PSYC 300 1st Edition Lecture 21 Outline of Last Lecture I. Gender AwarenessII. Affirmative ActionIII. Changing the WorkplaceIV. RetirementV. Times are changing?VI. When women do not work…VII. Women as HomemakersVIII. Attitudes Toward Women’s Family and Employment RolesOutline of Current Lecture I. Division of Household ResponsibilitiesII. The Second ShifIII. Family-Work CoordinationIV. The Swedish Way: A glimpse of the future??V. Other CountriesVI. Family-Work CoordinationVII. What organizations can do to reduce work-family conflictVIII. What Individuals can doIX. Midlife transitions in family and work rolesCurrent Lecture- Division of Household Responsibilitieso Housework: in dual earning families, women still do the majority of the housework Women’s work” tends to be daily “Men’s work” tends to be monthly or weeklyo Childcare The mother, whether employed or not, performs most of the childcare activitieso Caring for Aging Parents Its mainly the females even though males will do some portion of thiso Leisure timeo Women’s perceptions of the division of family labor Most women do not consider division of labor unfair Perceived notions inequity based on share of total time spent by coupleo Explanations of the division of family labor Time constraints Relative power Gender attitudes- Values/expectations- The Second Shifo Studied 50 couples over 8 years (1980-1988) and how they divided household taskso Observes that men and women come into marriage with expectations of gender roles defined by cultural, parents, etc.o Concluded that a woman’s first shif (paid job) is ofen devalued and leads to rationalization that should be primarily responsible for her second shif (household duties)- Family-Work Coordinationo Parental leave US Federal Policies- No paid maternity/paternity leave- Family Medical Leave Act—gives any individuals 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for another individual Other Countrieso Is care-giving a protected group? No but ofen women are penalized, not men (this becomes sex discrimination, which is protected)- The Swedish Way: A glimpse of the future??o 1974: Sweden was the first country to replace maternity leave with parental leave Almost full salary for a year Both parents can work 6 hours a day until children go to schoolo 1995: One extra month parental leave but only if father took ito 2002: Another month was added More than 80% of men now take parental leave Companies expect men to take time of- Other Countrieso US: noneo Portugal: only country with mandatory paternal leave (a week)o Iceland: 3 months for mother 3 months for father 3 months for both- Family-Work Coordinationo Balancing family and work Concerns- Finding time for all responsibilities- Finding good childcare Conflicts: - Family Interfering with Work - Work interfering with Familyo Pepsico—CEO Indra Nooyio Balancing family and work Role strain: stress stemming from one’s roles- Role overload: role demands that exceed one’s available time and/or energy- Interrole conflict: incompatible demands stemming from two or more roles- Scarcity hypothesis: excessive role responsibilities deplete the individual’s limited supply of time and energy, which can lead to stress- Who experiences role strain?o Those with children experience the greatest role strain Factors that contribute to increased conflict- WIF (Work Interfering with Family)o Number of hourso Long commuteso Workload o Level of importance FIW (Family interfering with work)o Benefits: positive spillover Higher self-esteem, better physical health, greater respect from others, greater economic security (e.g., Auster, 2001) Enhancement hypothesis: each additional role provides a new source of self-esteem, social approval, social status, and other benefits (e.g., Crosby & Sabbatini, 2006) Bufering o Gender attitudes and family-work balancing experiences o Ethnic comparison of family-work balancing experiences Efects of mothers’ employment on children- Most research demonstrates that maternal employment and non-maternal care are not harmfulo Quality of child care Children ofen benefit from maternal employment- Efects on preschoolers’ emotions and behaviors- Efects on children’s gender-role attitudes: mothers are seen as more competent when employed- Efects on children’s cognitive development Importance of consistency between mother’s role and her belief about value of maternal employmento Efects of women’s employment on the marital relationship Inconsistent research Depends on quality of marital relationship- Women’s employment not related to divorce among happily married couples- Women’s employment rleat4ed to divorce in unhappy marriages Women’s employment and husbands’ well-being Women’s employment and wives’ well-being- What organizations can do to reduce work-family conflicto Provide resources On-site services: dry cleaning, cafeteria, day care Referral services: EAP programs Family benefits: - Paid family leave, - Employer help with child care- Elder-care benefitso Reduce expectations of time Flex-time Maternity leave Telecommuting options- What Individuals can doo Seek support from other peopleo Improve personal coping strategies Negotiate with employer (Hewlett, 2007) Change perceptions of responsibilities (Chrisler, 2008) Spend more time (e.g., Chrisler, 2008)o Consider work-family issues when choosing jobs and organizationso Improve time management skills Prioritize- Midlife transitions in family and work roleso Satisfaction with life roles Importance of paid worko Regrets about life direction Related to decisions about marriage, career, and children Importance of acting on regrets to make changes (Stewart & Vandewater, 1999)o Making changes Influence of women’s movement Source of both satisfaction and challenge (Stewart & Vandewater, 1999)o Midlife transitions: A cautionary note Research generally about white, middle-class women Importance of historical