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SURVEY: WORK & FAMILY: DIFFERENCES BY OCCUPATION AND AGEIn general, fathers and mothers among the professional and managerial ranks tend to have similar attitudes and reactions on work-family issues. Among blue-collar manufacturing and clerical occupations, however, men tend to be significantly unhappier than women. Why? Researchers suggest that cultural definitions of gender roles are more rigid in those lower-paid occupations. While manufacturing supervisors may understand that female workers have important roles at home, they often assume that men don't have the same family commitments -- and so call on men more often to work longer hours. Men, by the same token, are less willing than women to object to such demands, fearing pressure from superiors and co-workers alike. It may also be that men in blue-collar occupations are less comfortable than their white-collar peers with the revolution at home that has pressured them to take on more child care and chores. Another finding from Business Week's survey of employees on work-family issues, undertaken with the Center for Work & Family at Boston College: Older and younger fathers are more likely than men aged 31 to 50 to be satisfied with their work-family balance. Older workers probably are happier because they're mostly past the most demanding years of parenthood and because they no longer feel a need to establish themselves in the workplace. Younger "Generation X" dads, by contrast, appear to be more comfortable with the notion of sharing responsibilities at home. They may be more willing to make compromises in their jobs in order to achieve a balanced life. What follows are the results of questionnaires returned by 6,328 parents working full-time at 55 participating employers, sorted by occupation and by age. Resondents below were asked the question:
"Overall, how would you rate your work and family balance?"
BY OCCUPATION...
BAD ACCEPTABLE GOOD
OFFICE WORKERS
Dads 15.2% 45.7% 39.1%
Moms 12.5% 35.2% 52.3%
PRODUCTION WORKERS
Dads 39.4% 36.1% 24.4%
Moms 17.7% 40.8% 41.5%
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Dads 31.9% 28.2% 40.0%
Moms 16.2% 37.4% 46.5%
PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL
Dads 19.0% 31.5% 49.6%
Moms 17.1% 35.1% 47.8%
SALES
Dads 12.8% 22.3% 64.9%
Moms 12.0% 29.0% 59.0%
SUPERVISOR/MANAGER
Dads 18.9% 32.6% 48.4%
Moms 19.4% 32.1% 48.4%
BY AGE (DADS ONLY)
BAD ACCEPTABLE GOOD
Under 30 14.3% 29.0% 56.7%
31-40 21.4% 30.4% 48.1%
41-50 20.9% 33.0% 46.0%
51 and older 15.6% 31.9 52.5%
DATA: Center for Work & Family at Boston College; BW RELATED ITEMS
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Updated Sept. 10, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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