Balancing Work and Family Responsibilities: Flextime and Child Care in the Federal Government

1996 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marni Ezra ◽  
Melissa Deckman
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Family Responsibilities

scholarly journals THE EXPERIENCE OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE FACED BY MOTHERS WITH PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-93
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Preschool Children ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Professional Life ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Unequal Distribution

The article presents the results of the sociological study “Parents between the need to work and family responsibilities” (in baze on 1047 questionnaires with mothers with preschool children and 20 in-depth sociological interviews), conducted by the Center for Demographic Research of NIER. The purpose of the study consisted in analyzing the particularities of reconciling the family life and the professional life of mothers with preschool children, in highlighting the difficulties they face in reintegrating into the labour market after child care leave and in determining the factors that contributes to facilitating the process of balancing family and professional life. The results of the study revealed that families face difficulties in establishing and maintaining a balance between many and sometimes contradictory demands of family and professional life. The interviewed mothers highlighted a high level of motivation to be employed, but the defining reason for returning to the labor market is the need to earn money. Depending on the professional and family orientations, mothers with preschool children can be divided into three categories: mothers who want to combine the work with raising children (65%), mothers who intend to make a career but do not forget about children (21.3%) and mothers who prefer to be housewifes and take care of children (13.7%). Although the support of the husband moderates the relationship between family and professional responsibilities, the results of the study have shown that there is a tendency for women to take full responsibility of the household and child care. The lack of quality care and education services for preschool children, the absence of flexible work programs but also the unequal distribution of family responsibilities contribute to making the work-family life balance a predominant problem.

Moderation Effect of Supervisor Support between Flexible Working Arrangement andWork-Family Conflict in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 711-726
Author(s):  
Eni Suriana Binti Alias Et.al
Keyword(s):  
Family Conflict ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Work Conflict ◽  
Flexible Working ◽  
Working Couples

There have been major changes in current workforce competitiveness trends. The changes in workforce demographics particularly in the increase of dual-earner families and single-parents have resulted in increased multiple role conflicts. Working couples must cope with the problem of combining work and family responsibilities in their daily life. Many industries adopted the current trend of the flexible working environment into their organizations. This study explores the moderation effect of supervisor support between flexible working arrangements (FWA), the effect on work interference with family conflict (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). The population for this study primarily focused on the organizations that adopt the flexible working arrangement such as flexible working time, working from home, and compressed work-week practices in Malaysia. The companies selected is based on the listing of global organizations practices FWA mentioned in Talent Corp Malaysia Flexible Working Arrangement collaboration with Malaysian Federation Employer report, 2015. The questionnaires were distributed through the Human Resource Department of each organization. The result demonstrated that there is relationship between FWA and WIF and there was moderation effect of supervisor support (SS) between FWA and WIF.  However, the result showed no moderation effect of SS between FWA and FIW. This study supports the idea that supervisor support is a resource that helps employees to manage the occurrence of interference from work to family and to overcoming FIW, supports particularly from family members either siblings, parents and spouse is important. The implication of this study is that, work conflict issue requires the proactive effort and support not only from the organization in terms of supervisor support through FWA but also support within the family circle. Organizations approach in adopting FWA in their attempts to minimize WFC is recommendable but it should be applied across occupation and organizations as one of employee benefits policy.

Changing times and women on the wheels: a qualitative investigation of the experiences of female commercial drivers in Lagos State, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Temitope Owolabi ◽  
Tunde A. Alabi ◽  
Sofiat A. Busari-Akinbode
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lagos State ◽  
Commercial Drivers ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Changing Times ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Purpose This study aims to investigate female commercial drivers in the Lagos metropolis. The study sought to know the circumstances that motivated women to venture into commercial driving; the experiences they encounter whilst engaging with other stakeholders in the public space; the dimension of the conflict between work and family, and the coping strategies used and finally, the health concerns of female commercial drivers. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a cross-sectional design and a qualitative method of data collection. An in-depth interview guide was used to elicit information from 18 female drivers drawn from three sectors of commercial transportation in Lagos State. Findings It was found that the major motivation for engaging in commercial driving is the need for survival and family support; although participants acknowledged that they cannot be in the profession for a long time. Married women had less time to engage in commercial driving due to other family responsibilities. Women drivers have experienced mixed reactions from other road users. Commercial driving is physically demanding and poses threat to the health of female commercial drivers. Originality/value The findings highlight the circumstances behind women participating in commercial driving. Despite the challenges encountered in this course of this activity, they are still bent on continuing because of the need to take care of their children, a majority of their spouses are not fully contributing to the maintenance of the home.

Consequences of Submissive Loyalty Corporations: An Empirical Analysis of Korean Female Employees’ Perception

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-74
Author(s):  
Kim Hwayeon ◽  
Nam Taewoo
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Family Conflict ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Office Work ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Overtime Work ◽  
Female Employees ◽  
Work Family

The number of female employees in the Korean workforce has risen. However, the Korean corporate climate, characterized by collectivism, hierarchism, and senior and masculine privilege, leads them to experience worklife conflict and even halt their careers. This climate stems from a social and organizational culture deeply rooted in traditional Confucianism. In Korea, where housework and childcare have long been considered the province of women, female employees find it more difficult to balance office work and family life. The Korean corporate climate welcomes overtime work, and women who work outside the home must juggle this and family responsibilities. We conceptualize behavior such as acquiescing to overtime work as submissive loyalty and elucidate work-family conflict and decreasing job and life satisfaction as consequences thereof. The analysis, based on a structural equation model, revealed that submissive loyalty increases work-family conflict, which decreases job and life satisfaction.

scholarly journals Working the second shift, settling in Canada and other struggles; narratives of working African-immigrant mothers in Toronto.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muno Mohamed Osman
Keyword(s):  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Labour Force Participation ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Immigrant Mothers ◽  
Feminist Theories ◽  
Second Shift

This research study explores the experiences of working African immigrant mothers in accessing formal childcare services in Toronto. I start the study with an over view of the literature on the topics of access to childcare service and women’s labour force participation. I then review social reproduction and black feminist theories; the theoretical framework for my research. I also highlight the current state of childcare in Canada and how this affects African immigrant mothers who work. The study includes qualitative in-depth interviews with four such mothers who talk about their challenges and experiences in balancing work and family responsibilities in Toronto. The study found that the mothers are dissatisfied with several aspects of the childcare services they use or have used in the past. The mothers also face many struggles owing to patriarchal gender norms in their households and loss of extended family supports after immigration.

scholarly journals The Unintended Effect of Paternity Leave on Union Stability: Evidence from the Quebec Parental Insurance Program

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Margolis ◽  
Youjin Choi ◽  
Anders Holm ◽  
Nirav Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Infant Health ◽  
Transition To Parenthood ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Union Dissolution ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
Intent To Treat ◽  
Parental Benefits

The transition to parenthood is often stressful, as parents balance work and family responsibilities and adjust to new social roles. Paid parental benefits policies are explicitly aimed to encourage return-to-work and enhance infant health. However, some recent policies also aim to equalize housework and paid work within families by earmarking weeks of parental benefits for fathers that cannot be transferred to mothers. We examine two theoretical frameworks from sociology and economics to highlight potential mechanisms through which such policies may increase or decrease union dissolution, and why the direction and magnitude of the effects might differ across subpopulations. Then, using population-level administrative data, we examine how the Quebec Parental Insurance Program affected union dissolution. We find that overall, the policy decreased the divorce/separation rate by 0.6% points, a 7% reduction in the rate overall (intent-to-treat). Further, we find that the effect of fathers using parental benefits on the risk of divorce (treatment-on-treated) is more than double the intent-to-treat estimate. The policy had the greatest effects in reducing union dissolution among couples likely to be more egalitarian in orientation, and led to no increase in divorce, even in the most traditional couples.

scholarly journals Towards gender equality in the labour markets of Canada, USA and Russia: an overview of progress in achievement of international commitments

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-50
Author(s):  
Maria Yu. Beletskaya ◽  
Elena A. Zotova
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Labour Force Participation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Employment Of Women

In 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO), together with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), prepared and presented to the G20 leaders a report entitled “Women at work in G20 countries: Progress and policy action”. According to the report, Canada, the United States and Russia show the lowest results among the G20 countries in reaching the goal of reducing the gender gap in labour force participation by 25 percent by 2025. This is largely due to the relatively high levels of gender equality that have already been achieved in these countries. The article analyzes the policy of Canada, the USA and Russia towards women at work in four directions: 1) measures taken by national Governments, in cooperation with social partners, to increase women’s participation in the labour force and to overcome cultural and behavioural barriers to the employment of women; 2) measures to increase women’s ability to earn decent wages, including through lifelong learning, upgrading qualifications and skills development; 3) measures to reduce the proportion of women employed in the informal sector and in low-paid jobs; 4) measures to protect women in labour market in order to encourage men and women to combine work and family and share family responsibilities equitably.

Employer-Supported Child Care as a Women-Responsive Policy

1990 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 384-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUDITH D. AUERBACH
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Depth Interviews

The recent “mommy track” debate raises questions about how employers ought best to accommodate women's (and men's) dual commitments to work and family. The “mommy track” approach suggests instituting different career paths for women who expect to have children and those who do not. A less discriminatory approach is to implement family-supportive policies applicable to both women and men. This article examines one such policy — employer-supported child care—and discusses its nature and its implications for improving labor force opportunities for women. Primary data come from two sources: a survey of 99 randomly selected employers in three Eastern states and in-depth interviews with 25 employers across the country, 20 that already support a child-care benefit and five that considered it but decided not to. The article concludes that although employers support child care out of their own organizational self-interest, the implication of their support for women's occupational advancement is not insignificant.

The impact of different supports on work-family conflict

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Maria Ferri ◽  
Matteo Pedrini ◽  
Egidio Riva
Keyword(s):  
Family Conflict ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Work ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how the actual use of supports available from the state, organisations and families helps workers reduce perceived work–family conflict (WFC), explored from both works interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) perspectives. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a survey of 2,029 employees at six large Italian firms. To test hypotheses, a hierarchical regression analysis was performed. Findings WFC should be explored considering its bi-directionality, as supports have different impacts on WIF and FIW. Workplace instrumental support elicits mixed effects on WFC, whereas workplace emotional support and familiar support reduce both FIW and WIF. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to the Italian national context, and data were collected in a single moment of time, which did not allow for observing changes in employees’ lives. Practical implications Human resource managers, as well as policy makers, will find this study’s results useful in designing effective work–life balance policies and supports, in which attention is devoted mainly to promoting workplace emotional supports and facilitating familiar support. Social implications The study highlights that by reducing pressures from work and family responsibilities that generate WFC conditions, organisational and familiar supports elicit different effects, which should be considered carefully when defining policies and interventions. Originality/value This study is one of the few that compare the role of supports provided by actors in different sectors on FIW and WIF, thereby allowing for an understanding of whether the bi-directionality of the conflicts is a relevant perspective.

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