Families and Work  

Decline in real earnings Hourly wages declined 15% since 1973 Once, we made things…. The problem with the service industry Americans Overworked and under-vacationed…. The problem with part-time work Largest growth since 1992 evening night Weekend

Women in the workforce Economy pulled many women into the workforce Table page 189 (zinn, eitzen) Since 1980 women taken 80% of new jobs in economy

2 person single career 1 person works for pay, the other participates in spouse’s wk w/out pay Less than 10% of married couples are traditional bread-winner/homemaker families Workplace still operates as if households had only 1 worker & full-time homemaker

Dual Earners Benefits Costs Neutral Women’s power, health and depression better when they produce an income Costs Women have absorbed male work ethic more readily than men have absorbed their share of domestic & caretaking roles Private solutions to child care worse in US Neutral Decades of research show that employed mothers pose no harm to their children

Myth of separate worlds Work-family spill over transfer of moods, feelings & behavior from wk/family to other Structural interference wk/family interfere with one another Psychosocial interference 3:15 syndrome

FMLA 1993 Only companies with 50 or more employees have to abide What it provides 12 wks unpaid leave for full-time workers only

Dual-career Dual-workers Split-shift parenting most common (nonstandard wk schedule ^ divorce) More traditional than career wives Less commitment than career wives Time squeeze

Gender Inequality Balance? Work-family role system Reinforces traditional division of labor in work & family. Ensures that wives’ work does not affect their “core” responsibilities housework & childcare

Schwartz study Gerson study The “package deal” Zinn & Eitzen pg. 199

Men’s work Declining employment 1960 83% 2001 74% Whites declined due to early retirement Others declined due to discouraged worker effect

Good provider role Still largest source of income Macro-level economic conditions eroded ability to be sole breadwinner Old model is eroding Men have greater opportunities to participate in family, but freed from responsibilities

Children’s work Declined from mid 1970s Zinn & Eitzen pg. 197