Balancing Work–family Life in Academia: The Power of Time

Abstract

In the article we analyse the structuring of time among academic employees in Iceland, how they organize and reconcile their work and family life and whether gender is a defining factor in this context. Our analysis shows clear gender differences in time use. Although flexible working hours help academic parents to organize their working day and fulfil the ever‐changing needs of family members, the women, rather than men interviewed, seem to be stuck with the responsibility of domestic and caring issues because of this very same flexibility. It seems to remove, for more women than for men, the possibility of going home early or not being on call. The flexibility and the gendered time use seem thus to reproduce traditional power relations between women and men and the gender segregated division in the homes.

Prevalência de sinais e sintomas digestórios em trabalhadoras rurais e fatores associados

“…Domestic work, in most cases combined with other activities, has been reported in the literature as a stress factor. (12,13) However, in the present study, it was identified as a protective factor for gastric disorders. This finding underscores the effort to correlate food culture with its behavioral effects.…”

“…A previous study involving men and women and investigating on the use of their time to reconcile work and family life indicated that women were tied to domestic responsibilities and that this might contribute to increased stress. (12) A study on the inequality of domestic work in British couples showed that the women felt burdened not only by the domestic work but also other activities and by not sharing household chores with their companions. (13) Therefore, assistance to female rural workers with gastric disorders needs to be further investigated.…”

Technology and Work-Life Conflict of Academics in a South African Higher Education Institution

“…It can therefore be expected that, since working long hours has become the norm in academia, the WLC experienced by academics may not be very high. However, various studies have found that academics who engage in supplemental work practices at home still do experience higher levels of WLC (Currie & Eveline, 2010;O'Laughlin & Bischoff, 2005;Heijstra & Rafnsdóttir, 2010;Rafnsdóttir & Heijstra, 2011). In addition, Fenner and Renn (2004) Research also suggests that demographic factors such as gender, parental status, marital status and job position play an important role in influencing this relationship (Boswell & Olson-Buchanan, 2007;Parasuraman & Simmers, 2001;Venkatesh & Vitalari, 1992).…”

The Effect of Family Relationships on Technology-Assisted Supplemental Work and Work-Life Conflict among Academics

“…It can therefore be expected that, since working long hours has become the norm in academia, the WLC experienced by academics may not be very high. However, various studies have found that academics who engage in supplemental work practices at home still do experience higher levels of WLC (Currie & Eveline, 2010;O'Laughlin & Bischoff, 2005;Heijstra & Rafnsdóttir, 2010;Rafnsdóttir & Heijstra, 2011). In addition, Fenner and Renn (2004) suggest that time and boundary management skills mediate the relationship between TASW and WLC.…”

“…ICTs have indeed empowered academics with more autonomy and flexibility (Araújo, 2008). Furthermore, ICTs have also consequently created additional opportunities for academics to work from home, enabling them to balance their work and family demands (Araújo, 2008;Currie & Eveline, 2010;Rafnsdóttir & Heijstra, 2011).…”