Showing papers in "Community, Work & Family in 2022"

LGBTQ+ peoples’ experiences of workplace leave and support following pregnancy loss

Abstract: ABSTRACT Pregnancy loss is a distressing life event for many people. While the need for workplace leave following pregnancy loss is increasingly recognized, limited research exists to inform policy change and appropriate organizational supports for LGBTQ+ people experiencing pregnancy loss. Adopting an inductive approach, we interviewed 12 LGBTQ+ people aiming to explore their workplace leave and support experiences following pregnancy losses as gestational or non-gestational parents in the previous 6 months to 10 years. Reflexive thematic analysis generated three themes (1) Disclosure in the workplace: support, shame, and self-protection, (2) Navigating discriminatory workplace policies, leave, and entitlements and (3) Coping at work: Getting the balance right for each person. Heteronormative policies and entitlements can compound the distress of LGBTQ+ people experiencing pregnancy loss, including increasing difficulties in accessing leave, misgendering leave entitlements, failing to accommodate for high attachment to unborn babies in early gestation, and the impact of distance for parents who have engaged in surrogacy. Employers can assist by using inclusive language in leave policies and forms, providing people of all genders and sexualities access to parental and bereavement leave irrespective of family formation method and gestational age and allowing flexibility in hours, workload, and tasks after a pregnancy loss.

“If you don’t agree to be available 24/7, then you have nothing to do in journalism”: the boundary work tactics of precarious journalists

Abstract: A satisfactory work–home balance in journalism is valuable for employees and organisations but for citizens as well because the work of journalists in a democracy is vital in terms of keeping the public informed and shaping public debate. Drawing on boundary theory, this study aims to examine how precariously employed journalists manage their role boundaries as they negotiate their work and home life demands. In-depth interviews conducted in 2017 and 2021 allowed us to obtain a longitudinal perspective on boundary work and to detect the tactics to create and maintain the preferred work-home role boundaries. The results show that work comes first with respect to the work–home balance in journalism. In the early years of their career, immersed in a labour-of-love ethic, journalists preferred to integrate work–home boundaries by being journalists 24 hours a day. Over time, a preference for the segmentation of work–home roles emerged along with different boundary work tactics. However, it is often impossible to segment boundaries due to the nature of the profession, and thus many of them leave the profession for public relations. The study makes an original contribution by adding a new boundary work tactic to the previously established typology.

Work–family conflict and toddler parenting: a dynamic approach to the role of parents’ daily work–family experiences in their day-to-day parenting practices through feelings of parental emotional exhaustion

Abstract: The objective of this study was to examine associations between daily fluctuations in work–family conflict (i.e. work-to-family interference [WFI] and family-to-work interference [FWI]) and daily fluctuations in toddler parenting (i.e. controlling parenting practices), thereby investigating day-to-day feelings of parental emotional exhaustion as an underlying mechanism. Both mothers and fathers participated in a five-day diary study when their child was in the first year of kindergarten (N = 118, 53.39% fathers). At the between-person level, work–family conflict (both WFI and FWI) was significantly related to controlling parenting practices. Further, an indirect effect was found between work–family conflict (both WFI and FWI) and controlling parenting via parental emotional exhaustion. At the within-person level, work–family conflict (both WFI and FWI) was not directly related to controlling parenting practices but was indirectly related to controlling parenting via feelings of emotional exhaustion. The findings highlight the importance of balancing work and family life, both in terms of parents’ mental health (i.e. parental emotional exhaustion) as in terms of the quality of parenting.

Norms about childcare, working hours, and fathers’ uptake of parental leave in South Korea

Abstract: The number of leave-taking fathers in South Korea has quintupled in the last five years, but those taking leave are still a minority of the total eligible fathers. These minority fathers, however, take some of the longest leave in the world. Driven by such notable trends, this paper inquires how norms about childcare and working hours shape Korean fathers’ decision to take leave as well as work-family balance after leave. I find that fathers are often pushed to take leave as a last resort in light of poor work-family balance and absence of more desirable alternatives to care for a young child. While these conditions continue to constrain parents after the end of the fathers’ leave, fathers respond in divergent ways: making continued effort to balance employment and family life, reverting to work-centric lifestyles with grandparental support, or going through career changes to address continued childcare needs. My findings highlight that incentives targeting fathers to take leave need to go hand in hand with more fundamental reforms to working hours and reliable ECEC to sustainably support gender equality and work-family balance of dual-earner parents.

The dark side of creativity: its connection to work-family conflict

Abstract: Creativity has its ‘dark side.’ This study investigated the relationship between employee creativity and work-family conflict drawing on boundary theory. Data were collected from 1074 participants who were full-time employees. By employing PROCESS macro, we found the relationship between employee creativity and work-family conflict is fully mediated by psychological detachment difficulty. We also found that family-work conflict moderates the effect of creativity on psychological detachment difficulty such that for those who experience lower family-work conflict, the effect of creativity on the mediator (i.e. psychological detachment difficulty) is stronger than for those who experience higher family-work conflict.

Making it work: a qualitative study of the work-care reconciliation strategies adopted by family carers in Ireland to sustain their caring role

Abstract: ABSTRACT While work-care reconciliation strategies can benefit family carers, employers, wider society and the economy, juggling family caregiving responsibilities with paid employment can lead to role strain. Family carers frequently find themselves engaged in role decisions and role negotiations and being faced with decisions to alter their work commitments in order to fulfil their caregiving responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to explore family carers’ experiences of modifying work arrangements to accommodate caregiving responsibilities for an ill or dependant family member. Ten face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with family carers in Ireland, which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings highlighted the value placed on work by family carers, but despite this, the caring role always took precedence over the employee role. Family carers adopted a combination of strategies, and where possible, carved out a carer-friendly career for themselves. The findings also revealed the key triggers for work alterations and the sacrifices made by family carers. It is important that family carers are supported by employers to successfully balance work with caregiving responsibilities and that an array of work options are available to them, so that they can make better-informed choices regarding work-care reconciliation.

How does work design influence work-life boundary enactment and work-life conflict?

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic led many workers to integrate their work lives within their homes because of mandatory telework. Given that this new arrangement may affect their work-life balance, the present study seeks to understand the mechanisms that underlie the way boundary enactment can mitigate work-life conflict (WLC). Specifically, it examines two features of work design (autonomy and job feedback) that may exert pressure on the work-life boundary which, in turn, affects WLC. Drawing on Ashforth et al.’s (2000) boundary theory, we posit that work design characteristics conducive to the creation of an inflexible and impermeable boundary between roles allow individuals to adopt boundary enactment based on segmentation, and subsequently decrease WLC. The results show that although boundary enactment that tends toward segmentation does not invariably play a mediating role, it consistently minimizes inter-role conflict. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Community, Work & Family is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

To negotiate or not negotiate: professional boundaries surrounding mobile device usage

Abstract: ABSTRACT With the widespread ownership and usage of mobile devices combined with the subsequent challenges usage poses on relationships, this research examines how people negotiate time spent on mobile devices (smartphones and/or tablets) accomplishing professional tasks. Participants in this study were the users of the mobile device within a full-time managerial level position. Diverse organizational representation included, but not limited to health care, engineering, public relations, finance, education, and distribution management industries. Using qualitative methods and semi-structured interviews, data analysis unveiled what negotiation means when using mobile devices in any capacity for professional reasons within the domestic (familial) sphere. Management-level organizational members share how parameters (sometimes called boundaries or borders) are both in and out of their control when using mobile devices to communicate professionally. Within their control was the users’ ability to engage or disengage, while also challenged with situations out of their control due to organizational directives. This research re-conceptualizes the concepts of Clark’s (2000) Work/Family Border Theory. While this data was gathered prior to Covid19, understanding this balance has current and future relevancy from an academic and applied perspective.

Explaining the positive relationship between state-level paid family leave and mental health

Abstract: As of April 2021, nine states and the District of Columbia had enacted state-specific paid family leave (PFL) programs, offering partial wage replacement to parents after the birth of a child. The Biden Administration also proposed the development of a national solution through the American Families Plan. Despite these advances, concerns with workforce disruptions and economic costs have hindered wider adoption of PFL. While studies have documented the potential health benefits of PFL for women and babies, less is known about the mechanisms that lead to PFL potentially impacting women’s mental health. This mixed-methods study is based on focus groups with over 100 women in four states with operating programs and a secondary analysis of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data. It presents evidence of how PFL may facilitate longer leave that possibly leads to improved mental health outcomes by providing more time at home. It also demonstrates that PFL may directly support mental health by providing women with increased financial security and work/life boundaries. Implications of PFL design features on access and shortcomings are also discussed. These results aim to inform national or additional state-level PFL programs that may benefit working women, their families, and their employers.

Gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-method study of teacher stress and work-life balance

Abstract: ABSTRACT There is a growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has had disproportionate impacts on women, especially those with children. Female educators, and, in particular, those with childcare responsibilities, have also reported higher levels of stress and work-life challenges as compared to their male counterparts. It is unclear exactly which factors are behind these disparities. However, while some have pointed to the gendered division of domestic labor as the main contributor, other pandemic-related and work-related stressors may be involved in female educators’ increased stress levels and work-life balance challenges. To address this question, this mixed-methods research draws on survey data gathered from 752 educators across New York State. Findings demonstrate that women reported higher levels of stress and work-life balance challenges than their male counterparts. While quantitative analyses indicated that gender disparities in work-life balance challenges were related to the higher stress women experienced from work and COVID-19 rather than childcare responsibilities, qualitative analyses of open-ended survey responses revealed that childcare duties were nonetheless an important factor impacting work-life balance challenges for both men and women. This article has significant implications for the teaching profession and adds broader insights into the gendered effects of the pandemic.

Not just daycare: nordic mothers in research, development and innovation navigating work and childcare

Abstract: Nordic welfare policies mitigate work–childcare reconciliation; however, they are not enough for mothers working in intensive work cultures. In addition, there are differences among the three Nordic states in both work–family policies and cultural norms as to how they should be used. In this article, we study the resources mothers who work in research, development and innovation (R&D&I) in Finland, Norway and Sweden rely on in their work–childcare reconciliation. Thematic analysis of interviews with 74 professionals resulted in identifying four main resources: father involvement, parental leave system and daycare, flexible working, and grandparent help and networks. Our analysis brings to view the blind spots in work and childcare reconciliation that Nordic care policies and flexible work schemes do not cover in the case of professional R&D&I mothers. We find that the role of fathers is overarching, as it regulates which of the other resources are used and how. We also argue that the role grandparents play as a resource is understudied.

Confident, cautiously confident or concerned? Working life profiles, capabilities, and expectations for work-family reconciliation among young Finnish women

Abstract: ABSTRACT The uncertainties and growing social inequality young adults face in the labour market call for research on the link between young women’s expectations about working life and the real options they have in seeking to combine work with care. Drawing on Sen’s capabilities approach, this study contributes to filling this gap in the literature by examining how women in emerging adulthood in Finland foresee their future career and working life, and how these expectations are associated with socioeconomic and partnership characteristics and their expectations for work-family reconciliation. Survey data obtained from 527 young women aged 18–29 were analysed using latent profile analysis. Three distinct career/working life profiles were identified: confident (43%), cautiously confident (37%) and concerned (20%). The young women in the confident profile were the most advantaged and those in the concerned profile the most disadvantaged with regard to level of education, main activity, financial situation and region. Furthermore, the concerned women foresaw their options in their future career and in combining work with care as limited. The findings underline the importance of viewing individual decision-making processes related to work-family transitions within broader institutional and societal contexts.

Enabled but not transformed – narratives on parental involvement among first-time mothers and fathers in Germany in the context of parental leave policy design

Abstract: ABSTRACT Assuming that policy design can impact gender equity in caretaking, this paper examines how expectant mothers and fathers understand and respond to specific parental leave policy elements when shaping their parenting practices. Taking Germany as a case study, this research draws on semi-structured interviews conducted between October 2019 and March 2020 with 18 couples, who were expecting their first child at the time of the interview. Germany’s parental leave policy has shifted substantially since 2007, most notably with the establishment of non-transferable parental leave months for fathers. Exploring the link between policy design at the macro-level and parental involvement at the micro-level, this paper focuses on how mothers and fathers make sense of their leave entitlements when dividing leave, which (policy) aspects they consider as helping or hindering an equal leave division and how mothers and fathers anticipate using parental leave benefits. Results indicate that the current parental leave policy design enables greater equity in caretaking by normalizing some leave-taking by fathers. However, by providing an option for fathers’ leaves to be split and to be taken concurrently with mothers the policy limits fathers’ solo parenting responsibility and consequently prevents a transformation of gendered parenting practices.

Timely and well-targeted financial help during COVID-19: an employer-community partnership for hotel workers in New Orleans

Abstract: ABSTRACT Economic disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic left many households without the income necessary to meet basic needs. We describe an innovative, community-based partnership between a financial services company, philanthropic funders, and employers to provide financial assistance to hotel workers in New Orleans who lost jobs and income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from a survey of 1,056 hotel workers show that workers experienced lower food insecurity and difficulty paying bills in the month after receiving assistance, while transaction data from the VISA gift cards used to disburse assistance showed that workers mostly used assistance on necessities. We discuss implications for employers who want to offer emergency assistance fund programs and for public policy changes to better support low-wage workers, especially those with children.

Caregiving, health status and total family net worth among men and women approaching retirement age

Abstract: ABSTRACT Background and Objectives: Building on opportunity cost theory and an understanding of how gender impacts household labor decisions, this study examines how family net worth may be impacted by three variables (having a work-limiting health condition, caregiving inside the home, caregiving outside of the home) while controlling for demographic and employment-related variables for married and unmarried male and female caregivers. Research Design and Methods: This study uses a nationally representative sample of 5,173 older adults ages 51-60 from the 2016 round of 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79). Results: Findings from the weighted sample suggest having a limiting health condition is significantly and negatively related to total family net worth: people with a work limiting health condition experience a $55,000-$180,000 decline in total family net worth. Further, caregiving inside the home had a significant negative relationship with total family net worth for two subgroups: married males and unmarried females. Providing care to someone outside the home was significantly and positively related to total family net worth only for unmarried males. Discussion and Implications: Findings from this study reinforce the need for policies and programs to help employees manage their own health conditions and caregiving responsibilities for family members with financial preparedness for retirement.

Family child care providers’ perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness: implications for well-being and professional growth

Abstract: Because a preponderance of research on family child care has centered on children’s experiences, little is known about the effects of caring for these children on the providers themselves. Available research further lessens when intersecting identities and vulnerabilities of family child care providers are considered, as many of them are women, people of color, and/or of immigrant origin. Based on the views of 17 providers from diverse backgrounds, the present qualitative case study explored family child care providers’ experiences of competence, autonomy, and relatedness as key elements of their work. Analyses confirmed the importance of these well-being dimensions, especially as they relate to providers from diverse cultures. We offer recommendations for practices aimed at strengthening both family child care provider and community capacity to provide high quality child care for young children.