Combination strategies and work–family interference among dual-earner couples in Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands

Abstract

In many contemporary families, both parents are involved in paid work and family responsibilities. This creates challenges for the successful reconciliation of work and family. In this study, we examined whether and how the division of paid work and unpaid work between partners is related to work–family interference. Analyses were based on survey data of 147 Finnish, 186 German, and 265 Dutch dual-earner couples with young children and show that there is no recipe for a division of paid work and unpaid work that guarantees a conflict-free reconciliation of work and family. Although some cultural variation was identified, in general, individual time spent on paid work and unpaid work appeared to be more decisive for parents’ level of work–family interference than couples’ combination strategies. Therefore, to help working parents it seems important to create opportunities to adjust their time spent on paid work and unpaid work.

Hoy en día, en muchas familias ambos padres están involucrados en las responsabilidades laborales y familiares. Esto supone un reto para tener una adecuada reconciliación entre trabajo y familia. En este estudio examinamos si la división de trabajo remunerado y no remunerado entre las partes está relacionada con una interferencia trabajo-familia. Los análisis están basados en los datos de un cuestionario a 147 parejas finlandesas, 186 alemanas y 256 holandesas de dobles ingresos con hijos, mostrando que no hay una receta para una división de trabajo pagado y no pagado que garantice una conciliación sin conflictos entre trabajo y familia. A pesar de que se ha identificado alguna variación cultural, en general, el tiempo individual dedicado a trabajos retribuidos y no retribuidos parece ser más decisivo que las estrategias de combinación de la pareja para el nivel de interferencia trabajo-familia de los padres. Por tanto, ayudar a los padres trabajadores parece ser importante para crear oportunidades de ajuste de sus tiempos destinados a trabajo remunerado y no remunerado.

Keywords:

• work–family interference
• division of tasks
• dual-earner couples
• cross-national comparison

Palabras claves::

• interferencia trabajo–familia
• división de tareas
• familias de doble ingresos
• comparación transnacional

Acknowledgements

The research project ‘FamWork–Family Life and Professional Work: Conflict and Synergy’ was financially supported by the European Union (SERD-2002-00011). We thank Prof. Dr. Klaus Schneewind, University of Munich, Germany, and Prof. Dr. Ulla Kinnunen, University of Tampere (during the project working at the University of Jyväskylä), Finland, for granting us access to part of the data gathered by the FamWork Research Consortium.

Notes

1. Differences between the Eastern and Western states are dramatic. In the East German states attitudes resemble those of the Nordic countries while West German attitudes are among the most conservation in the EU (ISSO, 2002). The term Germany should throughout the text be read as former West-Germany.

2. Detailed information may be obtained from the first author.

3. Educational level; 1 = primary education, 2 = lower secondary or vocational education, 3 = upper secondary or vocational education 4 = university of higher vocational education.