'This book is a treasure trove of evidence and debate and is essential reading for anyone interested in human resource management and, indeed, in the relationships between work, employment and society' - British Journal of Industrial Relations

The area of work and family is a hot topic in the social sciences and appeals to scholars in a wide range of disciplines. There are few edited volumes in this area, however, and this may be the only one that focuses on low-income families--a particularly important group in this era of welfare-to-work policy. Interdisciplinary in nature, the volume brings together contributors from the fields of psychology, social work, sociology, demography, economics, human development and family studies, and public policy. It presents important work-family topics from the point of view of low-income families at a time in history when welfare to work programs have become standard. Divided into four parts, each section addresses a different aspect of the topic, consisting of a big picture lead essay which is followed by three papers that critique, extend, and supplement the final paper. Many of the chapters address important social policy issues, giving the volume an applied focus which will make it of interest to many groups. Serving to organize the volume, these issues and others have been encapsulated into four sets of anchor questions: *How has the availability, content, and stability of the jobs available for the working poor changed in recent decades? How do work circumstances for low-income families vary as a function of gender, family structure, race, ethnicity, and geography? What implications do these changes have for the widening inequality between the haves and have-nots? *What features of work timing matter for families? What do we know about the impacts of shift work, long hours, seasonal work, and temporary work on employees, their family relationships, and their children's development? *How are the child care needs of low-income families being met? What challenges do these families face with regard to child care, and how can child-care services be strengthened to support parents and to enhance child development? *How are the challenges of managing work and family experienced by low-income men and women? The primary audience for the book is academicians and their students, policy specialists, and people charged with developing and evaluating family-focused programs. The volume will be appropriate for classroom use in upper-level undergraduate courses and graduate courses in the fields of family sociology, demography, human development and family studies, women's studies, labor studies, and social work.

Many regard the ways in which paid work can be combined or ‘balanced’ with other parts of life as an individual concern and a small, rather self-indulgent problem in today’s world. Some feel that worrying about a lack of time or energy for family relationships or friendships is a luxury or secondary issue when compared with economic growth or development. In the business world and among many Governments around the world, the importance of paid work and the primacy of economic competitiveness, whatever the personal costs, is almost accepted wisdom. Profits and short term efficiency gains are often placed before social issues of care or human dignity. But what about the impact this has on men and women’s well being, or the long-term sustainability of people, families, society or even the economy? Drawing from interviews and group meetings in seven diverse countries – India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, the UK and USA – this book explores the multiple difficulties in combining paid work with other parts of life and the frustrations people experience in diverse settings. There is a myth that ‘work-life balance’ can be achieved through quick fixes rather than challenging the place of paid work in people’s lives and the way work actually gets done. As well as exploring contemporary problems, this book attempts to seed hope and new ways of thinking about one of the key challenges of our time.

In this book, the author builds on decades of complex research to examine the gender pay gap and the unequal distribution of labor between couples in the home. The author argues that although public and private discourse has brought these concerns to light, the actions taken - such as a single company slapped on the wrist or a few progressive leaders going on paternity leave - are the economic equivalent of tossing a band-aid to someone with cancer. These solutions, the author writes, treat the symptoms and not the disease of gender inequality in the workplace and economy. Here, the author points to data that reveals how the pay gap widens further down the line in women's careers, about 10 to 15 years out, as opposed to those beginning careers after college. She examines five distinct groups of women over the course of the twentieth century: cohorts of women who differ in terms of career, job, marriage, and children, in approximated years of graduation - 1900s, 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s - based on various demographic, labor force, and occupational outcomes. The book argues that our entire economy is trapped in an old way of doing business; work structures have not adapted as more women enter the workforce. Gender equality in pay and equity in home and childcare labor are flip sides of the same issue, and the author frames both in the context of a serious empirical exploration that has not yet been put in a long-run historical context. This book offers a deep look into census data, rich information about individual college graduates over their lifetimes, and various records and sources of material to offer a new model to restructure the home and school systems that contribute to the gender pay gap and the quest for both family and career. --

This volume focuses upon the complex nature of the work-family interface, and how families around the globe deal with the inherent dilemmas therein. Chapters examine how work affects families in both overt and discrete manners, as well as how family life, in turn, affects paid employment.

Are you a read-aloud family? Do you want to read-aloud more? Are you ready to accept the 100 Book Read-Aloud Family Challenge and record your family's amazing adventure through 100 books? The rules are simple: 1. Read a book aloud with your kids. (A picture book, chapter book, novel, it's up to you.) 2. Record your family's book experience in your journal. (Favorite characters, favorite scenes, things that surprised you, things you loved, parts that made you laugh or cry, etc.) 3. Repeat 99 more times. (Share your progress with friends using #100BooksTogether) 4. Cherish your read-aloud memories forever! Families everywhere are discovering that reading-aloud is one of the most powerful ways to connect with your kids, and keep your family strong! Accept the challenge today, and record your family's one-and-only remarkable journey through 100 books!

The entrance of women into managerial positions in significant numbers brings work and family issues to center stage, shifting the spotlight from issues of entry and equality of access to the consideration of the work-family conflicts and the difficulties posed on female managers. Looking at new approaches to enhance the work-family interface individually and in the firm, Work and Family: An International Research Perspective: *provides an overview on the antecedents of work-family conflict and the major consequences of work-family conflict, for well-being, productivity, and the strength of the relationship with the firm; *discusses the migrant's work and family experiences in terms of the demands, opportunities, and constraints they face and the role of work-family culture in reconciling the demands of work and family in organizations; *presents descriptive data concerning the linkages between work-family pressure and several known correlates and the differences in reported levels of each of these variables; *explores the work-life balance challenges and opportunities created by global assignments; *examines the work-family interface of the Western model and urban sub-saharan Africa; *emphasizes the importance of organizational change to the dynamics of work-family policies; and *highlights the progress in moving the field toward an open-systems perspective. Written by well-known contributors, this book offers international research in order to test the models mostly developed in the United States. In addition, it develops new models to capture the complexity and diversity of work-family experiences around the globe and explores cross-cultural topics.

Career Management & Work/Life Integration: Using Self-Assessment to Navigate Contemporary Careers is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide to managing contemporary careers. Although grounded in theory, the book also provides an extensive set of exercises and activities that can guide career management over the lifespan. Authors Brad Harrington and Douglas T. Hall offer a highly useful self-assessment guide for students and other individuals who want to deal with the challenge of succeeding in a meaningful career while living a happy, well-balanced life. Key Features Bridges theory and application: While the book helps readers gain a better understanding of theories on careers, work life, and human resources, it also guides them to develop a tailored, personalized career strategy for themselves. Offers a rigorous self-assessment process: Serving as the book′s foundation, this self-assessment guide gives readers a wealth of information and insight regarding their own career priorities and strategies. Provides a more thorough experiential view than existing books: This book integrates work from both the career management and the work life field while most academic literature treats these two areas separately. Intended Audience Career Management & Work/Life Integration is a great resource for employers and career planning offices. This book will also by ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses in Career Management; Leadership Development; Organizational Behavior; and Human Resource Management in the departments of business, management, and organizational psychology. Instructor′s Resources Available upon request, an instructor′s resource CD accompanies the book and includes such teaching aids as PowerPoint slides, and teaching notes for each chapter, as well as assignments, key concepts, and terms for each chapter.

To support the efforts of workplaces and policymakers to improve the health of employees and their families, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formed the Work, Family & Health Network (WFHN). WFHN is conducting an innovative, multisite study that includes an effectiveness study to assess intervention effects on employees, families and managers; a daily diary study to examine effects on family functioning and daily stress; a process study to understand how the intervention is implemented; and translational research to understand how best to share the study results. This paper presents a high-level description of the study’s design and methods. It also explains changes made during the course of the field study, and the research team’s approach to adhere to design principles rather than to specific design elements and methods. The WFHN study will provide information about how interventions affect productivity, turnover, and workplace costs. The findings will also inform effective work-family policies and interventions, thereby improving the lives of millions of American workers and their families.

Work-life integration is an increasingly hot topic in the media, social research, governments and in people’s everyday lives. This volume offers a new type of lens for understanding work-family reconciliation by studying how work-family dynamics are shaped, squeezed and developed between consistent or competing logics in different societies in Europe and the US. The three institutions of "state", "family" and "working life", and their under-explored primary logics of "regulation", "morality" and "economic competitiveness" are examined theoretically as well as empirically throughout the chapters, thus contributing to an understanding of the contemporary challenges within the field of work-family research that combines structure and culture. Particular attention is given to the ways in which the institutions are confronted with various moral norms of good parenthood or motherhood and ideals for family life. Likewise, the logic of policy regulation and gendered family moralities are challenged by the economic logic of working life, based on competition in favour of the most productive workers and organizations. Demonstrating different aspects of what is behind and between the logics of state regulation, morals and market, this innovative volume will appeal to students, teachers and researchers interested in areas such as family studies, welfare state studies, social policy studies, work life studies as well as and gender studies.