Work-family culture and job satisfaction: does gender and parenting status alter the relationship?

Previous studies on work-family culture have examined its relationship with different employee outcomes (e.g., work-family conflict, job satisfaction, commitment) but neglected one important question; namely, who are most likely to benefit from a supportive work-family culture in terms of positive employee outcomes? The aim of this study was to shed new light on the work-family culture–job satisfaction linkage by examining the moderator effects of gender and parenting status in this relationship. Specifically, we asked whether gender and parenting status would alter the association between work-family culture and job satisfaction. We hypothesized – on the basis of traditional gender roles – that women, and especially mothers, would benefit most from a family supportive organizational culture. We utilized three divergent samples gathered from male (N=768) and female (N=1364) employees in Finland: (1) a female-dominated sample from social and health care; (2) a male-dominated sample from paper industry; and (3) more gender-mixed sample from the ICT company. Work-family culture was described through its positive (work-family support) and negative facets (work-family barriers), whereas job satisfaction was operationalized via a facet-based scale. Hierarchical moderated regression analyses performed separately for the three different organizations revealed that the results for mothers and fathers under the condition of high work-family support differed in the paper mill and the information and communication technology (ICT) company. Thus, in addition to gender, the type of organization also moderated the relationship. Specifically, in the paper mill, mothers benefited more from high work-family support than fathers, whereas in the ICT company the reverse situation held: fathers benefited more than mothers. Thus, high work-family support was associated with higher job satisfaction among mothers in the paper mill and among fathers in the ICT company.     

On shifting ground: First-time parents’ ideal world of paid work and family time

We examined first-time fathers’ and mothers’ perspectives about their ideal world of support in the context of dominant social ideology, ethno-cultural ideals, and the pragmatics of their everyday family, workplace, and socioeconomic circumstances during their first 18 months as parents. Twelve Canadian-born and six Chinese immigrant couples participated in individual in-depth interviews. We conducted a three-part analysis: fathers’ perspectives, mothers’ perspectives, and couples’ perspectives. Fathers focused on fulfilling dual fathering ideals of ‘time with family’ and ‘providing for family’; mothers emphasized fulfilling a mothering ideal of ‘caring for children'. Examining couples’ perspectives revealed a more nuanced understanding of their shared focus on ‘caring for family'. Parents in this study found the current social ideal of the ‘new’ father, who is both financial provider and nurturing co-parent, appealing, yet difficult to achieve. Couples wanted informal (i.e. family and social network) support, along with formal (i.e. workplace and childcare) support to enable them to provide family care and financial stability for their family. Findings contribute to understanding family and paid work experiences and decision-making among couples as new parents. We offer insights into the complexity of intersections among social ideals, personal expectations, family care, and paid work for fathers and mothers.     

The Role of Organizational Size and Industry in Job Quality and Work-Family Relationships

In this study we update analyses of the 1977 QES (Zipp, 1991) using data from the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce. We use hierarchical linear modeling procedures to partition the variance in a wide variety of indicators of workers' experiences. Most variation was associated with the individual level of analysis, but significant and nontrivial variation also was associated with the organizational and industrial levels. Although workers in smaller organizations reported lower earnings, fewer benefits, and less education than their counterparts in larger organizations, they also reported experiencing less discrimination, better fit between their actual and desired work hours, more supportive work environments and loyalty to their employers, less burnout or interference between work and family, and shorter commute times.     

Fatherhood: A Library

No abstract available for this article.     

CHANGING FAMILIES/CHANGING COMMUNITIES

Scholars writing about community in recent years have been more likely to lament its passing than celebrate its exemplars. What's missing in this recent revival of interest in community is a systematic link with work–family issues and, in particular, an explicit recognition that women's and men's work–family lives have changed dramatically in the post-World War II era. We investigate the consequences of structural shifts in our family and work lives for a sample of elite, managerial women in dual-earner marriages, a population for whom work and family concerns are both immediate and salient. Understanding changing definitions of, and trends in, family and work can provide a useful lens through which we can profitably address recent debates about the decline or resurgence of community and civic society. Our findings suggest that, although conceived differently than in previous decades, family remains central to our respondents’ sense of community and structures their civic engagement. In contrast with previous generations of women, however, work is also important, for defining women's sense of self and community and for offering an alternative venue for community service.     

INTEGRATING PAID WORK AND FAMILY WORK

This qualitative study explores the nature and variation of parenting in the workplace (PIW) childcare practices in a purposive sample of 55 businesses that allowed employees to personally care for children at the workplace while simultaneously performing their job duties. Major findings indicate that although PIW occurred in a variety of industries and organizations of different sizes, the practice was limited to employees who held administrative type positions. Businesses supported PIW on an occasional basis for employees who experienced breakdowns in routine childcare arrangements or on a regular basis for employees who did not have continuing access to acceptable or affordable childcare. According to business representatives in this sample, the practice helped maintain worker productivity and decrease employee absenteeism but was supported only on the condition that employees accomplish work tasks and supervise well-behaved children. The author also considers what PIW might suggest about the relationship between paid work and family work in today's society. Because family and child well-being appeared to be secondary to business goals, theoretical and practice frameworks that align the needs of children and families with the needs of businesses should direct future research on parenting in the workplace. Insights about father involvement in PIW, implications of PIW for child development, and the potential of Border Theory and the Work-life Systems Framework to inform future PIW studies are addressed.

Este estudio cualitativo explora la naturaleza y la variación en el cuidado de los niños en el lugar del trabajo ‘parenting in the workplace’ (PIW) en una muestra planificada de 55 empresas que permitieron que los empleados cuiden personalmente a los niños en el lugar de trabajo mientras simultáneamente hacen sus deberes del trabajo. Los resultados principales indican que aunque PIW ocurrió en una variedad de industrias y organizaciones de tamaños diversos, la práctica era limitada a los empleados con papeles administrativos. Los negocios apoyaron PIW de vez en cuando para los empleados que experimentaron interrupciones en sus arreglos cotidianos para cuidar a sus niños o de manera habitual para los empleados que no tenían acceso a recursos aceptables o asequibles de cuidar a los niños. Según los representantes de negocios en esta muestra, la práctica fomentó el mantenimiento de la productividad del trabajador y disminuyó el ausentismo pero se apoyó solamente a condición de que los empleados lograran sus tareas de trabajo y que los niños se comportaran bien. El autor también considera qué PIW puede sugerir sobre la relación entre el trabajo pagado y el trabajo dentro de la familia en la sociedad de hoy. Ya que el bienestar de la familia y del niño pareció subordinado a las metas de negocio, es necesario que marcos de teoría y práctica que alinean las necesidades de niños y de familias con las necesidades de negocios deben dirigir la investigación futura sobre el cuidado de los niños en el lugar del trabajo. Se tratan también ideas sobre la participación de los padres en PIW, implicaciones de PIW para el desarrollo del niño, y la potencial de Border Theory (teoría de la frontera) y Work-life Systems Framework (marco de sistemas de trabajo-vida) para informar los estudios de PIW más adelante.     

政府、雇主和家庭共担生育责任的探讨

人口再生产是社会生产的必要前提,为社会经济发展做出巨大贡献,为雇主/社会提供了充足劳动力,满足了家庭情感需求和家族延续的需要,政府、社会和家庭需要共担责任。我国经历了从国家和家庭共担到雇主和家庭分担主要生育责任的过程,目前政府分担生育责任依然不足,雇主服务支持不够,家庭中男性未充分发挥作用。要确立生育的社会价值,增强政府责任,建立全面覆盖的生育保障制度,不断提高保障水平;建立平衡工作—家庭的支持体系,男性分担更多责任。     

Support,Demands, and Gender Ideology: Exploring Work–Family Facilitation and Work–Family Conflict Among Older Workers

Only recently have researchers begun to investigate issues surrounding the work experiences of individuals in late midlife. This article contributes to the literature on work–family facilitation and conflict among older workers. I focus specifically on the extent to which gender ideology is associated with facilitation and conflict and whether that relationship differs for women and men. Using a sample of older workers (n = 2,253), I find that gender traditional respondents are more likely to report work–family conflict than are nontraditional respondents, with no corresponding association for work–family facilitation. There are no sex differences in the effect of gender ideology on facilitation or conflict. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of understanding the work–family interface among older employees.     

Work-Family Identities and Work-Family Conflicts

Abstract

Using survey data from Utah, we examine the direct and indirect effects of individuals' identification with work and family on work-to-family and family-to-work conflict. Our analysis uncovers two notable indirect effects of family identity. For men, identification with the family is associated with job flexibility, which is associated with a decrease in work-to-family conflict. For women, identification with the family is associated with housework satisfaction, which is associated with a decrease in family-to-work conflict. These indirect effects suggest that family identity may play some role in reducing work-family conflict, albeit in different ways for men and women.