Abstract
Age and experience: A comparison of work and family demands across the lifespan amongst Australian employees and European women
Proceedings of the 10th European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference, pp.90-91
European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP) Conference, 10th (Zurich, Switzerland, 11-Apr-2012–13-Apr-2012)
2012
Abstract
This presentation will explore the demands that may occur from family responsibilities as well as from the individual's job, and compare a cohort of Australian working adults (male and female) with women's employment situations in Europe. The Australian sample was divided on each participant's parenting demands, ranging from none (participants without children), few (parents of adult children), some (parents of adolescents), more (parents of primary school-aged children) and most (parents of young children). The age of each group increased reflected by the increasing age of the children, although the non-parents were more varied in age. Compared to the European trends of women undertaking casual and part-time work, the Australian women were mostly employed in full-time, permanent jobs although a third of mothers of the youngest children (and mothers with more children) did take up part-time, casual positions. Compared to the Australian men, women on average worked fewer hours, although this difference was only significant amongst mothers of the youngest children and those with adult children. Within the Australian women, mothers of young children worked significantly fewer hours than the women in the other groups, particularly the mothers of adolescent children and those without children. Despite the differences in working hours, the women did not differ in their occupational role salience and all reported similar levels of work and life satisfaction and work-life balance, and were similar to the Australian men in these outcomes. Mothers of adult children showed the most robust outcomes. When compared: to women without children, they were more absorbed by their work, less exhausted, less cynical and with greater sense of professional efficacy; to the mothers of younger children (preschool and primary school), they also felt more vigorous, that their lives were less hectic, and with significantly less negative spillover between work and family roles. In particular, mothers of primary school-aged children were likely to report higher levels of emotional exhaustion, negative work-to-family spillover and being busy, possibly reflecting the challenges of returning to full-time work hours whilst caring for children who were not yet independent. The results indicate that for Australian women, adult children coincide with greater competence and engagement in work and a significant reduction in the problems associated with combining work and family roles, whereas this was more problematic with younger children. Unlike their European counterparts, most women were in full-time permanent positions, although the proportion in part-time work increased in the groups with more and younger children.
Details
- Title
- Age and experience: A comparison of work and family demands across the lifespan amongst Australian employees and European women
- Authors
- Prudence M Millear (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and BusinessR Gervais (Author) - Health and Safety Laboratory, United Kingdom
- Contributors
- A Jain (Editor)N Hollis (Editor)N Andreou (Editor)F Wehrle (Editor)
- Publication details
- Proceedings of the 10th European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference, pp.90-91
- Conference details
- European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP) Conference, 10th (Zurich, Switzerland, 11-Apr-2012–13-Apr-2012)
- Publisher
- European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology
- Date published
- 2012
- ISBN
- 9780955436598
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Engage Research Lab; School of Health - Psychology; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449106002621
- Output Type
- Abstract
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