Arlie Russell Hochschild's The Time Bind

As a child, I’ve seen my parents focused the majority of their time and energy at their work to provide for our family. In 2000, the U.S Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics had recorded that working couples with children under 18 years of age worked an average of 66 hours a week compared to couples without children, who worked an

Studies suggest that when the number of children in the home rise, and as the age of the youngest child decreases, there are more conflicts within the family. In establishing relationships with children, parents struggle to manage work and family, including having insufficient time to completely focus on both the necessities of work and family (Cichy, Stawski, & Almeida, 2012). Due to new job obligations, MJ experiences work stress independently, enhancing personal and financial stressors. There can be an adverse effect between job security and father-child relationship due to fathers striving to secure careers so they are able to provide for their family. As personal stressors are experienced more regularly, so are perceptions that one’s work obligations increase negative effects on their family life (Minnotte, Pedersen, & Mannon, 2013).

Roughly four-in-ten mothers say they have taken a significant amount of time off from work (39%) or reduced their work hours (42%) to care for a child or other family member. Roughly a quarter (27%) say they have quit work altogether to take care of these familial responsibilities...(Patten, 2015 [see figure 3]).

The articles Double Daddy by Penny Parker, Diary of a Mad Blender by Sue Shellenbarger, and The Child’s View of Working Parents by Cora Daniels all delve into the struggle of harmonizing work with other aspects of life. The delicate balance of work and parenting is often difficult to keep in control; most agree that devoting quality time to one’s children and not overworking is the key to stabilizing the equation (Parker 22-23).

According to Statistics Canada, the amount of two parented full time working families has gone up 17% since the 1980’s. As a result of such an outcome, more employees in larger and smaller based companies are finding it harder to keep up with both risen work loads and home life necessities, which in turn have caused more absentees in the work place. The reason being for this is due to

Americans that work too many long shifts affect the lives of the people around them too. For instance, one statistic from a Family Matters Survey done by The National Partnership for Women & Families in 1998 found that, “70% of working fathers and working mothers report they don’t have enough time for their children”.Another statistic from this survey reported that over 80% of Americans found it diffcult to balance their work life and their personal life. In fact, it is estimated that around 11 million children age 5 and under spend time in a form child care facility every week(Child Care Aware of America). It is also estimated that children whose

Suzanne Bianchi, John Robinson and Melissa Milkie’s Changing Rhythms of American Family Life were able to document that “mothers are spending as much time with the children as forty years ago, fathers were doing more at home and there is more gender equality” (Bianchi et al 2006, 169). In their data it showed the trend of workloads for both fathers and mothers to have increased “from 55 to 64 estimated weekly hours between 1965 and 2000 households with married parents” (Bianchi et al 2006, 171). This could attributed to that there was a big change that occurred that allowed more women and mothers to enter the workforce. Corresponding to the female participants in my sample that want to continue to work and further their career. Furthermore,

The labor force of the United States has changed drastically over the last forty years. According to the Department of Labor, in 2012, 64% of woman with children under the age of six are in the labor force. While only 34% of mothers were working in 1970 (Gullekson, Griffeth, Vancouver, Kovner, & Cohen, 2014). Furthermore, in 1974, 80% of kids under the age 17 were cared for by a parent (Morrissey & Warne, 2011). Given this dramatic increase of mothers in the workforce, there is a considerable amount of time missed by the working parent. On average, American working parents miss nine days of work per year and that number increases to thirteen as the child moves through daycare and into elementary school. Breakdowns in childcare cost businesses three billion dollars annually (Shellenback, 2004). Given these staggering numbers the demand for reliable and affordable childcare has never been bigger.

Some people may not get to see their family as often as they want to because of the struggle to balance both family and work. These articles, “Double Daddy” by Penny Parkers, “Diary of a Mad Blender: A Week of Managing Every Spare Minute” by Sue Shellenbarger, and “The Child’s view of Working Parents” by Cora Daniels and Ellen Galinksy, are all based on facts about balancing work and family. Balancing responsibilities, goals, and a personal life is a struggle for many people, but the most important priorities in life, such as family, should not be neglected. Work time can get in the way of family time. In Penny Parkers article, “Double Daddy”, she writes, “These men are saying, ‘I’m working my tail off to get ahead, for the most

So the boss is more understanding and allows Rios to makeup time or allow her to leave early when needed to. Mele favors this case when he states, “Flexible work arrangements or sick-day policies help ease the work-life balancing act.” (Mele 243) The author expresses a liking to jobs that appear to be more understanding because it allows parents to work with a flexible schedule and care for their children, but also themselves as well. The two cases explained strengthen Mele view-point because it creates a connection with the audience and each case had different settings to work with so it helps convince how much parents

People are beginning to question how to keep up with their work life and family life. Double Daddy by Penny Parker, Diary of a Mad Blender by Sue Shellenbarger, and The Child’s View of Working Parents by Cora Daniels all come together to describe the struggle between trying to balance work and family life, along with how it is affecting their kids’ lives and the atmosphere at home. I can relate to this struggle because my dad is working most of the time and most days I hardly get to see him.     Double Daddy by Penny Parker describes the struggle between the tasks of work and the priorities of their families. “They struggle between the responsibilities of work and the needs of their families.

Being a mother is a full time job because as a mother you need to be around your child all the time. Even the father plays a similar role but nothing can ever come close to the nurturing capabilities of a mother towards her child. However, the present trends reflect that most parents are generally engaged in professional jobs where they need to devote a certain amount of time. Irrespective of the professional commitments that parents have, they must also give time to their children and take care of their responsibilities.

Everyday people struggle with setting correct work hours. When schedules are constantly changing and employers are calling other workers in, it can be stressful and difficult for the employees. Trying to balance work and other priorities such as children, require a set work schedule. When schedules are disorganized, it makes it difficult for employees that rely on child care. Employees that are also parents have to attend some school events such as parent-teacher conferences or children's doctor appointments (Vallas, R., & Boteach, M., 2014). When these employees know that there is going to be planned events such as these, they need to report to their employer so they can have time off to attend to their personal needs. While balancing work and family on a strict schedule it will help the employee and their coworkers. Having a set schedule helps reduce poverty because it creates strict schedules for the employee so they are still getting paid. Following schedules also alleviates poverty because if a person were to have two jobs, the jobs will not clash because the schedules are set. Therefore this creates a strict schedule so the people can work and get paid so they aren’t facing

Arne Ken is a distinguished professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina. Eileen Appelbaum is a senior economist at the center of economics and Policy Research, and is a an awarded author. In this case study, they analyze the high commitment that comes with being a full-time working parent. It’s critical for full-time working parents to be organized and follow routines that accommodate for their busy schedules both in and outside of work. Organizational practices like making lists or planning out schedules ahead of time are usually inherited by people who work in highly organizational jobs themselves. Also, parents have to keep their time in mind when scheduling activities or doctor’s appointments and other events because of how tedious and strict their schedules already are to begin with. Parents working only part time or in highly-skilled professions don’t have to deal with these kinds of problems as often because it’s easier for them to ask for a day off or leave during their shift. Ken, Appelbaum, and Berg all have degrees in social sciences and supported their argument and conclusion with evidence from the case study they performed themselves. Such a study with little room for error due to its precise yield and careful practice leaves little room in general for a bias that may have risked the accuracy of the results. This source is quite different from the ones I have found before because it analyses specifically the necessity of organization and planning ahead that full-time working parents have to master. Because this source brings in a totally new perspective to the balance of work and play, it would strengthen my argument and its legitimacy

Mothers are very passionate about their choice to work or stay at home with their children. This is a heated debate about what is best for children and who is the better mother. Just in the last generation more mothers are choosing to work, which is also sparking some conflict in families where grandparents felt it was important to stay at home with their children. This paper compares and contrasts both sides of working and being a stay at home mother. While there is no right or wrong answer to the work and family dilemma, it’s important to understand both sides.