It doesn't always add up: examining dual-earner couples' decision to off-shift

Abstract

Grounded in social exchange theory and symbolic interactionism, this study examines the decision-making processes, as well as perceived costs and benefits to Canadian dual-earner couples working complementary shifts to manage work and care responsibilities. Qualitative data from 12 dyads and one individual were used to explore the meanings and priorities that couples attached to costs and rewards of an off-shifting arrangement. For most couples, the decision to off-shift reflected an incongruent costÁbenefit analysis. Most couples reported that despite its costs, off-shifting was the best arrangement for them to simultaneously achieve their work and family goals. One of the most commonly reported benefits was increased father involvement. Implications for workplace policy are discussed.Puesto a tierra en teoría social del intercambio e interactionism simbó lico, este estudio examina los procedimientos de toma de decisió n, tan bien como costes y ventajas percibidos a los pares canadienses del dual-adquirente que trabajan cambios complementarios para manejar responsabilidades del trabajo y del cuidado. Utilizaron los datos cualitativos a partir de 12 díadas y a un individuo para explorar los significados y las prioridades que los pares ataron a los costes y a las recompensas de un arreglo del apagado-desplazamiento. Para la mayoría de los pares, la decisió n off-shift a reflejado un análisis de costes y beneficios incongruente. La mayoría de los pares divulgaron que a pesar de sus costes, el apagado-desplazamiento era el mejor arreglo para que alcancen simultáneamente sus metas del trabajo y de la familia. Uno la mayoría las ventajas comú ndivulgadas eran implicació n creciente del padre. Las implicaciones para la política del lugar de trabajo se discuten.Palabras claves: trabajo no estándar; apagado-desplazamiento; cuidado de niñ os; ediciones de la trabajar-familia; intercambio social; interactionism simbó lico The number of families in which at least one individual works a non-standard work schedule (consisting of evening, night, rotating or irregular shifts, and/or weekend work) has increased in the past 25 years as a result of rapid and profound changes in workplaces, globalization, and the increased growth of the service sector. It is estimated that one in five workers in the USA and Europe works a non-standard

Working Time Society consensus statements: Evidence-based effects of shift work and non-standard working hours on workers, family and community

“…Another aspect of parental involvement with children (up to 12 yrs of age) was observed by Pagnan et al 131 ) through individual semi-structured face-to-face interviews, coupled with questionnaires. When investigating the decision-making of couples (interviewed separately) regarding work at non-overlapping schedules, the authors noted that knowing that the child is cared for by a parent is seen by workers as a factor that compensates for costs reported, such as tiredness, for example.…”

“…Working on non-traditional schedules, such as compressed work weeks, in the evening or on night shifts, allowing at least one partner to be at home during the day, also proved to be beneficial to the family. Taken together, the studies by Pagnan et al and Haddock et al 131, 132 ) show how the so-called triangulation of quantitative and qualitative approaches, rarely used in shift work research, can contribute to the understanding of subtle aspects of the complex work-family interface.…”

Family Identity and Daily Decision-Making at the Work-Family Interface: A Couple-Level Study.

“…March (1994) suggests that the rule of consequence (i.e., use of rationality) is just one type of appropriateness rule, so rationality may be subsumed under the logic of appropriateness framework (i.e., a role construal may call forth the rule that it is appropriate for a person like me to use logic and rational thinking in a situation like this). For example, couples have often made the case that their strategies for managing work and family were primarily based on what made sense for them financially (Pagnan, Lero, & MacDermid Wadsworth, 2011;Singley & Hynes, 2005). Role-based decision-making is most likely to apply in situations where the social aspect of a decision is salient and in which people have well defined, agreed upon roles (Sillars & Kalbfleisch, 1989;Weber et al, 2004).…”

“…Some couples base their decisions on situational constraints. For example, Pagnan et al (2011) interviewed 'off-shifting' couples about their decision to work complementary shifts in order to cover childcare. They found that some couples attributed their decisions to 'pull factors' such as wanting to be equally involved parents or the desire to have the children cared for only by the parents, whereas other couples attributed their decision to 'push factors' such as job requirements over which they felt they had little control or choice in the arrangement.…”

Parenthood, child care, and nonstandard work schedules in Europe

“…This applies particularly to parents of preschoolers. As qualitative studies on the Netherlands (Täht and Mills 2012) and Canada (Pagnan et al 2011) demonstrate, some parents use nonstandard hours as a strategy to combine paid work and child care. Moreover, recent research has suggested that the availability of formal child care may influence parental work schedules.…”