Women & Men in Management Chapter 8 – Managing the Work-Family Interface

Finding Work-Family Balance Work-family balance represents: Satisfaction with the effectiveness of one’s work role in relation to the effectiveness of one’s family role Good work-family balance is dependent on management of work-family interface How work role influences family role, and vice versa

Define Family Three variables: marital status, parental status, spouse’s employment status Six basic combinations: Single, no children Married, no children, spouse employed Married, no children, spouse not employed Single, children Married, children, spouse employed Married, children, spouse not employed

Define Family Why are these combinations too simple? Divorce Separation Widowed Remarried Same sex vs. opposite sex couples Unmarried couples with children Importance of parents, siblings, extended family Today, those first three variables are not enough to define the family life of each individual!

Family Structures in Management As they become more successful in their careers, they are more likely to have a spouse and children Women As women assume managerial positions at higher levels, they are less likely to be married or have children

Bias in the Workplace: Family Diversity Individuals are subject to bias in the workplace based on marital status, parental status, family diversity: Singlism Men taking paternity leave Relocation job offers

A Juggling Act Optimistic view Pessimistic view “Trade-offs” view Involvement in one role enhances functioning in the other. A heightened sense of well-being and subjective career success Pessimistic view Attempting to participate in both work and family roles to a significant extent results in a time bind “Trade-offs” view There are costs and benefits to juggling family and work, the challenge is to minimize costs and maximize benefits

Conflict Perspective: Work-Family Interface Work and family roles will inevitably interfere with each other Work-family conflict Results from pressures from work and family roles that are mutually incompatible Has negative consequences for Employees Family members Employers

Conflict Perspective: Work-Family Interface Three types of work-family conflict occur: Time-based conflict Time spent working cannot be devoted to family activities, and vice versa Strain-based conflict Strain in one role spills over into the other role Behavior-based conflict Occurs when incompatible behaviors are required for work and family roles

Alleviating Work-Family Conflict Social support in one role for involvement in the other role Tangible Information Advice Assistance Intangible Affirmation Affection Trust

Enrichment Perspective: Work-Family Interface Work and family roles continually enrich or enhance each other Work-family enrichment Extent to which individuals’ experiences in one role improve the quality of life in the other role Has considerable positive consequences High job satisfaction & organizational commitment Family satisfaction and overall health

Enrichment Perspective: Work-Family Interface Work-family enrichment occurs when resources generated in one role are applied to positively affect the other role Skills Perspectives Psychological and physical resources Social-capital resources Flexibility Material resources

Work and Family as Segmented or Integrated Individuals vary in preference to segment or integrate work and family roles Segmenters Prefer to keep these roles disconnected by maintaining boundaries between work and family Integrators Prefer to have roles interwoven in their lives by merging or blending various aspects of work and family

Segmenters vs. Integrators: The Trade Off Experience less work-to-family conflict Are able to turn off work stressors in the family role Leave behaviors at the office that would be dysfunctional in the home Integrators Transfer positive effects from work to family See relevance in applying skills and perspectives from work to their family roles Experience more work-to-family enrichment

The Meaning of Success Objective career success Measured by: Earnings Level of position in the organizational hierarchy Rate of advancement Positively related Involves more status-based satisfiers Does not always necessarily lead to career satisfaction

The Meaning of Success Subjective career success Measured by: Potential for advancement Job security Relationships with coworkers Positively related Involves more socioemotional satisfiers

The Meaning of Success Objective family success: Measured by Marital or relationship status Number of children, children’s activities, number of friends Objective family success is too limited and does not accurately describe family situation Subjective family success: Family satisfaction Quality of family life

Sex Differences and Success Paradox of the contented female worker Research findings of women who achieve less objective success than men but maintain the same amount of subjective success Lawyers Human service workers Hospitality managers, etc. Reasoning Women may expect less objective success than men Women value objective success less than men do

Sex Differences and Success Paradox of the contented female business owner Reasoning Female business owners place less value on achieving business success in traditional terms They are more concerned with the quality of their relationships with employees and contributions to society

Work-Family Decisions Decisions in one role (work/family) that are influenced by factors in the other role. Decisions regarding the work domain: Role entry Role participation Role exit

Work-Family Decisions Decisions vary from: Whether to work part-time or full-time Whether to start a business Number of hours to devote to a job or business Whether to go through a voluntary employment gap Whether to quit a job Overall, women’s work decisions likely to be more influenced by family Decline in gender role endorsement Leading to more males who take family into consideration

Creating a Family-Friendly Work Environment Recommended Actions for Organizations 1. Offer counseling when organizational decisions affect the family 2. Offer employment assistance to spouses of relocated employees 3. Offer assistance to employees in meeting child care and elder care needs 4. Offer flexible work arrangements to employees when possible 5. Make telecommuting available to qualified employees 6. Offer training on how to deal with family issues 7. Provide incentives for managers to permit subordinates to take advantage of flexible work arrangements 8. Adopt a flexible model of the successful career that does not penalize employment gaps, leaves of absence, and lateral moves 9. Set reasonable standards for the number of hours employees are required to work

Creating a Family-Friendly Work Environment Fostering the family-friendly organizational culture Create supportive managers to make employees feel more comfortable with family matters and work Combat singlism Mindset of employing individuals, not simply job holders

Balancing Work and Family Recommended Actions for Individuals 1. Be aware of your life values regarding the importance of work and family 2. Cultivate social support from all possible sources 3. Get a mentor if possible 4. Deal with stresses in your work and family roles and in juggling the two roles by adopting appropriate coping strategies 5. Reach accommodations with partners about the role that work and family concerns will play in each other’s lives 6. If you are a trailing partner, join a support group or form one with others in similar positions

Chapter 8 Terms Extreme jobs Physical resources Work-family balance Social-capital resources Work-family interface Flexibility Gender roles Material resources Gender stereotypes Segmenters Singlism Integrators Conflict perspective: Work-family interface Segmentation preferences Work-family conflict Objective career success Time-based conflict Subjective career success Strain-based conflict Status-based satisfiers Behavior-based conflict Socioemotional satisfiers Social support Paradox of the contented female worker Gender egalitarianism Paradox of the contented female business owner Enrichment perspective: Work-family interface Work-family decisions Work-family enrichment Role entry decisions Skills Role participation decisions Perspectives Role exit decisions Psychological resources