Book dossier

Balancing jobs and family life

by Halcyone H. Bohen

The objective of this study was to determine whether a particular work policy, namely flexitime, can help workers to balance their jobs and their family lives. The aspects of family life examined were family stress, family work, and equity of spouse-family roles. Participants were workers in two federal government agencies in Washington, D.C.; one agency had been on flexitime for one year when the study was conducted in the fall of 1978, and one was on standard time and had no plans to introduce flexitime. All 413 employees in the smaller, standard-time agency were surveyed, with a return rate of 83%. In the flexitime agency, questionnaires were distributed to a 50% random sample of 406 employees, plus 30 additional women at the GS-11 level or above and 106 additional parents of children under 18 who were included to facilitate the analyses. The flexitime agency had a return rate of 85%. Variables assessed in the 13-page questionnaire included demographic background information, job satisfaction, family composition, job and family related stresses, spouse occupation and job satisfaction, household responsibilities, and child-care arrangements. An additional section asked employees in the flexitime agency how flexitime had affected their work schedules. Small group interviews were conducted with a subsample of the questionnaire respondents in the spring of 1979. Thirteen people participated in evening dinner and discussion sessions designed to explore the benefits and difficulties work creates in family life and the factors helpful in achieving balance. The Murray Center holds computer-accessible data as well as all completed questionnaires.