Compatibility of family and work: how do families in the Ruhr region/Germany deal with mobility-related challenges?

Erdkunde ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Eric Suder ◽  
Carmella Pfaffenbach
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Mothers And Fathers ◽  
Family And Work ◽  
Families With Children ◽  
Ruhr Region

Mobility-related challenges severely impact on everyday lives of families with young children. Since this is especially true for families with children younger than ten, here we focus on the mobility coping strategies and patterns they develop to reconcile family and work life. The paper is based on a qualitative empirical study in which 40 mothers and fathers were interviewed in the Ruhr region in 2018. The results show that their most pressing mobility challenges are related to time-based and financial restrictions. Common strategies in adapting to these challenges are commuting by car, by involving the grandparent generation in childcare, and by reducing the mother’s (paid) working hours. Especially the interviewed mothers see the latter as a compromise rather than a satisfactory measure. Families who cannot resort to these strategies might be faced with social exclusion.

Gezin en arbeid in je eentje

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Kruyfhooft ◽  
Dimitri Mortelmans
Keyword(s):  
Single Mothers ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Single Parents ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Family Role ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Mothers And Fathers ◽  
Combination Strategies ◽  
Family And Work

Family and work on your own. The combination strategies of single mothers and fathers Family and work on your own. The combination strategies of single mothers and fathers Due to demographic changes, the situation of single parents has received a lot of attention in public debate and new policies. Nevertheless, little scientific information is available on the daily life and social conditions of single parents. In a dual parents household, previous research found two types of strategies to find a work-life balance. First, one can choose to intervene in the work role: the parent can reduce, adjust or end his/her working schedule. Second, one can adjust their family role by outsourcing a part of his/her family role. However, the question remains which strategies single parents use to find a work-family balance. Using 28 biographical interviews, this qualitative research focused on the daily life of single parents in Flanders and their search for a work-life balance. The results suggest four types of single parents, based on criteria such as job satisfaction, feelings of guilt, educational problems, and socio-economical characteristics. This article will discuss for each of these four groups the strategies they use to (re-)find balance in their work-life conflict.

scholarly journals Do Work–Life Measures Really Matter? The Impact of Flexible Working Hours and Home-Based Teleworking in Preventing Voluntary Employee Exits

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Charlotte K. Marx ◽  
Mareike Reimann ◽  
Martin Diewald
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Flexible Working Hours ◽  
Flexible Working ◽  
Flexibility Measures ◽  
The Impact

Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of work–life measures, which are designed to contribute to job quality and help reconcile employees’ work and personal lives. In our study, we asked whether such measures can also work as inducements to prevent employees from voluntarily leaving a firm. We considered flexible working hours and home-based teleworking as flexibility measures that are potentially attractive to all employees. To address the possible bias caused by sketchy implementation and their actual selective use, we chose to examine employees’ perceptions of the offer of these measures. We investigated the moderation of the effect by organizational culture and supervisor and coworker support. We controlled for several indicators of job quality, such as job satisfaction and perceived fairness, to isolate specific ways in which work–life measures contributed to voluntary employee exit, and checked for a selective attractiveness of work–life measures to parents and women as the main caregivers. Using a three-wave panel employer–employee survey, we estimated multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models for 5452 employees at 127 large German establishments. Our results confirmed that both types of flexibility measures were associated with a lower probability of voluntarily exit. This applied more to men than to women, and the probability was reduced by a demanding organizational culture. Both measures seemed not to be specifically designed to accommodate main caregivers but were attractive to the whole workforce.

scholarly journals Surgical leadership within rapidly changing working conditions in Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Schmitz-Rixen ◽  
Reinhart T. Grundmann
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Physician Assistants ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Surgical Department ◽  
Chief Physician

AbstractIntroductionAn overview of the requirements for the head of a surgical department in Germany should be given.Materials and methodsA retrospective literature research on surgical professional policy publications of the last 10 years in Germany was conducted.ResultsSurveys show that commercial influences on medical decisions in German hospitals have today become an everyday, predominantly negative, actuality. Nevertheless, in one survey, 82.9% of surgical chief physicians reported being very satisfied with their profession, compared with 61.5% of senior physicians and only 43.4% of hospital specialists. Here, the chief physician is challenged. Only 70% of those surveyed stated that they could rely on their direct superiors when difficulties arose at work, and only 34.1% regarded feedback on the quality of their work as sufficient. The high distress rate in surgery (58.2% for all respondents) has led to a lack in desirability and is reflected in a shortage of qualified applicants for resident positions. In various position papers, surgical residents (only 35% describe their working conditions as good) demand improved working conditions. Chief physicians are being asked to facilitate a suitable work-life balance with regular working hours and a corporate culture with participative management and collegial cooperation. Appreciation of employee performance must also be expressed. An essential factor contributing to dissatisfaction is that residents fill a large part of their daily working hours with non-physician tasks. In surveys, 70% of respondents stated that they spend up to ≥3 h a day on documentation and secretarial work.DiscussionThe chief physician is expected to relieve his medical staff by employing non-physician assistants to take care of non-physician tasks. Transparent and clearly structured training to achieve specialist status is essential. It has been shown that a balanced work-life balance can be achieved for surgeons. Family and career can be reconciled in appropriately organized departments by making use of part-time and shift models that exclude 24-h shifts and making working hours more flexible.

scholarly journals MP16: Quality of work life among nurses and physicians in Québec rural emergency departments

CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. S70
Author(s):  
R. Fleet ◽  
G. Dupuis ◽  
M. Mbakop-Nguebou ◽  
P.M. Archambault ◽  
J. Plant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Quality Of Work Life ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Nurses And Physicians

Introduction: Recruitment and retention of healthcare staff are difficult in rural communities. Poor quality of work life (QWL) may be an underling factor as rural healthcare professionals are often isolated and work with limited resources. However, QWL data on rural emergency (ED) staff is limited. We assessed QWL among nurses and physicians as part of an ongoing study on ED care in Québec. Methods: We selected EDs offering 24/7 medical coverage, with hospitalization beds, in rural or small towns (Stats Canada definition). Of Québec’s 26 rural EDs, 23 (88%) agreed to participate. The online Quality of Work Life Systemic Inventory (QWLSI, with 1 item per 34 “life domains”), was sent to all non-locum ED nurses and physicians (about 500 potential participants). The QWLSI is used for comparing QWL scores to those of a large international database. We present overall and subscale QWL scores as percentiles (PCTL) of scores in the large database, and comparisons of nurses’ and physicians’ scores (t test). Results: Thirty-three physicians and 84 nurses participated. Mean age was 39.8 years (SD=10.1): physicians=37 (7.7) and nurses=40.9 (10.7). Overall QWL scores for all were in the 32nd PCTL, i.e. low. Nurses were in the 28th PCTL and physicians in the 44nd (p>0.05). For both groups, QWL was below the 25th PCTL i.e. very low, for “sharing workload during absence of an employee”, “working equipment”, “flexibility of work schedule”, “impact of working hours on health”, “possibility of being absent for familial reasons”, “relations with employees”. The groups differed (p<0.05) on only two subscales: remuneration and career path. For remuneration, scores were similar on fringe benefits (nurses 22nd PCTL, physicians 32nd) and income security (nurses 72nd, physicians 74th), but differed on income level (nurses 74th, physicians 93rd). The groups differed on all 3 career path items: advancement possibilities (nurses 53th, physicians 91st), possibilities for transfer (nurses 51nd, physicians 84th) and continuing education (nurses 18th, physicians 49th). Conclusion: Overall QWL among rural ED staff is poor. Groups had similar QWL scores except on career path, with physicians perceiving better long-term prospects. Given difficulties in rural recruitment and retention, these findings suggest that QWL should be assessed in rural and urban EDs nationwide.

Coping Strategies used by Mothers and Fathers following Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail C. Demianczyk ◽  
Colleen F. Bechtel Driscoll ◽  
Allison Karpyn ◽  
Amanda Shillingford ◽  
Anne E. Kazak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Congenital Heart Disease ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Congenital Heart ◽  
Mothers And Fathers

scholarly journals The interplay between maternal childhood maltreatment, parental coping strategies as well as endangered parenting behavior during the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 251610322110148
Author(s):  
Franziska Köhler-Dauner ◽  
Vera Clemens ◽  
Katherina Hildebrand ◽  
Ute Ziegenhain ◽  
Jörg M. Fegert
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Parenting Behavior ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Transgenerational Transmission ◽  
Families With Children ◽  
Parental Ability

The SARS-CoV-2-pandemic is associated different challenges, especially for families. The disruption and challenges require parents to develop strategies to cope with the current situation. One factor that may influence how parents deal with pandemic-associated stressors are experiences of parental childhood maltreatment (CM), which represent a high risk of engaging in endangered parenting. A decisive candidate for the connection between parental CM and the transgenerational transmission could be the parental ability to employ coping strategies. Mothers of a well-documented birth cohort for investigating the pathways leading to resilience or vulnerability in the transgenerational transmission of CM were imbedded in an online “SARS-CoV-2 pandemic survey” assessing maternal ability for coping strategies and the dimension of endangered maternal parenting behavior. 91 mothers completed the online survey. To describe the maternal CM, data from a longitudinal survey were used. Our mediation analysis shows a significant positive relationship between the sum of maternal CM experiences, lack of coping strategies and endangered parenting behavior. This suggests a partial mediation of the association between CM and endangered parenting behavior as the direct effect remained significant when the maternal lack of coping strategies was included as the mediator. Parental CM is a risk factor for coping with stressful situation as well as for endangered parenting behavior. The ability to deal with stress seems to have a significant influence on the context of a possible transgenerational transmission of CM. The results underline the need to consider the unique needs of families with children and to support them as to how to overcome the current crisis.

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