Work and Family Policies for a Changing Work Force (1991) / Chapter Skim
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3 Linkages Between Work and Family
3 Linkages Between Work and Family
Pages 42-63
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From page 42... ...
Married men, in particular, have substantially higher labor force participation rates than do unmarried men. Long hours, rigid schedules, and an excessively high level of involvement in work, however, can also have negative consequences both for the individuals involved and for their families.
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From page 43... ...
Therefore, we assess the effect of labor force participation on the family, of family characteristics on performance in the workplace, and the combined effects of multiple roles and quality of life. We first examine studies concerned with various aspects of workplace conditions, especially those over which employers have some control, such as schedules and leaves, and their impact on employees and their dependents.
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From page 44... ...
Research in this field has focused on the effects of employment on families, specifically the impact of women's labor force participation, presumably because men were expected to work for pay, while women were still expected to be responsible for homemaking. Initially, research attention centered almost entirely on potential negative effects on marriage and children of women's employment (see, for example, Hoffman and Nye, 1974; Spitze, 1988~.
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From page 45... ...
The causal relationships between employment and health are not clear. Preliminary findings from a national longitudinal survey suggest that health is an important determinant of labor force participation (Mares, 1982~.
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From page 46... ...
Some studies have shown that husbands of employed women are more likely to be depressed and experience greater job pressures (Kessler and McRae, 19821. Others found that both spouses experience greater marital satisfaction (e.g., Simpson and England, 1982~.
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From page 47... ...
finds that dissatisfied mothers, whether employed or not, appear to have more poorly adjusted children, suggesting that mothers' satisfaction, rather than employment status, may influence children's adjustment. Research on employed minority mothers, although sparse, shows consistently favorable effects on children's achievement except when arrangements for their care are inadequate (Heyns, 19821.
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From page 48... ...
A Swedish study shows that employed mothers report more daily fatigue and psychological distress after the birth of a first child (Moen, 1989~. Limited evidence suggests that the stress felt by some employed mothers may have negative effects on the relationship with and the development of their infants (Zigler and Frank, 1988; Moen, 1989; Brazelton, 1986; Clarke-Stewart and Fein, 1983~.
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From page 49... ...
An early study, however, shows that wives of disabled men are likely to enter the labor force in response to the illness and related economic loss (Franklin, 1977~. Thus, employment may offer economic relief and make possible the purchase of care.
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From page 50... ...
Among a sample of black inner-city mothers, approximately 29 percent indicated experiencing moderate to severe family-work conflict (Katz and Piotrkowski, 1983) , a figure comparable to that found in a representative national sample by Pleck et al.
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From page 51... ...
For example, Staines and Pleck (1983) found that the negative relationships between nonstandard work schedules and the quality of family life are strongest when workers have the least control over their schedules that is, working an afternoon shift decreases time spent with children when they have little control over their schedule, but increases parental time when they have medium and high control.
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From page 52... ...
Frequent job-related travels also are likely to put strains on family life and tend to interfere with regular household responsibilities. Traveling salespersons, long-distance truck drivers, flight attendants, and military personnel are obviously affected, but so are many others, such as public officials and managers in multiplant businesses.
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From page 53... ...
For example, longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study show that mothers in clerical jobs who have three or more children are at increased risk of coronary heart disease (LaCroix and Haynes, 1987~. Employer Support In addition to job characteristics, the attitudes and actions of managers and coworkers, perhaps independent of official company policies, may also affect workers and their families.
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From page 54... ...
found that one-third of both men and women in the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey claimed some or a lot of such interference when asked, "How much do your job and your family life interfere with each other a lot, somewhat, not too much, or not at all? " Similarly, Voydanoff
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From page 55... ...
Since women do have more family responsibilities, they would be expected to report more such conflict; to the extent they do not, it may be that they have developed better mechanisms for coping with such stress. Labor Force Participation There are several indications that men with family responsibilities are more likely to be in the labor force and are more highly motivated.
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From page 56... ...
Over the last 20 years the effect of maternity on women's labor force participation has changed considerably. Using data from the national Survey of Income and Program Participation, O'Connell (1990)
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From page 57... ...
found that married women, but not single women, reduced their labor force participation to care for parents. The fact that married women and those with higher incomes are more inclined than others to drop out of the labor force or to work part time is often taken as showing lack of commitment to work.
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From page 58... ...
Because women are more likely to have these responsibilities, they have increased rates of absenteeism. Three primary sources of family-related absence are illness of another family member, finding care arrangements for dependents, and making alternative arrangements when the usual ones fail.
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From page 59... ...
Other Effects on Work Family characteristics influence not only labor force participation, absenteeism, and tardiness, but also many other workplace issues, such as
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From page 60... ...
Somewhat related to the question of energy is the issue of motivation. Married men, who are generally seen to be the family's primary wage earner, are expected to be more eager to obtain training, to work hard, and to compete for promotions than married women, who are often viewed as secondary wage earners and also likely to spend less time in the labor force.
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From page 61... ...
There is need for more research on single parents, minority couples, and dual-earner couples in which spouses are blue-collar and service workers; such families tend to have far fewer resources either to pay for the care that is available or to buffer the stress that can come from less desirable work (Spitze, 1988; Ferree, 1987; Fernandez, 1986~. One British survey of 304 couples with low occupational status, for example, shows that, among other factors, low work commitment and low aspirations were significant predictors of stress
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From page 62... ...
When they have little control over their schedules, they are particularly likely to be subject to considerable stress. The limited research that has been done suggests that family responsibilities are likely to increase labor force turnover and may have some negative effects on work performance.
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From page 63... ...
It is evident that managers, supervisors, and peers play a large part in facilitating or inhibiting the adjustment of workers to their dual responsibilities. Most significantly, permitting employees some choice and some control tends to reduce the negative consequences of combining work and family responsibilities.
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