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"Now, Dad Feels as Stressed as Mom" (link in the headline) is an article in The New York Times that examines how fathers are now beginning to struggle with and balance the work-family life. According to the article, only 40 percent of families today have a stay-at-home parent. Therefore, the majority of families are having to figure out how to handle the domestic duties while both parents are working full-time. In addition, the article states that the number of hours people work has also gone up significantly. Finally, the article discusses how men struggle with asking for a flexible schedule or for family leave time simply because it is new territory for them and how women and men view their tasks around the house differently.
The content of the article could certainly be debated as to whether people agree that men are also struggling with the work-family balance. However, the article made me wonder about how to frame this issue. As we have discussed in class and the article even mentions that the struggle to balance work and family has always been classified as a woman's issue (and I would argue a woman with children issue). Well, what if how the issue was framed changed to be a gender neutral issue or a parent's issue. Do you think more would be done to create flexible work environments? In my opinion, probably so. As we have often discussed in class women do not yet have a critical mass in elected positions or in companies. So, why do we not use this struggle for men to our advantage and unite together to create more flexible work environments. This issue could even be expanded more broadly to people without children. As more and more baby boomers are aging their children are going to need time off to help care for them. This could be another argument for flexible time off. I think when an issue is narrowly classified as a woman's issue (or a woman with children issue) then it is harder for men and women without children to relate to the struggle women face. However, if we can take woman's issues and expand them to include those who do have critical mass than possibly instead of simply talking about the issue constantly something could be done to address the issue.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
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2 comments:
Emma- I agree with your post, and think you make some excellent points. To make workplace flexibility a broader issue than a "women with children" issue would certainly force more to pay attention, and possibly bring about real change. As I have said many times though as lovely as it is to have time off, flexibility etc., we must remember that business is business. That means that the goal of business is to make money. Unless it can be demonstrated that more flexibility is better for the bottom line, I think it is going to be impossible to implement well and implement broadly.
What I take away from the article Emma cites is the fact that both parents have conflicts with work, and raising children. Trying to do both well at the same time is obviously hard to manage. Both parents feel that they are struggling, and doing more than their fair share. Ideally, this article will lead both parents to see things from the others' point of view.
Also of interest on this Father's Day: a Rasmussen poll reported today found that 71% of Americans think that "being a father [is the] most important role for a man." 12% disagree and 17% aren't sure.
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