Impact of Life-Cycle Stage and Gender on the Ability to Balance Work and Family Responsibilities

Abstract

One of the most significant changes in the labor market over the last decade has been the dramatic increase in the participation of with children in the labor force. The 1991 Canadian Census indicated that 68% of all with children at home were in the labor force. This was an increase from 61% in 1986 and 52% in 1981. Eighty percent of the currently in the workforce are in their childbearing years, and 80% of employees are expected to have children during their work life (Galinsky, Friedman, & Hernandez, 1991; Statistics Canada, 1993). Changing workforce demographics have made it difficult for many individuals to balance the conflicting demands of work and family. These difficulties have forced a reexamination of the old models of coordinating work and family life (Lee & Kanungo, 1984). A gendered division of labor, with the wife caring for the family and the husband assuming the breadwinner role, is no longer a viable option for many couples. One of the consequences of the inability to balance work and family demands is the increasing level of work-family conflict experienced by employed parents. Work-family conflict occurs when an individual has to perform multiple roles that require time, energy, and commitment (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). The cumulative demands of multiple roles can result in two types of strain: overload and interference. Overload exists when the total demands on time and energy are too great to perform the roles adequately or comfortably. Interference occurs because many work and family activities must be performed during the same time periods in different physical locations (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Recently Gutek, Searle, and Kelpa (1991) suggested that role interference could be conceptualized as having two components: family interference with work and work interference with family. Family interference with work occurs when family-role responsibilities hinder performance at work (e.g., a child's illness prevents attendance at work). Work interference with family arises when work activities impede performance of family responsibilities (e.g., long hours at work prevent a parent from being home for meals with the family). O'Driscoll, Ilgen, and Hildreth (1992) support Gutek and her associates' claim that family interference with work and work interference with family are separate, albeit interrelated, components of work-family conflict. The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of work-family conflict by examining life-cycle stage and gender differences in three components of work-family conflict: (a) role overload, (b) interference from work to family, and (c) interference from family to work. The life-cycle focus recognizes the dynamic nature of family roles and circumstances as families and individuals move through their lives and that these changes in roles, relationships and responsibilities over time produce corresponding changes in family needs, resources and vulnerabilities (Moen & Firebaugh, in press). The focus on gender acknowledges that Despite the many changes in gender roles in the past 20 years, tradition prescribes a different emphasis between work and family for men and women (Gutek et al., 1991, p. 561). Gutek and her colleagues (1991) also suggest that gender differences exist with respect to the perception of two of the components of work-family conflict, namely, work-to-family and family-to-work interference. Many studies have found that life-cycle stage is associated with work and family-role demands and work-family conflict (Keith & Schafer, 1991; Mattessich & Hill, 1987; Rexroat & Shehan, 1987; Schnittger & Bird, 1990; Voydanoff & Kelly, 1984). Similarly, there is a significant body of research linking gender and work-family conflict (Barnett & Baruch, 1987; Duxbury & Higgins, 1991; Gutek et al., 1991; Jick & Mitz, 1985; Keith & Schaefer, 1980, 1991; LaCroix & Haynes, 1987; Pleck, 1984, 1985; Skinner, 1980; Voydanoff, 1988). …