Navigating Career and Family Roles: Strategies for Modern Dual-Career Relationships

1. Chapter 10 Career and Family Roles

2. Overview • Historical Review of Labor Force Changes • Dual-Career Relationships • Strategies for Managing Work and Family • Case Study • CIP Perspective

3. Women in the Labor Force • Mother’s jobs: 50% more hours than working fathers or singles without children • World average combined household and employment hours: women= 80, men= 50 • Women entering labor force twice the rate of men- 16.6% vs. 8.5% • 2003--almost 62% women employed

4. Family/Career Issues • Women in labor force affects family life • Links between unemployment and child abuse, domestic violence, and divorce • Job stress interferes with workers’ lives more than family troubles affect work

5. Child and Elder Care • Sandwich generation—having time to care for children and parents

6. Changing Family Systems • About 3% of families considered “traditional,” where male is sole breadwinner and female stays home • Two alternatives • Career primary : career remains at forefront of priorities • Career-family primary: change work schedules to accommodate children’s needs

7. Tips on Implementing Career-Family Option • Be aware of corporate culture • Research community programs and services • Set clear family and career goals • Use time to experiment with other career interests • Don’t stay away longer than two years- longer than five makes it hard to reenter

8. Factors Affecting Women’s Careers • Occupational stereotypes • Low pay • Stress • Traditional sex-role expectations • Glass ceiling • Harassment • Entrepreneurship

9. Factors Affecting Men’s Careers • Breadwinner • Androgyny • Stay-at-home dad • Traditional male careers • Paternity leave

10. Relocation • 38% of men view their career more important vs. 13% of women • 25% of men view their careers as equal vs. 34% of women • 70% of women would relocate for husband vs. 40% of men

11. Handling Stress • Barnett and Rivers (1996) identified families as: • tired and stressed, but healthy and happy • women not as depressed and anxious as before • fathers more involved with children than their fathers • biggest problem: inflexible employers • Gender differences in jobs, relationships, parenting less striking than once believed

12. Flexible benefits Alternative work arrangements Leisure support Family-Friendly Organizations • Emergency Care • Discounts • Vouchers • Referral service • On-site day care

13. Strategies for Managing Work and Family Life(contd.) • Joint Strategies • Central life interests- priorities of each person • Gender role orientation- androgyny provides greatest satisfaction • Multiple role stress- lack of agreement causes problems in managing nine life roles • Coping strategies- mutually supportive couples are most successful

14. Strategies for Managing Work and Family Life(contd.) • Spouses as Joint Entrepreneurs • Husband & wife teams grew 66% from 1980-1989 • Three d’s of entrepreneurial couples: • death • disability • divorce • Higher-order cognitive processes for prevailing: • ability to engage in highly creative problem solving • ability to use complex images of themselves • ability to understand symbolic communication

15. Strategies for Managing Work and Family Life(contd.) • Organizational and Governmental Strategies • Increasing women and family-friendly people on corporate boards • Obtaining lists of family-friendly companies • Developing national policies regarding leave and child care

16. CIP Perspective • Self-knowledge • new self-concept for women • men and women clarifying values • Option Knowledge • Decision Making • Executive Processing