Employed Parents' Support from Partners, Employers, and Friends

Abstract Employed parents (226 fathers, 264 mothers) in Canada were interviewed about the kinds of support that help them balance the dual responsibilities of work and family. The participants received tangible and emotional support from their partners. In the workplace, family-responsibility leave and flexible work arrangements were helpful. The participants also stressed the importance of supportive supervisors and expressed the desire for greater flexibility, shorter hours, and help with child care. The majority of the participants had friends who provided both emotional and practical support in balancing the competing demands of work and family. Comparisons by gender, family type, marital status, and life-cycle stage identified the importance of contextual variables. The findings highlight the importance of multidimensional assessment of support and the necessity to consider both the availability of and gaps in support.

[1]  M. Cyr,et al.  Relation entre les satisfactions liées à trois rôles sociaux et la satisfaction de vie chez les femmes au foyer. , 1996 .

[2]  Christopher A. Higgins,et al.  Interference Between Work and Family:: A Status Report on Dual-Career and Dual-Earner Mothers and Fathers , 1994 .

[3]  Christopher A. Higgins,et al.  Impact of Life-Cycle Stage and Gender on the Ability to Balance Work and Family Responsibilities. , 1994 .

[4]  R. Erickson.  Reconceptualizing Family Work: The Effect of Emotion Work on Perceptions of Marital Quality. , 1993 .

[5]  D. Almeida,et al.  Wives' employment hours and spousal participation in family work. , 1993 .

[6]  S. Blair.  Employment, Family, and Perceptions of Marital Quality Among Husbands and Wives , 1993 .

[7]  Sylvie Carrier,et al.  Quelles Sont Les Conditions Qui Affectent la Sante Des Femmes a Roles Multiples , 1993 .

[8]  Rosalind C. Barnett,et al.  Work‐family strains and gains among two‐earner couples , 1993 .

[9]  M. E. Starrels.  The Evolution of Workplace Family Policy Research , 1992 .

[10]  Rosalind C. Barnett,et al.  Men's multiple roles and their relationship to men's psychological distress. , 1992 .

[11]  D. Friedman,et al.  The corporate reference guide to work-family programs , 1991 .

[12]  E. Robertson.  The Costs and Benefits of Social Support in Families. , 1991 .

[13]  Stéphane Sabourin,et al.  Rôles sexuels et adaptation conjugale , 1991 .

[14]  Julian Barling,et al.  Employment, Stress, And Family Functioning , 1990 .

[15]  D. Friedman.  Corporate Responses to Family Needs , 1990 .

[16]  G. Bird,et al.  Coping among Dual-Career Men and Women across the Family Life Cycle , 1990 .

[17]  K. Allen,et al.  Facing Challenges and Making Compromises: How Single Mothers Endure. , 1989 .

[18]  S. Rabinowitz,et al.  Work and Family Variables as Mediators of the Relationship Between Wives' Employment and Husbands' Well-Being , 1989 .

[19]  A. Hochschild,et al.  The Second Shift , 1989 .

[20]  M. Mayfield.  Work-Related Child Care in Canada. , 1989 .

[21]  E. Anderson,et al.  Men's and women's participation in domestic roles: Impact on quality of life and marital adjustment. , 1988 .

[22]  R. Mcneely,et al.  Balancing Parenthood and Employment: Factors Affecting Company Receptiveness to Family-Related Innovations in the Workplace. , 1988 .

[23]  P. Raabe,et al.  Employer Family-Supportive Policies: Diverse Variations on the Theme. , 1988 .

[24]  G. Bowen.  Corporate Supports for the Family Lives of Employees: A Conceptual Model for Program Planning and Evaluation. , 1988 .

[25]  A. Mcbride.  Mental Health Effects of Women's Multiple Roles , 1988, Image--the journal of nursing scholarship.

[26]  R. Moos,et al.  Exosystem influences on family and child functioning. , 1988 .

[27]  H. Amaro,et al.  Family and Work Predictors of Psychological Well-Being Among Hispanic Women Professionals , 1987 .

[28]  Cynthia Rexroat,et al.  The Family Life Cycle and Spouses' Time in Housework. , 1987 .

[29]  P. Moen,et al.  Employed Parents: Role Strain, Work Time, and Preferences for Working Less. , 1987 .

[30]  T. Huston,et al.  Processes underlying father involvement in dual-earner and single-earner families. , 1987 .

[31]  B. Rapkin,et al.  Multiple roles, social networks, and women's well-being. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[32]  P. Voydanoff,et al.  Work/Family Role Strain among Employed Parents. , 1985 .

[33]  P. Voydanoff,et al.  Determinants of Work-Related Family Problems among Employed Parents. , 1984 .

[34]  H. Mccubbin,et al.  Gender Roles and Coping. , 1984 .

[35]  R. Turner,et al.  Class and psychological vulnerability among women: the significance of social support and personal control. , 1983, Journal of health and social behavior.

[36]  B. Gottlieb.  Social Networks And Social Support , 1981 .

[37]  Rosabeth Moss Kanter,et al.  Work and Family in the United States: A Critical Review and Agenda for Research and Policy , 1978 .