Managing Work & Family Flashcards
labour force participation trends: male vs. female
- Convergence over time
- Early 1900’s – 70% discrepancy between men and women
- Today – 10% discrepancy between men and women
- Men’s labour force participation remains higher than women’s
- Fewer men than women in part-time employment
- Women are highly committed to lifelong careers
- Women have fewer and shorter periods of work interruptions
labour force participation trends: working moms
- increase over time
- 1976: approx 1/3 of moms worked
- 2009: over 2/3 of moms worked
general workforce trends
- People are working more than 1 job simultaneously
- Mobility – people change jobs throughout life course
- Jobs beneath one’s education (ie. People with degrees working jobs they could have done without their degree)
- Long commutes
- Technology 24/7
- Redefined workspace
- Home-based work
- Downshifting (opt for simpler life)
- Dual earner families are the norm
benefits of paid work
- Need money
- Health insurance; pensions, etc.
- Self-actualization
- Enjoyment, passion
Canadian high-income earners vs. low-income earners
- Work longer hours, more weeks
- Spend less time on housework
- Have less leisure time
- 80% feel rushed
- Both have little time left for children
major themes in work-family research over last 10 years
- Gender, time, and division of labour
- Paid work: too much vs. Too little
Too much paid work?
– too much: no time for other activities; inflexibility of work hours
– too little: low earning; unemployment; effect on family involvement
involvement balance
if a person is heavily involved in one domain (work or family), he or she may be less available, psychologically or physically for the other domain
work-family conflict: work-related vs. non-work-related effects
- Work-related outcomes: Decreased job satisfaction, work performance, morale, organizational commitment; Increased turnover, intent to leave, absenteeism
- Non-work-related outcomes: Lower satisfaction – life, martial, family; Increased psychological strain, fatigue, depression, alcohol abuse, job burnout, family stress
3 ways to manage work-family conflict
- Family makes changes
- Workplace makes changes
- Policy changes are implemented
who is the most time-pressured
- Affluent people, parents, caregivers
- People in high demand, low control jobs (have no say in their schedule)
- Mothers (and fathers) working full-time
pit stop approach to home
home is viewed as a re-fuelling/recharging place; somewhere to get ahead at work
work-family enrichment
- “the extent to which experiences in one role improve the quality of life in the other role”
- Synergy between work and family life
- Positive effects of having multiple roles
- Access to income, benefits, use of skills and abilities
how does enjoying paid work affect work-family balance?
- Reduces stress: reduces both time-related stress and work-family balance-related stress for men and women
- Helpful for both men and women
- However, women in professional/managerial positions are less satisfied than other workers (could be because they haven’t adjusted the other “spheres” of their life to accommodate this position)
- As paid work hours increase, women do not report greater improvement to quality of life
how does enjoying housework affect work-family balance?
- Helpful for women, but not men
- Women have an improved sense of work-family balance due to housework (still see housework as part of their role – if they can manage it well, they’re happy)
- Men were more likely to be time-stressed due to housework (don’t see it as part of their role – see it as an additional task added on)
managing work-family conflict: family/individual strategies
- Maintain boundary between work/family (ie. Not bringing work home)
- Have adequate childcare arrangements
- Fair division of household labour
- Outsource tasks (ie. Nannies, personal shoppers)
Attitudes (both cultural and family) - Social support
managing work-family conflict: workplace changes
- workplace policies (Employee Assistance Programs, flexible time, childcare, parental leave, compassionate care)
- work arrangements (ex. Flexible scheduling, home-based work, telework, self-employment, shift work, part-time work)
Employee Assistance Programs
- Programs to deal with pressures and problems
- Wellness programs
- Private space for breastfeeding
effect of flexible scheduling on women
- Decreases time pressure
- Increases level of satisfaction with:
- Work-family balance
- Job satisfaction
- Life satisfaction
- Time use
effect of flexible scheduling on men
- Decreases time pressure
- Has no effect on work-life balance
- Increases perception of well-being
effect of flexible scheduling on parents
- Decreases time on employment-related activities
- Increases sleep time
- Increases participation in physical activities
According to data from National Study of US Employers, MORE companies are…
- Increasing options allowing employee to manage time and place of work (ex. flex time, daily time off when need arises - ie. when kids are sick)
- Offering Dependent Care Assistance Plans (DCAP) to help pay for childcare, elder care, and respite services with pre-tax dollars
- Offering information about elder care
According to data from National Study of US Employers, LESS companies are…
- allowing employee large amount of time away from full-time work (ie. going to/from part-time and full-time, taking career breaks for family reasons)
- Providing emergency childcare and sick care options
who are the most flexible employers?
- Large companies
- Non-profits
- Companies where workforce is made up of more women and less racial or ethnic minorities; has more women and racial minorities in senior positions
- Companies with fewer union members
- Companies with fewer hourly employees
- Companies with more part-timers
do benefits really help decrease work-family conflict
- Perception is “yes”, but not always true
- Reasons benefits don’t always help:
- Programs don’t meet needs
- Barriers exist to implementing or using them
managing work-family conflict: policies
- Maternity/parental leave (employers can top up)
- Compassionate care benefits
benefits of work spillover on families
- Individuals with high incomes have healthier children and are more satisfied with childcare
- They have greater autonomy on the job
- They engage in networking and have family-supportive employers
conflict usually arises from
- Disputes over money or time use
- Disputes over work involvement
- Disputes over values
factors influencing conflict resolution
- Involvement balance
- Workplace flexibility
- Family member’s needs
compromise vs. accommodation
- Compromise: each person makes concessions, giving in a little to gain a valued outcome
- Accommodation: the needs of each person are accommodated or adjusted as best they can be
social support on work-family conflict
- Marriage has positive health effects on spouses/parents and children
- Social support plays a larger role for women than men in reducing work-family conflict
work vs. effort
- Work: effort expended to produce or accomplish something, or an activity that is rewarded (usually with pay)
- Effort: use of energy to do something
who is most likely to feel overworked?
employees in poor-quality jobs with little control
work ethic vs. commitment
- Work ethic: degree of dedication or commitment to work
- Commitment: the degree to which an individual identifies with and is involves in a particular activity or organization
workaholism
the inability to stop thinking about work, and the feeling the work is always the most pleasurable part of life
The 3 P’s
- Procrastinator: puts off work and postpones decisions
- Parkinson’s law: a job expands to fill the time available to accomplish the task (ie. People with lots of time and few tasks will take longer on them)
- Pareto’s Principle: the 80-20 rule -> 20% of the time expended usually produces 80% of the results, while 80% of the time expended only produces 20% of the results (meaning that most of an individual’s time is wasted on low-productivity activities)
who volunteers? why do they do it?
- Stay-at-home moms make up large numbers of volunteers
- Why do people volunteer?
- Sense of social consciousness (want to contribute to family/community)
- Provides self-worth and self-esteem
- Provides leadership skills
leisure
- freedom from time-consuming activities, tasks, duties, or responsibilities
- We have more leisure time today than in the past, but it doesn’t feel like it
- Men have more leisure time than women
- Leisure time usually spent on interests and hobbies, or playing with kids
