labor force
co-provider families- families that were economic partnerships dependent on the effort of both the husband and wife -most dramatic change in women's labor force participation was in the emergence of dual earner family -among married mother of 6-17 year olds- 76% participated in labor force -mothers of kids 6 and younger- 62.5% in labor force -mothers of children under 3-59.1% in labor force -in 2010 in 29% of dual earner families, wives income exceeds husbands
role strain
difficulties, tensions, or contradictions experienced in performing a role, often because of multiple role demands . (men that see themselves as earners may experience strain when asked to do more housework)
attitudes of and about employed women
direction of greater acceptance young women place greater importance on education still some gendered opinions race effects on attitudes- 35% of whites rated the ability to make a living as very important when finding a mate compared to the 67% of blacks and 50% of hispanics
dual earner and dual career families
economic changes have led to an increase in dual earner marriages dual career families are a subcategory of dual earner families- both the husband and the wife have high achievement orientations, a greater emphasis on gender equality, and a stronger desire to exercise their capabilities.
discrimination against women
economic discrimination and sexual harassment
women's motives for entering job force
economic reasons- especially for unmarried and single mothers, increased need to depend on two salaries for a family to live a comfortable life increase in self esteem and sense of control- enhance women's status in household may find social support and recognition at work they don't receive at home
Family-to-work spillover
emotional climate of home life can affect morale and performance in the workplace both positively and negatively -usually stronger with women because they are more likely to take care of family issues that come up
policies to provide, support, or assist working parents in locating alternative nonparental child care arrangements for children and employees
employer provided child care resource and referral services as well as assistance or reimbursement programs for some of the expenses incurred for child care
living without work: unemployment and families
estimates are always lower than actual.. to be considered unemployed one must be looking for a job 4 weeks prior to being surveyed -major source of stress
-policies designed to make work more flexible-
flextime- flexible work schedules where workers can choose and change their start and quit times to meet personal and familial needs job sharing- allows two employees to share a full time job, usually splitting the benefits compressed workweeks- work shorter weeks by working longer days telecommuting- working from home using a phone or computer
Active Childcare
hands on -fathers are more involved with sons rather than daughters, younger children rather than older children, and first children rather than latter children.
status enhancement
helping a partners career development by building goodwill with the partners clients or coworkers, ensuring that the partner has the time needed to commit to work, and so on
men's traditional family work
husbands traditional role is provider maintenance of house- like repairs and such men tend to see their role in housekeeping or child care as helping their spouse more problems when men have a traditional view of gender roles rather than egalitarian
housework
indications of housework moving in a more equal direction --men's relative share of housework has increased over the last three decades from 15% to 30% as has their actual time spent doing housework --from 1965-2003 mens involvement in child care has tripled --cohabiting couples have a more equal split of housework as do same sex couples --men seem to share more when females are employed more hours, earn more money and have higher education
the traditional pattern
man works outside home for wage and woman works in home to care for kids and house -2011-19.9% US married couple were this -does not mean that this is these couples preferred pattern, or what they believe about gender roles, just what works for them -
Mental Child Care
mental labor- the process of worrying about the baby, seeking and processing information about infants and their needs, and managing the division of infant care in the household --for all of the child's life mothers feel responsible for and judged for what happens to their children in a way that most fathers do not
women in dual earner families appear to be...
mentally healthier than full time moms. in juggling multiple roles they suffer less depression, experience more variety, interact with a wider social circle, and have less dependency on their marital or family roles to proved all their gratification.
role conflict
occurs when individuals face competing and incompatible demands from two or more roles that they play (cant be in two places at once so have to pick between two demands)
marital power
reasons for women reluctance to insist on their husbands equal participation in housework 1. cultural norms that housework is the woman's responsibility 2. fears that the demands for increased participation will lead to conflict 3. belief that husbands are not competent 4. the concern that men's participation comes with strings attaches and that they will use that participation to gain other advantage over their spouse
bifurcation of working time
situation wherein some work longer and longer days and weeks while others work fewer hours than they want or need -60% of men and women said they'd rather work less -1/5 men and 19.3% of women said they'd rather work more than they're working
Family and work spillover
the effect that work has on individuals and families, absorbing their time and energy and impinging on their psychological states -in general- women report more negative spillover than do men -greater impact on families with children -greater effects on mothers than fathers -mothers were 1.5 times more likely to say that work interfered with their relationship with their children
role overload
the experience of having more prescribed activities in one or more roles than can be comfortably or adequately performed
coping in dual earner marriages
the three greatest social needs in dual earner marriages are: 1. redefining gender roles to eliminate role overload for women 2. providing adequate child care facilities for working parents 3. restructuring the workplace to recognize the special needs of parents and families
satisfaction, sex and stability
when men share more housework- women's satisfaction increases and conflict decreases wives are more sexually interested in men that do more housework role strain is a constant factor for women- women make greater adjustments than men make in dual earner marriages employed women are more likely to divorce, less likely to conform to traditional gender roles- despite increased divorce rate, women's employment has switched from negative impact to no impact to positive impact on families couples who share housework report themselves happier and less at risk for divorce
