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Original Articles

GENDER, OCCUPATIONAL CLASS AND WORK–LIFE CONFLICT

A comparison of Britain and Portugal

Pages 283-308 | Published online: 01 Aug 2007
 

Abstract

Although people from different countries may report similar scores on measures of work–life conflict, the factors which give rise to conflict may in fact be very different. Full-time working respondents to the 2002 Family module International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) in both Portugal and Britain were assessed for country, gender and occupational class differences in work–life conflict, focusing on both work and domestic spheres. Two distinct groups emerged as having very high levels of work–life conflict: routine and manual women in Portugal and professional and managerial women in Britain. It is suggested that very long hours of domestic work, combined with worries over unsatisfactory childcare arrangements and a lack of support from partners and informal networks, contribute to the high levels of conflict experienced by women working in routine and manual occupations in Portugal. The pressures of very long working hours, combined with a perception of increasing work demands, as well as additional domestic work, contribute to the high levels of work–life conflict for women working in professional and managerial occupations in Britain.

En dépit des scores similaires sur les mesures de conflit travail–famille obtenus par les individus de pays différents, les facteurs qui provoquent le conflit peuvent être très divers. Les enquêtés travaillant à plein temps qui ont répondu en 2002 au Module Famille de l'International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) au Portugal et en Grande Bretagne ont été comparés, sur la base des facteurs pays, genre, et classe occupationnelle, en ce qui concerne les différences dans le conflit travail–famille, l'accent étant à la fois sur les sphères du travail professionnel et domestique. Les résultats montrent deux groupes distincts qui ont des niveaux très élevés de conflit travail–famille: les femmes avec des emplois routiniers et manuels au Portugal et les femmes professionnelles et dirigeantes en Grande Bretagne. On suggère que des heures très longues de travail domestique, combinées à des soucis par rapport aux solutions de garde d'enfants et un manque d'appui de la part des partenaires et des réseaux informels, contribuent aux niveaux élevés de conflit éprouvés par les femmes qui ont des occupations routinières et manuelles au Portugal. La pression des heures très longues de travail, associée à une perception d'exigences de travail croissantes, aussi bien que le travail domestique additionnel, contribuent aux niveaux élevés de conflit travail–famille pour les femmes qui ont des occupations professionnelles et dirigeantes en Grande Bretagne.

Notes

1. For a description of the ISSP programme, see Davis and Jowell (Citation1989); also Jowell, Brook, and Dowds (Citation1993). In 2002, interviews were carried out with a stratified random sample of 2,312 in Britain and 1,092 in Portugal. Questions on work–life stress were asked of employees only (1,015 in Britain and 516 in Portugal, unweighted data).

2. A comparison including all respondents working over 20 hours per week (both men and women) did not reveal significantly different findings as compared to our ‘full-time’ comparisons.

3. In fact, work–life stress amongst Portuguese part-time women is slightly higher than amongst women working full time. However, there are only 38 in the sample and all are routine and manual employees.

4. See the ESRC-funded Gender Equality Network (http://www.genet.ac.uk).

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