Work and Family

The expectations of an organization and the ability of a worker to balance professional obligations with family responsibilities is a topic of great importance to society, its organizations, and individuals. For millions of working adults, questions about how to balance the needs of their employer with the needs of their personal lives provides a daily challenge. For work organizations, the ability to develop and maintain a stable workforce capable of achieving the organization's goals is not a simple task. When employees face personal demands that conflict with work requirements, organizations can suffer. Organizations need their employees to focus on their jobs and not be distracted by competing demands on their time created by children or aging parents. The balance of work and family at the national level involves policy decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources, as well as regulatory decisions.

From a societal perspective, current work-family balance pressures stem from a market-based economy. By their design, market-based economies are based on a structure whereby people are largely selfsufficient and are rewarded for hard work. Adults are expected to provide for themselves and their families. Increased economic pressures are pushing more people into the workforce and transforming the jobs people perform. Previously stay-at-home spouses now often work part-time or full-time to help their family financially. The increased pressures on families and the effort required to care for households place stress on our national infrastructure and support systems. Tasks once performed by a family member are now often contracted out. The increased demand for services, such as child care, has spawned a growth in service-based businesses.

From an organization's perspective, work settings require employees to trade their talent and time for compensation. Increasingly in the United States that trade-off is not a simple one. The expectations that employers place on employees are increasing. Technology, once designed to liberate people from their desks, now gives employers unlimited access to their employees regardless of time or location. Foreign and domestic competition forces employers to place greater emphasis on productivity and efficiency. In addition, organizations are challenged with the task of motivating and retaining an increasingly pressured workforce. Organizations today face more competition, and this forces them to increase their demands on employees.

The question of an appropriate work-family balance is often felt most closely at the individual level. Demands for working adults are increasing both professionally and personally. For salaried employees, the 40-hour workweek has often expanded to 50 or more hours per week. Contingent workers now face the task of working more than one job in order to maintain economic stability. Employees also have personal lives that require maintenance, and for some people, this can be a significant drain on one's time. The end result is that people are pushed to the limit.

Obviously, work-family balance issues are important for us nationally, organizationally, and personally. The [Page 2245]issue of work-family balance involves a complicated interplay among three factors: societal issues, organizational issues, and personal issues. All these factors culminate in a network of support systems. Although the list may not be complete, these key factors provide both a context in which to become informed on the topic and serve as a mechanism for exploring solutions.

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