Introduction to Work-Family Issues Module 1, Class 1

A Teaching Module Developed by the Curriculum Task Force of the

Sloan Work and Family Research Network

Who is a family? Which arrangements are (or are not) families? What criteria do you use to make these distinctions?

A married husband and wife with kids? A married husband and wife, no kids? A sexually active couple who have lived together for 8 years but

who have no kids? Roommates who consider themselves to be “friends with

benefits?” A couple who separated 5 years ago, but who never bothered to

file the paperwork for a divorce? An unmarried sexually active couple living together who have a

child together? A lesbian couple, living in Nebraska, who have a child? A married “commuter couple” with no children, who do not share

the same residence? An adult daughter, who lives across town from her aging mother

(who is now in need of assistance)? A divorced man and woman who share joint custody of a child?

What do we mean by “family”?

“The word family as we use it in most western cultures derives from the Latin familia, which originally meant household, including kin and servants of the householder (Mish, 1993). Implicit in this original definition are some of the concepts that still cause confusion when talking about or measuring families. Familia consists of four important interrelated but separate concepts, kin (those related by blood or legal ties), non-kin (those not related by blood or legal ties, but perhaps by dependency or duty), household (those who live together, whether kin or non-kin) and the notion of the householder or “head of household.”

Rothausen-Vange, T. (2005). Family diversity. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek, and

P. Raskin (Eds.), Work-Family Encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_template.php?id=1138.

What is work? Which activities are (or are not) work? What criteria do you use to make these distinctions? An hourly worker who labors for 8 hour shifts? The ½ hour commute this hourly worker takes to get to his job? The time this worker spends preparing his lunch to eat on the job? A married mother (whose husband works) who shops, cleans, and

cares for children? A mother who receives welfare and does little aside from

maintaining her household? A salaried worker who checks her office email account on

Sundays? A salaried worker who is on-call for a weekend, but because she

did not receive a service call, never performed any tasks? A student who returns to college to earn a degree as a certified

accountant? An unemployed worker who scans the want ads for jobs? An employed worker who keeps in contact with old acquaintances,

in part to keep a social network intact? The adult daughter who checks on her aging mother?

What do we mean by “work” ?

As discussed in the classic book Work in America, “…work…is often defined as ‘paid employment.’ The definition conforms with one readily measurable aspect of work but utterly ignores its profound personal and social aspects. Using housework as an example, we can see the absurdity of defining work as ‘paid employment.” …We can come closer to a multi-dimensional definition of work if we define it as ‘an activity that produced something of value for other people.’” (pp. 2-3)

Special Task Force to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. (1973). Work in America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 2-3.

What does the term “work-family” mean?

The term work-family refers to experiences that result from the relationships, intersections, interface, and interactions of work and family phenomena.

See Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Kossek, E.E. & Sweet, S. (Eds.). (2006). The Work and Family Handbook: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives and Approaches. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, pp.1.

What is the myth of separate spheres?

Cultural Conceptions The Reality

Work Family Work Family

See Kanter, R. M. (1977). Work and family in the United States: A critical review and agenda for research and policy. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Family

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Work

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Considering the interrelationships between two institutions

Family

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Work

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Alter family structures and hypothesize what happens to work

A society’s fertility rate booms and many couples have children. What might happens to work structures, roles,

and resources?

Family

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Work

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Switch the work structures and hypothesize what happens to family

An economy falls into a depression, with ¼ workers lacking jobs. What might happen to family structures,

roles, and resources?

Family

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Work

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Switch the family roles and resources and hypothesize what happens to work

A society adopts “traditional” family roles (stay at home mom, breadwinner dad). What would likely happen to

workplace structures, roles and resources?

Family

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Work

•Structure

•Roles

•Resources

Switch the work roles and resources and hypothesize what happens to family

A society expects workers to labor much longer work weeks. What would happen to family structures, roles,

and resources?

Work-Family interface and linkages

“A variety of linking mechanisms have been proposed that explain the nature of the relationship between work and family roles (Edwards & Rothbard, 2000), the most prominent of which are conflict (or interference), accommodation, enrichment, compensation, and segmentation.”

Greenhaus, J., & Singh, R. (2003). Work-family linkages. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E. E. Kossek, & P. Raskin (Eds.), Sloan Work-Family Encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_template.php?id=263.

Spillover Westman states that “…spillover (is) stress experienced in

one domain of life results in stress in the other domain for the same individual.. spillover is… intra-individual… Thus, spillover is a process by which attitudes and behavior carry over from one role to another.”

Westman, M. (2005). Crossover of stress and strain between spouses. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek & P. Raskin (Eds.), Sloan Work and Family Encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_entry.php?id=1961&area=academics.

Can you identify ways in which jobs create negative work-family spillover?

Conversely, in what ways can jobs facilitate or enhance family well-being?

Work-family enhancement and enrichment

"Enhancement can be conceptualized as the positive effects of one domain on another." (MacIntosh et al). http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/glossary_template.php?term=Work-Family%20Enhancement,%20Definition(s)%20of

“… work-family enrichment refers to the process by which one role strengthens or enriches the quality of the other role. Work-family enrichment has also been referred to as work-family enhancement, work-family facilitation, and positive spillover.”

Greenhaus, J. and Singh, R. (2003). Work-family linkages. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E., Kossek, & P. Raskin (Eds.), Work-Family Encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_template.php?id=263.

Work-family conflict Work-family conflict is a type of inter-role conflict in which the

role demands stemming from one domain (work or family) are incompatible with role demands stemming from another domain (family or work). (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985; Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosenthal, 1964). Hammer, L., & Thompson, C. (2003). Work-family role conflict. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek, & P. Raskin (Eds.), Work Family Encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_template.php?id=264.

"When simultaneous pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect, such that meeting the demands of one role makes it difficult to meet the demands of the other role."  Greenhaus, J., & Singh, R. (2003). Work-family linkages. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek, & P. Raskin (Eds.), Work Family Encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_template.php?id=263.

Crossover

When you think about the ways that the work and family experiences of one family member affect the work or family experiences of another family member, the intersection is called crossover. Comparing spillover and crossover, Westman states, .. “crossover is a dyadic, interindividual, inter-domain contagion.  Thus, the inter-personal process that occurs when a psychological strain experienced by one person affects the level of strain of another person in the same social environment, is referred to as crossover.  … Crossover research is based upon the propositions of the spillover model, i.e., the recognition of the fluid boundaries between work and family life.

Westman, M. (2005). Crossover of stress and strain between spouses. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes, E.E. Kossek & P. Raskin (Eds.), Sloan Work and Family Encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from

http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_entry.php?id=1961&area=academics.

Crossover

 

Husband’sWork Husband’s

Family

Wife’s Work

Wife’sFamily

What issues are relevant to the work-family area of study?

The work-family area of study has explored:

factors that have either precipitated or caused specific types of work-family experiences (sometimes called “antecedent” variables);

a range of work-family experiences and situations, including the priorities and concerns of individuals, families, workplaces, communities, and societies;

factors, such as belonging to a particular population group, that moderate the relationship between antecedent variables and work-family experiences;

the decisions and responses of people, groups, workplaces, communities and societies about work-family experiences; and

outcomes associated with different types of work-family experiences

The Work-Family Area of Study Matrixhttp://wfnetwork.bc.edu/downloads/About_Matrices.pdf

Antecedents Work-Family Issues and Experiences

Co-Variates Responses to Work-Family Issues

Outcomes

Individual Antecedents

IndividualExperiences

IndividualCo-Variates

IndividualResponses

IndividualOutcomes

Family Antecedents

FamilyExperiences

FamilyCo-Variates

Family Responses

Family Outcomes

Workplace Antecedents

WorkplaceExperiences

Workplace Co-Variates

Workplace Responses

Workplace Outcomes

Community Antecedents

CommunityExperiences

Community Co-Variates

Community Responses

Community Outcomes

Societal Antecedents

SocietalExperiences

SocietalCo-Variates

Societal Responses

SocietalOutcomes