Both Sides of the WorkFamily Equation: Research and Outreach with Families of Divorce, Single Parent

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Both Sides of the Work/Family Equation Research
and Outreach with Families of Divorce, Single
Parents, and Workers with Highly Demanding Jobs

• Sandra J. Bailey, Montana State University
• Cynthia J. Schmiege Sue Traver,
• University of Idaho
• Anisa M. Zvonkovic Cheryl J. Peters, Oregon
  State University

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The Family-Work Equation





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W-167 USDA AES Multi-state Research Project

• Families and work during times of transition
• Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, California, New
  Mexico

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Objectives

• Give you a better understanding of work and
  family issues facing families today
• A new way of thinking about work and family
• Practical ideas for supporting families as they
  manage the various aspects of their lives

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Family Diversity

• Single parents
• Stepfamilies
• Grandparents raising grandchildren
• Gay/lesbian headed families
• Cultural/religious variations

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Workplace Variations

• Businesses operating late hours/24 hours
• Weekend and holiday shifts
• Workers with multiple jobs
• Commuter marriages
• Workers who travel
• Telecommuting

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Weaving the Worlds of Family and Work
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Weaving Work Personal Life

• Learning to weave socialization
• Changing the weave life course development
• Weaving during times of strain and stress

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Suggestions Based on Weaving

• TIME
• Reject tips to manage time
• Reconsider how we think about time
• Reconsider how we think about work
• Question norms
• Of what we feel we must do
• Workaholism
• Intensive mothering

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Creating a Life Pattern

• Protecting our weaving during stress, daily
  hassles
• Bring in reinforcements
• Improvise
• Advance notice weave in new threads
• Do not strive to be perfect

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Work Side of the Work/Family Equation Travel

• How can family facilitate life for the traveling
  worker?
• In applied work, what are typical struggles
  related to job demands?
• What are the surprising benefits to families from
  demanding jobs?

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Women and Frequent Job Travel

• Clear separation between work and family
• When home, really home domestic
• When traveling, really not available for family
• Rhythm of travel
• Fostered womens work identity
• Encouraged marital partner to accept womens work
  identity
• Minimized struggles over family work

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A Continuum of Family/Work Separation

• Flight attendants
• Very separated boundaries
• Traveled frequently
• Short trips
• Very extensively involved in family except when
  on trips
• No work obligations at all unless traveling

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A Continuum of Family/Work Separation

• Nonprofit Aid and Adoption Workers
• Somewhat separated boundaries
• Traveled infrequently
• Very long trips (one month or more)
• Very extensively involved in family except when
  on trips
• Flexible work obligations when not traveling

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A Continuum of Family/Work Separation

• High Tech Computer Consultants
• Struggle with boundaries
• Traveled moderately
• Medium length trips (1 week)
• Similar to working women in general
• Many work obligations when not traveling
• Work/family boundaries and gender boundaries were
  contested

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Comparing Men Women Who Travel for Work

• Women who travel do much preparation of the
  family for their trips
• Men are extensively involved in household during
  womens trips
• Men who travel experience their family helping
  them prepare for trips
• Women left at home have power when he is gone

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Take Home Message About Travel

• Type of job matters
• Gender matters
• Specific demands of job impact families in
  different ways
• Shift work
• telecommuting

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Family Side of the EquationDivorced Parents

• Great deal of research on work and family
• Little focusing on divorced parents
• Nonresidential parents living more than 50 miles
  from children
• Qualitative
• Residential and nonresidential participating in
  Extension classes
• Quantitative

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Workplace Flexibility

• Sharing workload
• Time flexibility
• Travel flexibility
• Employee benefits

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Workplace Understanding

• Loss of a job due to divorce
• Performance reviews
• Emotional support
• Well being and overall life satisfaction

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Implications from Studying Divorced Parents

• Supervisor acknowledgement of family situation
• Importance of social support in workplace
• Employer/employee education of work/family issues
  relating to divorce
• Broadening family friendly policies to include
  diverse family structures

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Single Parents The Only Worker Often the Only
Parent

• Low income single parents (qualitative)
• Expectation of work, but system does not support
  workers
• Children with Special Needs
• Medical Issues
• Aftermath of Family Violence
• Transportation problems

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Beginning Dreams AdolescenceDesigns for the
Cloth

• Planful Competence
• Plan for family
• The Warp threads
• Plan for work
• Are there any Weft threads?

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Crisis In the Dream

• Relationship crisis Warp threads unravel
• Are there any supporting threads?
• family support, personal strengths
• Are the warp threads damaged?
• relationship issues, lack of resources

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New Designs

• Work Can the weft be used to create a new
  design?
• Change and development in the worker identity
• Belief that both sets of threads are necessary
• Recognition that the design has changed

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Back to the Yarns

• Warp families are diverse and the warp yarns may
  be of different materials and strengths
• Weft work has been monofilament yarn, less
  flexible and diverse
• Need to add color, diverse fibers to the yarn

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Weaving Work and Family

• There are many ways to weave a strong and
  beautiful piece of cloth
• Not everyone needs the same design
• New designs can be formed when we examine classic
  designs
• Weaving dreams require both warp and
  weft yarns