Search

This study uses individual- and couple-level analyses to examine the influence of work-family demands and community resources on marital and family satisfaction within a sample of dual-earner parents with dependent children (N = 260 couples, 520 individuals). Total couple work hours were strongly negatively associated with marital satisfaction for both fathers and mothers. Work hours may be best studied as a couple-level demand, and working shorter combined hours, if possible, may be a central component of a broader adaptive strategy. Negative work-to-family spillover was negatively associated with parents' family satisfaction, but for mothers this relationship was mediated by negative affect and (marginally) by couple disagreements. Finally, fathers' neighborhood friends emerged as an important resource for both fathers and mothers, suggesting gender differences in the role of community in the work-family interface and highlighting the need for further research of community-level resources. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Work-family conflicts are common and consequential for employees, their families, and work organizations. Can workplaces be changed to reduce work-family conflict? Previous research has not been able to assess whether workplace policies or initiatives succeed in reducing work-family conflict or increasing work-family fit. Using longitudinal data collected from 608 employees of a white-collar organization before and after a workplace initiative was implemented, we investigate whether the initiative affects work-family conflict and fit, whether schedule control mediates these effects, and whether work demands, including long hours, moderate the initiative's effects on work-family outcomes. Analyses clearly demonstrate that the workplace initiative positively affects the work-family interface, primarily by increasing employees' schedule control. This study points to the importance of schedule control for our understanding of job quality and for management policies and practices. (Contains 4 tables and 13 notes.)

This study moves from "work-family" to a multi-dimensional "life-course fit" construct (employees' cognitive assessments of resources, resource deficits, and resource demands), using a combined work-family, demands-control and ecology of the life course framing. It examined (1) impacts of job and home ecological systems on fit dimensions, and (2) whether control over work time predicted and mediated life-course fit outcomes. Using cluster analysis of survey data on a sample of 917 white-collar employees from Best Buy headquarters, we identified four job ecologies (corresponding to the job demands-job control model) and five home ecologies (theorizing an analogous home demands-home control model). Job and home ecologies predicted fit dimensions in an additive, not interactive, fashion. Employees' work-time control predicted every life-course fit dimension and partially mediated effects of job ecologies, organizational tenure, and job category. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

Using a life course perspective, this study analyzes the adaptive strategy of community selection utilized by middle-class dual-earner couples, as well as the perceived family friendliness of their communities. Although many common concerns exist (most paramount being safety, jobs, and housing quality), parents are more apt than nonparents to mention the importance of schools, parks, libraries, and community events. For women, safety and proximity to their spouses jobs are stronger considerations than they are for men. Although respondents mention many similar family-friendly features, only some matter in predicting their overall positive evaluations of community family friendliness. Community is discussed as being an understudied dimension of work-family policy and research.

This study of 276 couples compares coworking couples, which means both partners work for the same university, with noncoworking couples, those couples in which only one partner is employed at a university. Among the employees at the two universities studied, one in seven dual-earner couples cowork. These couples are more educated and are less likely to prioritize one spouses' career over that of the other, as compared to noncoworking couples. Coworking is positively associated with work commitment and family success for husbands and with family and marital satisfaction for wives, especially for couples with graduate degrees. Findings suggest that employment of spouses can be beneficial to employees and institutions.

Much is known about family-friendly workplaces. This article examines the less understood family-friendliness of the communities in which dual-earner couples reside. Using data from a representative sample of dual-earner couples N727 in upstate New York, we examine how individual, couple, and neighborhood characteristics are associated with perceptions of community family-friendliness. Using a life course perspective, we find that couples with young children rate their communities more favorably than do other couples. Findings also indicate that for couples with children of their own, living in a neighborhood with many other families with children is associated with higher ratings of family-friendliness. We term this match, between a couple's life stage and their neighborhood's demographic structure, life stage-neighborhood fit.

This study investigates factors related to retirees' and their spouses' individual and joint retirement satisfaction using decision-making theory and a life course perspective. The sample includes 421 retired respondents (ages 50 to 72) and spouses from the Cornell Retirement and Well-Being Study. Although 77% of retirees report retirement satisfaction, only 67% of their spouses are satisfied; even fewer couples (59%) report joint satisfaction. Multivariate logistic regression analyses reveal that retirees' and spouses' individual and joint reports of retirement satisfaction are related to perceptions of spousal influence on the retirement decision, with effects varying by gender. Those couples most likely to report being satisfied with retirement, individually and jointly, are retired wives and their husbands where wives reported that their husbands were not influential in their retirement decision. The results underscore the importance of regarding retirement as gendered and as both an individual- and a couple-level experience.

Among 877 individuals in dual-career families, 250 worked for the same corporation as their spouses. Being part of a coworking couple positively predicted men's prestige, tenure, and work commitment (especially younger men without children). For women, coworking corresponded with increased income and more work-family spillover (especially younger women without children). (Contains 34 references.) (SK)

Uses the idea of careers as a frame with which to view the transitions confronting aging baby boomers and considers forces shaping careers, the hidden assumptions in the career metaphor, and the dilemmas affecting the future of work, community, and family. (Author/JOW)

Data from the General Social Survey 1973-94 (n=5,320) on men's and women's preferences for job attributes (short hours, high income, meaningful work, promotion opportunities, job security) show that gender differences have been both stable and limited. There is some evidence that a gender gap in preferences has widened recently among younger workers. (Author/SK)

Examines the effects of stratification processes, based on family social origins, gender, and residential location, on educational attainments in urban China from 1949 to 1994. Emphasizes the importance of political processes and the state redistributive economy, arguing that shifting state policies led to varying mechanisms of stratification over time. (DSK)

Examines the intergenerational transmission of gender role ideology and work role identity. Results, based on interviews of 246 mother-daughter pairs, show a positive relationship between mothers' gender role ideology in the 1950s and their daughters' gender role ideology as adults in 1988 -- social change increased mother-daughter congruence in gender role ideology. (RJM)

Examined correlates of job-family strain in 160 Canadian employed single mothers with preschoolers. Strain was positively related to hours worked, number of children, and child's age and negatively associated with more positive attitudes to work and higher work satisfaction. Child care variables were not associated with strain. (Author/NB)

Examined work and family ties over 10-year period (1970-79) for women aged 35 to 59 using life-course perspective and data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Marital status (and marital transitions) and presence of children were related to labor force patterns over 10-year period, but with different effects for women aged 35-44 than for those aged 45-54. (Author/ABL)

Used 1977 Quality of Employment Survey data to examine work-time preferences of 224 dual-earner couples with children. Gender was significantly related to work-hour preferences for both self and spouse, with wish of wives to work fewer hours endorsed by husbands. Actual work time and gender interacted such that mothers working full-time preferred to reduce work week. (Author/NB)

Single parent families are misrepresented to the general public and to themselves. Issues change focus if one views single parenthood as a normal and permanent feature of our social landscape. (Author/EB)

Considers issues in the development of measures used as yardsticks of family well-being. The utility of such indicators and characteristics of families which will affect their construction are discussed. Data from the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used in a case example. (Author)

Examines the likelihood of extended joblessness for breadwinners unemployed during the recession of 1975. Women who head families are more likely to be unemployed for an extended period than are male breadwinners. Family heads with young children are more likely to be unemployed than those with older families. (Author/BEF)