Balancing the demands of work and family is a tremendous issue in the United States. Families are more unbalanced and stressed than ever before. People are working more and making less. According to research from Williams and Boushey the typical American middle-income family put in an average of 11 more hours a week in 2006 than it did in 1979 (1). This is a problem because most jobs are not family friendly and there is no paid leave for times when the family and job are in direct conflict. People who work more have less time and energy for their families. Parents need to be able to be there for their children and also maintain a means of supporting their children. The government needs to address these problems and quit dismissing them, as they are critical for the survival of families and the improvement of the economy.
The only relief ever offered and agreed upon by the government was the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act). The Family Medical Leave Act is insufficient and needs to be updated and significantly improved. The policy provides 12 weeks per year of leave and it is unpaid (Department 1). This is only for a birth of a child, adoption of a child, or serious health condition of self, spouse, child, or parent (United States Department of Labor). "Many women aren't covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, since it doesn't apply to the more than 50% of workers who work for companies with fewer than 50 employees or who have worked fewer than 1,250 hours in the past year. Further, because the leave is unpaid, many parents are financially unable to take time off work (Woman's Law Project)." The policy was barely established in 1993. Unpaid leave does not provide the relief needed. As Williams states in an article written for Newsweek, "Besides, the 12-week leave barely scratches the surface; after all, it doesn't take three months to raise a child; it takes nearly 20 years (1)." The policy does not compare with other industrialized countries.
Despite increasing evidence that the policy is deficient the government continues to ignore the issues. The current U.S. Family Medical Leave act is the worst of industrialized countries and it is unacceptable that nothing has been done to change it. 177 countries have laws that require women, and in some countries men, to take time off that is paid for and has job protection, even in Afghanistan and Haiti (Woman's Law Project 2). "When Australia passed a paid family leave act, the United States was left as the last economically advanced nation without mandatory, paid family-related leave"(Workplace Flexibility 1). How is the United States so backward in this category of comparison? People come here from other countries looking for "the American dream." There are parents in America who dream of living in other countries where family balance is a priority in business.
A country that has family balance as a priority is Sweden. This is one example of an ideal set up and more logical amount of time for leave. In Sweden the government pays 13 months of "parental" leave, where it is mandatory for both parents to take leave after the birth of a child, and they pay 80% of pay up to a cap of $65,000 (Hansegard 2). There are even companies such as H & M that will pay the remainder of the salary if it goes over the government cap of $65,000. Fathers are required to stay home for two months in order to get the government backed pay and presently 80% of fathers take a third of the 13 month leave (Women's Law Project 1). If the father decides to take a shorter period of leave he can still take the full two months of leave by the child's eighth birthday in order to receive the government pay. The innovation and generosity of this policy should be an example of inspiration for other countries.
The maternity leave benefits in Soviet Russia are even more generous and make the United States look as though they were left in the dark ages. Paid maternity leave was established in 1981 in Soviet Russia, that's 12 years before the U.S. got the measly unpaid 12 weeks of leave. They now get 18 weeks of fully paid leave, week 19 thru month18 partial pay leave, and unpaid leave from month 18 thru month 36 (Gerber 2). If the United States had even half of these amazing benefits, drastic changes would take place in society as well as the economy.
Although other countries seem to have figured it out, the U.S. has not come close. Work and family conflict is prevalent in the United States because the current working model is outdated. The change in demographics and society of the working world are profound and require drastic alteration. The work environment is structured in a way that was designed for a "stay-at- home mom" and a male breadwinner available 24/7. The current economic situation does not afford people the luxury of having a parent to stay home and care for children. Today 70% of children live in households where both parents are employed (Williams and Boushey 4). In 1960 only 20% of mothers worked, today the reality is women make up almost half of workers in the U.S. This is a problem because today we face gaps in childcare and a mismatch of work hours with children's schedules. Many employers want people to act like the only responsibility they have is their work. But companies need to realize that children will always come first.
This is why the structure of the working world needs to change to accommodate the demographics of the workers today. There are the low income, middle class, and professionals. All may have children and many are single parents. The majority of parents are not raising their own children. For the most part children are in the care of someone other than parents. 14% of children in professional families are cared for by parents, 20% of middle-income parents care for their children, and 26% of the poor care for their children (Williams and Boushey 51). Most childcare is low quality and unaffordable even for the middle class. People have to scramble to come up with child care. A mother or father who feels their child is not being well taken care of is in a difficult position in life. Work-family issues involve deep and powerful emotions.
Work and family conflict is much worse in the U.S. than in other developed countries. Williams and Boushey state that one reason is that Americans work longer hours than workers in most other developed countries, including Japan, where there is a word, karoshi, for "death by overwork (1)." Poll after poll indicates that U.S. workers feel a loss of control over their lives. ``Companies are seeing they have all these programs, but people are still really stressed out,'' says Ellen Galinsky, the Families & Work Institute's director (Hammonds 3). Parents may have no support system. If their child gets sick the daycare will not take them, and parents have to call in and risk being fired. There is no balance for families anymore. There needs to be less hours worked and more flexibility. Workers who don't have any leave coverage or flexibility in their jobs really are facing hardships.
Flexibility in the workplace and recognizing that most people have families is a necessity. Flexibility in the workplace leads to better results for the company as well as the individual. Best buy conducted an experiment that allowed employees to create their own schedules and the proof of success is in the statistics below. Absenteeism decreased 30% and customer service improved (Bailyn 1). "Turnover in the first three months of employment fell from 14% to zero, job satisfaction rose 10%, and their team-performance scores rose 13% (Bailyn 1)." This is only one example of success in allowing more flexibility and control for workers. There are many more like it. And Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule. Companies need to stop being outdated and rigid as it only leads to more turnover and costs in the long run.
Companies need to incorporate family friendly measures in order to be realistic and modern. When companies acknowledge that family is a priority it makes work and family conflict decrease and workers are more loyal. Aetna Life & Casualty Co. halved the rate of resignations among new mothers by extending its unpaid parental leave to six months, saving it $1 million a year in hiring and training expenses (Hammonds 4). Hammonds states that commitment from managers and employees alike comes from a culture where the embrace of family balance is pervasive and consistent (3). If companies are unwilling to bend then there needs to be laws implemented that create this kind of change for all families and companies, as it would be better for everyone involved. If the government would address the crisis with regards to work and family conflict, then companies wouldn't have a choice.
There are four basic requirements according to research by Williams and Boushey that all workers need to ease the work and family conflict. The first requirement is short-term and extended paid leave. Short-term leave, as well as sick days should be paid to ease the stress of the modern worker. Extended paid leave as this will ease much of the strain on families. "For women, returning early to work, particularly if earlier than preferred, is associated with greater amounts of stress and higher rates of depression (Workplace Flexibility 3)." Paid leave eases stress on everyone in the family. It also helps the businesses. It will lower the cost of training new employees due to turnover. It will also contribute to the economy as more money will be spent. There needs to be support to help those who are working, to keep them working. Why does every other country have paid leave?
The second requirement is flexibility in the workplace. Parents should not be forced to miss out on their child's life due to rigidity in the workplace. Slaughter writes: Bronnie Ware, an Australian blogger who worked for years in palliative care and is the author of the 2011 book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying...The second-most-common regret was "I wish I didn't work so hard." She writes: "This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship (17)." Men should not have to worry about taking flex time. "While men have a right to parental leave under federal law, they're often punished when they take it (Williams 1). Just as it is illegal to discriminate against certain classes under law, it should be illegal to discriminate when people take the leave they are entitled to. They should be able to file suit if they experience discrimination by their employer due to taking family leave.
The third requirement needed is high-quality affordable childcare. Many countries actually pay for high quality childcare. Just as schools are funded, childcare should be funded as well. High quality care benefits society. A study found that children who were in higher-quality child care had better cognitive function and language development in the first three years of life, as well as greater school readiness by age four and a half (Doak 2). A parent who has to worry all day about the quality of care their child is receiving while they are working, is not going to be putting out the best quality of work. In short the quality of childcare could actually affect the quality of work on the job. Currently the care that children receive is affected by income level. The government needs to take responsibility for this area just as they do public school systems.
The fourth requirement needed to change is for families to be free from discrimination in the workplace. Parents should not be ashamed to talk about their children or to be mothers or fathers. "One 2007 study found that mothers were 79 percent less likely to be hired and only half as likely to be promoted as identical women without children (Williams 1)." This statistic is shocking, but being a mother, it is frankly this way in every company worked for. The women in the articles researched state how they always felt they had to lie if an issue ever came up with their family. People who needed time off for marathons were respected, while people who needed time off for their children's plays were looked down upon. Parents should be able to request time off without feeling they are going to be judged or not get promoted. Research continually shows that, "Regardless, it is clear which set of choices society values more today. Workers who put their careers first are typically rewarded; workers who choose their families are overlooked, disbelieved, or accused of unprofessionalism (Slaughter 17)." This is such a 1950's way of thinking.
All of these basic requirements would help working families significantly, but unfortunately the government continues to sweep the work and family conflict issue in America under the rug. We are just left to muddle through and try to hold onto our jobs by a thin string. This has been going on for decades. According to Williams and Boushey, the United States today has the most family-hostile public policy in the developed world due to a long-standing political impasse. They state fully 90 percent of American mothers and 95 percent of American fathers report work-family conflict (1). One can only wonder when politicians are going to wake up and create the changes needed for struggling families who can never seem to get ahead, despite all of the hard work. The senate has continued to deny any efforts that have passed the House of Representatives (1). People need to continue the efforts and not stop until we get the relief America needs.
In this essay I've only addressed the issues of working parents. There are those who are without children, but have elderly parents who need constant care. There are those who have physical and mental ailments that may affect a person's ability to hold a job that will not offer them the flexibility needed to continue working. There are people who discover they have serious health problems such as cancer or hepatitis and may need extended leave that extend far past three months. All of these workers should be entitled to paid leave and flexibility that helps them maintain their ability to work while balancing the other responsibilities outside of work. Any of these workers could end up homeless and destitute if they don't have the financial means to continue paying their bills. They should not be forced to make a decision between these issues and their jobs. There really is no choice. It really comes down to the government creating programs and laws that support ALL workers in America.
Works Cited
Bailyn, Lotte. "Family-Friendly Measures Can Improve Worker Productivity." Work and Family. Ed. Mitchell Young. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Envisioning the Future (chapter 8)." Breaking the Mold: Redesigning Work for Productive and Satisfying Lives. Cornell University Press, 2006. 130-145. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.
"Caring for Children." Growing Up: Issues Affecting America's Youth. Melissa J. Doak. 2011 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Information Plus Reference Series. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Nov. 2012
Gerber, Theodore P., and Brienna Perelli-Harris. "Maternity leave in turbulent times: effects on labor market transitions and fertility in Russia, 1985-2000." Social Forces 90.4 (2012): 1297+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
Hammonds, Keith. "Balancing Work and Family." Businessweek. 16 September 1996. Web. 24 Nov.2012
Hansegard, Jens. "For Paternity Leave, Sweden Asks if Two Months is Enough." The Wall Street Journal. 31 July 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2012
United States. Department of Labor. "Leave Benefits. Family and Medical Leave."
Department of Labor. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. N.d. Web. 14 Nov 2012.
Williams, Joan C. ,Boushey , Heather. "The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict". New Hampshire Women's Initiative. January 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.
Women's Law Project. "Swedish Men Take Parental Leave - What's the Situation in the U.S.?" Wordpress. 6 June 2010. Web. 24 Nov. 2012.
Workplace Flexibility 2010/Berkeley Center on Health, Economic and Family Security. "Family Security Insurance Would Ease Work and Family Challenges." Work and Family. Ed. Mitchell Young. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Family Security Insurance-a New Foundation for Economic Security." 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Nov. 201
