Locate and read a research-based article that relates to the balancing of work and family. The University of Arizona Global Campus Library is a good place to

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7Work and Family Balance

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Learning Outcomes

After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

ሁ Outline the social and economic factors that have redefined family roles over the past half-century. ሁ Describe the variables that play a role in work-life balance. ሁ Analyze policies of family-friendly workplaces. ሁ Evaluate strategies for achieving work-life balance. ሁ Describe the unique challenges that impact military families.

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Section 7.1The Evolution of the Working Family

Introduction In the United States, most adults must work and simultaneously meet a variety of family responsibilities, including caring for and educating children. Some families must also care for elderly parents and accommodate adult children who move back home. The term sandwich generation has been coined to describe parents who are raising their children while simulta- neously caring for their own parents; they are sandwiched between two sets of expectations and pressures from younger and older relatives.

This chapter focuses on the challenges of working families, including balancing job and fam- ily responsibilities, making sure children receive appropriate and affordable care, and finding family-friendly workplaces. We will examine strategies families can use to manage their time and financial resources. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of the unique experience of military families as they strive to achieve a balance between work and family life.

7.1 The Evolution of the Working Family To achieve a big picture understanding of today’s working families, it is important to con- sider their historical context. Prior to the social movements of the 1960s, the American working family was one in which the father would earn the living, whether it was on the farm, in a factory, as a craftsman, or another occupation, and the mother would care for the children and the home. It was the norm for women to remain at home until the youngest child graduated from high school (Bianchi et al., 2006). Then they might seek paid employ- ment outside the home, especially in teaching, nursing, and secretarial work. Although women were deployed throughout the wartime economy during World War II, while men were away and factories needed workers, they largely returned to their prewar roles in the late 1940s and 1950s.

As American schools, early childhood programs, and other community child, youth, and fam- ily agencies developed and expanded from the late 1800s through the 1960s, they tended to design their services around this model of family organization. For example, schools expected mothers to volunteer during the day, attend meetings and conferences often during tradi- tional work hours, and become actively involved in parent–teacher associations. In modern society, few working parents are available during the day to participate in school activities. However, the system has yet to be updated to accommodate parents’ schedules, making it dif- ficult for them to tend to both their family and work life. In this section, we examine the social and economic factors that resulted in a new family structure in which most parents work to support their family and traditional roles are called into question.

Dual-Earner Families: Social and Economic Forces The second half of the 20th century produced a myriad of social, cultural, economic, and polit- ical changes in the United States and around the world that dramatically altered the tradi- tional, two-parent family. Key social and legal changes included the following:

• People began to delay marriage and have fewer children. • The counterculture of the 1960s challenged traditional American values, including

marriage, the traditional family structure, and the requirement for women to marry before having children.

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Section 7.1The Evolution of the Working Family

• The sexual revolution of the 1960s celebrated the separation of sexual activity from its role within marriage and procreation.

• The federal Head Start program was created, and working fami- lies had more child care and early childhood options, freeing moth- ers from the necessity of choos- ing between family and work.

• The Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement of the 1960s and 1970s expanded minorities’ and women’s options for attending college, and increased employment options through federal laws and pro- grams. These include: — Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

of 1964, which outlawed employment discrimination based on race, color, reli- gion, sex, or national origin;

— Affirmative Action programs, which gave non-White applicants and women spe- cial consideration in school admissions, hiring, and federal contracts; and

— The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which protected men and women performing sub- stantially equal work in the same place from sex-based wage discrimination.

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalizing the birth control pill and other forms of contraception for all married couples (1965), and legalized abortion in all 50 states (1973).

• No-fault divorce laws were passed in all states, starting with California in 1969.

Coupled with the social and legal changes were several key economic developments that called into question traditional roles within families. The passage of free-trade agreements, such as NAFTA in 1994, encouraged a more globalized economy, and resulted in the emer- gence of China, India, and Brazil as fierce competitors to U.S. labor markets. By outsourcing factory work to developing countries that pay their workers less, U.S. business and industry shifted away from manufacturing to a more information- and service-based economy, requir- ing better-educated workers. Many of these developments occurred in tandem with the com- mercialization of the Internet in 1995. To develop its white-collar workforce, American school systems have shifted from preparing students for a variety of vocational and professional options to an approach that focuses mainly on college preparation.

The combination of these social, legal, and economic changes produced two fundamental developments in the American workplace: (1) a vast increase in the number of women in the workplace and (2) an increase in the number of dual-earner families (Perry-Jenkins, Repetti, & Crouter, 2001), in which married or cohabiting couples (with or without children) both work, either full time or part time. As employers were no longer legally allowed to dis- criminate in favor of male breadwinners, more women flooded into the job market. In fact, by 2010 women represented 46.7% percent of the United States labor force, and 71.9 million women were employed or looking for work (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010).

Underwood Archives/Underwood Photo Archives/Superstock ሁ One of the achievements of the Civil Rights

Movement was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which expanded the availability of education and employment for minorities and women in America.

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Section 7.1The Evolution of the Working Family

Today, more women than men graduate from high school, go on to college, and complete col- lege degrees (Peter, K., & Horn, L. n.d.). Thus, in ever more working families, the woman is more educated than the man and often can earn a better income. This has led to a shift in household incomes and an increase in the number of stay-at-home fathers (Amato, et al., 2003; Pew Research Center, 2014a; Swanson, 2008).

Work and Parenting: Then and now Since the 1960s, there has been a dramatic shift in the way mothers and fathers spend their time. As shown in Figure 7.1, mothers do almost three times as much paid work as they did in 1965, although they are still surpassed by fathers who do nearly 15 more hours of paid work each week. And while fathers do more housework and caretaking than they did five decades ago, mothers still do twice as much.

Figure 7.1: changes in parents’ roles over time

Source: “Modern Parenthood,” Pew Research Center, Washington, DC (March, 2013). Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/03/14/modern- parenthood-slideshow/modernparenthood-slideshow_002/

In general, dual-earner mothers and fathers are spending more time with their children. Bianchi and colleagues (2006) determined that between 1965 and 2000, total parental time with children, including direct child care and recreational activities, increased from 21 to 33 hours for married fathers, and 47 to 51 hours for married mothers. The researchers cited several reasons for this increase:

1. In dual-earner families, men increased the amount of time engaged in chores and child care activities;

2. Parents decreased the amount of time spent doing housework and household chores between 1965 and 2000, while increasing the time spent multitasking;

3. Parents and children spent far more time together when the parents were not work- ing than they did in 1965; and

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1965

Fathers

Average number of hours parents with children spend each week on . . .

Child care

Housework

Paid work

7.3

Hours

9.8

37.1

1990 2011 1965

Mothers

Child care

Housework

Paid work

13.5

Hours

17.8

21.4

1990 2011

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Section 7.2Challenges of Working Families

4. Parents spent more time with their children in 2000 at the expense of time alone, time with each other, time with friends, and time doing a variety of civic activities (Bianchi, S., Robinson, J., Milkie, M., 2006).

While dual-earner mothers and fathers spend more of their time parenting, single mothers spend less time with their children. As Figure 7.2 illustrates, total parenting time for single mothers decreased from 50 to 44 hours between 1965 and 2000. Bianchi and colleagues (2006) determined that lack of support with non-child-related activities, such as household chores, was one cause for this decrease. The implementation of the 1996 federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, better known as the Welfare Reform Act, may also explain why single mothers spend less time with their children. The legislation required parents receiving welfare to seek employment and limited the amount of time a mother could receive welfare payments. These reforms resulted in an increase in the number of single, working mothers (Longley, n.d.). To learn more about this legislation, visit http:// www.welfareinfo.org/reform/.

Figure 7.2: Total parenting time in 1965 vs. 2000

Source: Based on Bianchi, S. M., Robinson, J. P., & Milkie, M. A. (2006). Changing rhythms of American family life. New York, NY: Russell Sage.

During their study, Bianchi and colleagues (2006) asked parents how they felt about their ability to budget their time. About 50% of parents felt they were not spending enough time with their children, and about 60% felt they did not spend enough time with a spouse. In addi- tion, 50% of fathers and 75% of mothers felt they did not have enough time for themselves. When it came to work-life balance, 20% of parents believed they were sacrificing family life for work, while between 30% and 40% felt they sacrificed work for their family (Bianchi et al., 2006). Despite these challenges, researchers noted that contemporary parents (including single mothers) expressed satisfaction in spending time with their children.

7.2 challenges of Working Families Given the demands on their time, it is not surprising that contemporary parents and caregiv- ers struggle to simultaneously meet the needs of their families while working to support them financially. When parents struggle, their family’s well-being suffers, which in turn can affect

f07.02

T im

e sp

en t

p ar

en ti

ng (h

o ur

s)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Fathers

Married mothers

Single mothers

1965 2000

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Section 7.2Challenges of Working Families

a wide variety of factors. These include overall physical and psychological health of a fam- ily, high levels of self-esteem, a sense of power, and an internal locus of control. (Recall from Chapter 2 that an internal locus of control is a sense that the outcome of an action is the result of one’s own abilities and efforts, as opposed to external locus of control, in which a person perceives the outcome of an action as the result of luck, chance, or powerful forces beyond his or her control.) (Crandell, Crandell, & Zanden, 2012). Family well-being often encompasses good physical and mental health, few behavior and discipline problems with children, strong social support, high marital quality and stability (in two-parent families), and positive par- ent–child relationships (Barnett, 2008; Conger & Donnellan, 2007; McLoyd, Aikens, & Burton, 2006). In the following sections, we will take a closer look at some of the major factors that impact family well-being. These include enduring financial pressures, achieving job satisfac- tion, and weighing child care options.

maintaining Financial Stability The employment of family members is central to the role of parenting and the health of a family. Socioeconomic status can have a major impact on family well-being and children’s healthy growth, development, and learning (Rothstein, 2008). Since the 1970s, the United States has weathered several recessions that have made it difficult for working families to perform essential tasks, or family functions, to meet the basic needs of the children and other family members. These basic needs include housing, food, transportation, health care, child care, and other necessities (Bernstein & Lin, 2008). The inability to provide for basic family needs can lead to a variety of outcomes, including food insecurity, homelessness, more fre- quent cohabitation with significant others, extended family, and friends, and young families returning to live with their parents.

According to Bernstein and Lin (2008), the cost of caring for a family with two adults and two children, differs greatly across the country (see Figure 7.3). However on average, a two- parent, two child family requires $48,778 to meet their basic needs described above (Bern- stein & Lin, 2008). In the United States, 30% of American families have an income below this level and struggle to maintain financial stability (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a).

Figure 7.3: cost of caring for a family with two adults and two children, 2008

Source: Bernstein, J., & Lin, J. (2008, October 29). What we need to get by: A basic standard of living costs $48,778, and nearly one-third of families fall short. Economic Policy Institute Report Briefing Paper #224. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org/publication/bp224/

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C o

st in

d o

lla rs

80,000

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0 Oklahoma City, OK

Houston, TX

Average Family Cost

Portland, OR

Fort Lauderdale,

FL

Los Angeles,

CA

Minneapolis, MN

New York City, NY

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Section 7.2Challenges of Working Families

Unemployment and insufficient employment (also known as underemployment) places fam- ilies under great economic and emotional stress. Its effects are less severe for two-parent working families, when only one parent is unemployed or underemployed. Results of parent unemployment, according to Hanisch (1999) and Voydanoff (1983), include the following:

• Increased family tension and instability • Increased levels of family violence • Increased mental health problems

Research also suggests that the men are more likely than women to experience mental health problems as a result of unemployment. This can be traced in part to men’s traditional role as the primary family provider (although this is changing, as we have noted) and the fact that men are traditionally less involved with caring for the children, a role that may offset the negative stress of unemployment (Artazcoz, L., Benach, J., Borrell, C., & Cortes, I., 2004).

Achieving Job Satisfaction While financial stability is a major factor in establishing work-life balance, feeling satisfied with one’s job is also important. Job status, job complexity, and job autonomy are all fac- tors in job satisfaction. Individuals with job status feel important at work and enjoy a certain level of prestige within their organization. Those with job complexity feel that their work is challenging and stimulating. Finally, people with job autonomy experience high levels of self- direction, control, and independence. College teachers, company managers or directors, entrepreneurs, and self-employed individuals usually have a lot of job autonomy built into their work.

Job satisfaction is important not only for the individual parent’s well-being but also correlates strongly with a family’s well-being. When a family member struggles at work, other family members can be indirectly affected. If a family member’s work environment does not sup- port quality family life (such as requiring the mother to travel out of town frequently), then family well-being is adversely impacted. However, the level and nature of the impact depends on the external support the family receives (e.g., grandparents able to care for children when needed) and the level of family communication, cohesion, flexibility, and independence/inter- dependence (see Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory in Chapter 3).

Another factor that leads to greater job satisfaction is working in a family-friendly workplace. As we address later in this chapter, more companies are beginning to establish family-friendly

P A u S E A n D R E F l E c T: U N E M P L O y M E N T A N D T H E F A M I L y Click on the following link to watch interviews with adults and the children of unemployed parents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuIMZ818WG0.

Reflection Questions 1. How are the parents’ economic difficulties affecting their children? 2. How has unemployment changed the children’s image of their parents? 3. What emotional reactions are the adults having? 4. Describe the vicious cycle that can start when a parent becomes unemployed.

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Section 7.2Challenges of Working Families

workplaces and policies. Many developed countries, such as France, Norway, and Sweden, already provide far more generous family leave policies than do American companies and government agencies, even going so far as to offer taxpayer-funded child care and universal preschool (Wardle, 2013b).

Weighing child care options Another challenge parents and caregivers face is ensuring that their children receive ade- quate care while they are at work. Child care can be prohibitively expensive, so families must choose carefully and often come up with creative solutions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “families rely on a patchwork of child care services to meet their work and family needs” (2013a). Figure 7.4 outlines the different care options utilized by families with young children. Parents and relatives, including grandparents and siblings, provide nearly half of the child care, while day care centers, nursery schools, preschools, and Head Start programs make up another 25%. The remainder is made up of more informal, non-family arrangements. In the following sections, we will take a closer look at stay-at-home parenting, organized facility options, and extended-day programs.

Figure 7.4: Who’s minding the kids?

Source: U.S. Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/library/infographics/child_care.html

Stay-at-Home Parenting While stay-at-home parenting is a choice for some, for many it is a purely economic decision. Families often rely on the income of both parents to maintain financial stability, making it

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Relatives 27%

25%

49% Parents and relatives

make up half of all preschool child care

arrangements

One in five relatives who provided care was a grandparent

22%

13%

13%

Organized facilities

Parents

Other nonrelative

Other

DEFINITIONS Relatives—grandparents, siblings, and other relatives Organized Facilities—day care or child care centers, nursery schools, preschools, and Head Start programs. Parents—fathers who provided care while the mother worked or mothers who provided care while working. Other nonrelative—in-home babysitters, neighbors, friends, and family day care homes. Other nonrelative—in-home babysitters, neighbors, friends, and family day care homes. Other—school, self-care, and not regular arrangement.

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Section 7.2Challenges of Working Families

impossible for one of them to stay home. However, in some situations it makes financial sense for one parent to stay home in order to avoid paying expensive child care costs.

The question then becomes: Who stays home? When making this decision, couples usually consider earning ability, chances for career advancement, or a disability of one of the par- ents (Pew Research Center, 2014a). An employer’s benefits package can also be a factor in the decision, especially if the family has a child with a disability who requires medical and therapeutic support. Other considerations include family-friendly workplaces (see section 7.3), proximity of work to the home, and other variables.

In most cases, the mother is the stay-at-home parent. The U.S. Census Bureau (2010a) esti- mates that 5.6 million American women choose to forgo careers and jobs in order to stay home and raise their children, and the Pew Research Center (Patten, 2014) has reported that significantly more women than men interrupt their careers to tend to family members (see Figure 7.5). However, as parental roles continue to change, more fathers are relinquish- ing employment and becoming the primary caretakers. In 2012, 2 million fathers worked inside the home caring for their children under age 18, nearly twice as many as in 1989 (Pew Research Center, 2014a). This figure represents 16% of stay-at-home parents in 2012.

Figure 7.5: career interruptions by mothers and fathers

Source: “On Equal Pay Day, key facts about the gender pay gap,” Pew Research Center, Washington, DC (April, 2015) http://www.pewresearch.org/fact- tank/2015/04/14/on-equal-pay-day-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-gender-pay-gap/.

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28

Fathers

Mothers, more than Fathers, Experience Career Interruptions

percent saying they have . . . in order to care for a child or family member

Reduced work hours 42

24 Taken a signi�cant amount of time off

Notes: Based on those who have ever worked, “Fathers” and “Mothers” include those with children of any age, including adult children (n = 1,254).

39

10 Quit job

27

10 Turned down a

promotion 13

Mothers

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Section 7.2Challenges of Working Families

Child Care Child care for children under age 5, and extended care for children over age 5, is expensive. According to Child Care Aware of America (2014), nearly 11 million children under age 5 require child care services each week in the United States. For middle-class parents, center- based care averages $11,666 per year, with a range from $3,582 to $18,773 per year. For some infants, the cost can be as much as $2,000 each month. The age of the child (the younger, the more expensive) and geographic location are the main cost variables. Home care options tend to be less expensive, costing an average of $7,761 for infants and toddlers and ranging from $3,582 to $11,940 per year. Home care for preschool children averages $4,000–$8,500 (Child Care Aware of America, 2014).

For low-income families, a variety of child-care options are available, including Early Head Start and Head Start, and state- and sometimes city-funded programs. The federal govern- ment also subsidizes child care for low-income families. Even so, for middle-class families, child care can be expensive and difficult to coordinate, and Head Start and most state-funded programs function for only part of the day. Some school districts provide preschool programs, but most parents must pay for these services. For many families, the choice of child care programs is an important decision. Professionals who work with young families need to be knowledgeable about programs available in their communities so that they can help families find programs that match their unique needs.

T h E E v o l v i n g F A m i l y : S imone ’ S S tay-at-Home Da D Simone, aged 3, attends an early childhood program every morning that is run by the Lutheran church her family attends. In the afternoon, she is cared for at home by her father, Ray, who also cares for her one-year-old brother. Ray is a stay-at-home dad. Simone’s mother is a pediatric nurse at the local hospital—a stable position that offers good health insurance for the family. Ray works part time in the evenings and some weekends when his wife is home.

Although he understands the practical side of their arrangement, Simone’s father struggles with being a stay-at-home dad. He loves his children and enjoys seeing them grow and develop, and he is even taking a child development class at the local community college to better understand his children. But he often sees his old buddies who work full-time and feels uncomfortable when they all get together to discuss their lives, interests, and chal- lenges. He also believes that the female director and her staff at Simone’s program do not take him seriously and always seem to be waiting for his wife to communicate issues of concern about Simone.

Discussion Questions 1. If you were in a position to advise Ray and his wife, what would you recommend for

them? 2. Do you believe a father can provide the same support, nurturance, and care for young

children that a mother can, or should family preference be for the mother to stay home, if at all possible?

3. Do you believe that each couple should use their talents and resources where they are most needed, or are men and women naturally good at and comfortable doing different things?

4. Should the family continue to search to find a good job for Ray, or is it an acceptable choice for him to stay at home and care for the children?

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Section 7.3Family-Friendly Workplaces

Extended-Day Programs Many families with children must find care for their school-age children when they are not attending school. This need usually arises during two time frames:

1. Before and after the regular school day, which is shorter than the traditional 8-hour work day; and

2. On days that school is out of session because of teacher in-service training, regular school holidays, and vacations.

Some school districts operate year-round. In these pro- grams, the number of total school days children attend is the same as in the traditional school calendar, but the longer vacations are distributed evenly throughout the year, usually each being about two weeks in dura