Work-Life Balance |  L'équilibre entre le travail et la vie personnelle |
Page révisée le 28 octobre 2009
[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]
[links
on this page are presented in reverse chronological order, with the most recent
at the top of the page] |
From The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
Changes
in parental work time and earnings
October 2009
Highlights
Full article:
* HTML
* PDF
(218K, 12 pages)
Abstract:
Between 1980 and 2005, family work time
increased for most families with children, especially for families located at
the bottom and in the middle of the earnings distribution. However, this increase
occurred against a backdrop of a stronger increase in earnings for families at
the top of the earnings distribution. This study finds that high earnings families
earned more in 2005 than in 1980 for a given amount of family work time, likely
because of higher wages.
Work–life
balance of older workers
October 2009
Highlights
Full article:
HTML
PDF
(209K, 12 pages)
Abstract:
Although it has received some attention
in the Canadian literature, the issue of work–life balance of older workers
remains largely understudied. This article addresses that gap using data from
the 2005 General Social Survey. Overall, 14% of Canadian workers age 55 and over
reported being dissatisfied with their work–life balance in 2005. The sources
of conflict most frequently cited were too much time on the job and too little
time for the family. Work–life balance dissatisfaction was associated with
having a disability, providing elder care, working long hours, occupying a managerial
position and being a woman. At the same time, having an employed partner, being
self-employed and enjoying one’s job reduced the probability of work–life
conflict. When the self-selection of older individuals out of employment was taken
into account, the risk of work–life conflict did not vary with age.
Related
subjects
o Labour
o Hours
of work and work arrangements
o Wages,
salaries and other earnings
Source:
Statistics Canada
Family
work patterns
August 2009
* Highlights
* Full article: HTML
| PDF
(194K, 12 pages)
Women’s labour market participation has increased substantially
over recent decades, creating challenges for families in balancing work–life
responsibilities. The examination of family work patterns revealed significant
differences in annual hours of work between families with and those without children.
Source:
August 25, 2009
Perspectives
on Labour and Income - August 2009 issue
Related
subjects:
o Families,
households and housing
o Family
types
o Household
characteristics
o Income,
pensions, spending and wealth
o Household,
family and personal income
o Low
income and inequality
o Labour
o Hours
of work and work arrangements
From the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU):
The
family work week
29 Apr 09
- Report from Statistics Canada
on family work hours, patterns and statistics from 1976-2008.
Cost-benefit
review of work-life balance practices-2009
22 Apr 09
- Report
from the Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being, University of Guelph on how
best to support employees facing diverse caregiving and personal responsibilities.
Get
'family-friendly,' or recession will last longer
Employers, government must repair work-life balance, major study concludes
By
Kathryn May
January 22, 2009
OTTAWA — Canada may not pull out of an
economic slump unless governments and employers deal with the crushing workloads
that are forcing a growing number of Canadians to delay or have fewer children,
says a leading expert in balancing work and family life.
Source:
The
Ottawa Citizen
Report:
Work-Life
Conflict in Canada in the New Millennium:
Key Findings and Recommendations
From The 2001 National Work-Life Conflict Study
Report Six
December
2008 (PDF file date)
By Dr. Linda Duxbury and Dr. Chris Higgins
Complete
report:
HTML
version
PDF
version (2.6MB, 76 pages)
Executive
Summary
The 2001 National Work-Life Conflict Study and the reports
produced from this research to date have given business and labour leaders, policy-makers
and academics an objective 'big picture' view of this issue. This report, the
last in the series of six reports, provides a summary of the key findings and
recommendations coming from this research program.
Earlier reports in this series:
Report
One: The 2001 National Work-Life Conflict Study
March 2002
-
puts the series into context by describing the sample of employees who participated
in the research and examining the various risk factors associated with work-life
conflict.
Report
Two: Work-life Conflict in Canada in the New Millennium: A Status Report
October 2003
- makes the business case for change by looking at how high
levels role overload, work to family interference, family to work interference,
caregiver strain and spillover from work to family affect employers, employees
and their families.
Report
Three: Exploring the Link between Work-Life Conflict and the Use of Canada's Health
Care System
March 2004
- focuses on how work-life conflict affects
Canada's health care system (i.e. quantifies the system demands associated with
high work-life conflict and attempts to put some kind of dollar value on how much
it costs Canada to treat the health consequences of such conflict).
Report
Four: Who Is at Risk? Predictors of High Work-Life Conflict
September
2005
- identifies key risk factors for role overload, work interferes with
family, family interferes with work and caregiver strain.
Report Five: Reducing Work-Life Conflict: What Works? What Doesn't?
August 2008
- examines what employers, employees and their families can
do to reduce work-life conflict.
Source:
Health
Canada
[ The survey was commissioned by Health Canada
to examine how
Canadians are coping with the demands of their work and family lives. ]
Recent releases from The Vanier Institute of the Family:
Already-Stressed
Family Budgets To Take The Brunt Of Recession
(PDF - 21K, 2 pages)
News Release
OTTAWA, January 22, 2009
A Vanier Institute
of the Family study released today predicts the effects of the current economic
downturn will be felt around the kitchen table for years to come. In the 10th
edition of its seminal study The Current State of Family Finances – 2008
Report, the Institute puts the current situation into context and finds that it
has taken Canadian families a long time to recover from past recessions.
Highlights
(PDF - 23K, 1 page)
- Recessions are very hard on families.
- Debt loads
are in the danger zone.
- Spending and debt rise much faster than incomes.
-
The wealth that went up has now come down.
- Unattached individuals aged 18-64
are the forgotten poor.
- Family Finances report celebrates its 10th
anniversary
Complete report:
The
Current State of Canadian Family Finances : 2008 Report (PDF - 668K,
29 pages)
January 2009
by Roger Sauvé
People
Patterns Consulting
[ previous
reports in the same series - back to 1999 ]
----------------------------------------------------
Work/Family Balance: What do we Really Know? (PDF - 272K, 29 pages)
By
Jacques Barrette, Ph.D.
January 15, 2009
The last two decades has seen
a proliferation of research on the nature, scope and, implications of work/family
conflict. This paper reviews much of this research and endeavours to (1) explain
the fundamental causes of the work/family conflict, (2) demonstrate the impacts
of this imbalance on families and organizations, (3) discuss the challenges families
face, and (4) present possible strategies to improve the situation.
----------------------------------------------------
Family
Life and Work Life: An Uneasy Balance (PDF - 272K, 29 pages)
By
Roger Sauvé
January 15, 2009
Families are changing and so are the
organizations for which they work. Families need and want the work that employers
provide and employers need the workers to produce goods and services for sale
and distribution. It is a two-way street. This report highlights the dynamic relationship
between these two entities and examines whether or not Canadians are achieving
an acceptable balance between family life and work life. The result seems to be
an uneasy balance.
----------------------------------------------------
Fascinating Families (PDF - 83K, 1 page)
January 15, 2009
This
issue of Fascinating Families is based on the above report, Family Life and
Work Life: An Uneasy Balance
Earlier
issues of Fascinating Families <=== links to 13 issues back to October
2007
Fascinating Families is a web feature that builds on VIF’s expertise
in monitoring family trends and in making complex statistics accessible and understandable
to a wide audience. Published on the 15th of each month, Fascinating Families
highlights timely, family-related facts and uses a “family lens” to
frame a brief discussion of the implications for families in Canada.
----------------------------------------------------
Source:
Vanier
Institute of the Family
The Vanier Institute of the Family, established
in 1965 under the patronage of Their Excellencies Governor-General Georges P.
Vanier and Madame Pauline Vanier, is a national, charitable organization dedicated
to promoting the well-being of Canadian families. It is governed by a volunteer
board with regional representation from across Canada.
March
18, 2008
Study:
Hours polarization revisited, 1997 to 2006
Fewer full-time Canadian
workers are putting in long hours on the job, but the decline has occurred mostly
among men and older workers, according to a new study. The study, published today
in Perspectives on Labour and Income, showed that in 2006, full-time workers put
in 40.8 hours on the job on average, down from 41.5 hours in 1997.
[ Hours
polarization revisited, March 2008 ]
Source:
Perspectives
on Labour and Income (incl. links to earlier issues]
[Statistics Canada]:
February
21, 2008
Study:
How families respond to layoffs, 1987 to 2001
Married women
in at least some Canadian families were able to adjust to their husband's layoff
by increasing their own employment income during the 1990s, a new study suggests.The
study, published today in the Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series,
assessed whether the earnings of wives and teenagers increased in response to
layoffs experienced by husbands between 1987 and 2001.
Executive
summary
Complete
study paper (PDF file - 438K, 37 pages)
Source:
The
Daily
[Statistics
Canada]
New from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:
Improved
childcare policies needed to achieve better work/life balance, says OECD
News
Release
November 29, 2007
Getting family-friendly policies right will help
reduce poverty, promote child development, enhance equity between men and women
and stem the fall in birth-rates, according to a new OECD report. Babies and
Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life compares the different approaches
that the 30 OECD countries take to help parents balance their work and family
commitments.
Babies
and Bosses - Reconciling Work and Family Life:
A Synthesis of Findings for
OECD Countries
The Babies and Bosses reviews of work and family reconciliation
analysed policies and family outcomes in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands
(OECD, 2002); Austria, Ireland and Japan (OECD, 2003); New Zealand, Portugal and
Switzerland (OECD, 2004); and Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (OECD,
2005). This report, the last in the series, synthesises these findings and extends
the scope to include other OECD countries. Based on OECD-wide indicators, it examines
tax/benefit policies, parental leave systems, child and out-of-school-hours care
support, and workplace practices that help determine parental labour market outcomes
and family formation across the OECD.
Babies
and Bosses (Vol. 4): Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom
Finding
a suitable work/family life balance is a challenge that all parents face. Many
parents and children in Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom are happy
with their existing work and care outcomes. However, many others feel seriously
constrained in one way or another, and their personal well-being suffers as a
consequence.
Key Outcomes of Canada compared to OECD average
Selected Tables and Charts (Excel format) from Babies and Bosses (Vol. 4): Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom
--------------
This
book is part of the Babies and Bosses series, consisting of comparative studies
of work and family reconciliation policies.
To get a more comprehensive picture
of reconciliation policies, you can consult the first three volumes:
- Australia,
Denmark and the Netherlands (volume 1) , which was published in 2002
-
Austria, Ireland and Japan (volume 2), which was published in 2003
-
New
Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland (volume 3), which was released in 2004
--------------
Main
OECD Social Policy Activities in 2006-2007
- click the link above for
info about the activities listed below (incl. links to many key documents), or
click a link below
* Family
Policies (employment-oriented)
* Making
Work Pay (ongoing)
* Policies
to support and integrate the disabled of working age
* Pension
system monitoring (ongoing)
* Development
of social indicators
* Income
Distribution and Poverty
Source:
Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development
Reducing
Work-Life Conflict: What Works and What Doesn't (PDF file - 3.4MB,
212 pages)
By Dr. Chris Higgins, Dr. Linda Duxbury and Sean Lyons
*October
2007
HMMM - this link is dead (Nov. 11/07 )
===> Try going to the
Research Findings page to see if you can access the report from there
Summary
HTML
version
PDF
version (PDF file - 345K, 30 page)
Source:
Health
Canada
<begin date rant.>
*
Hey, Health Canada --- how about dating your reports???
I couldn't find a single
date in this entire 212-page report.
According to the Properties menu of the
PDF file, this report was produced in either September or October 2007.
<end
date rant.>
This is the fifth
report in a series of six.
Links
to the four earlier reports:
* Report One: The 2001 National Work–Life
Conflict Study
* Report Two: Work–Life Conflict in Canada in the New
Millennium: A Status Report
* Report Three: Exploring the Link between Work–Life
Conflict and the Use of Canada’s Health Care System
* Report Four: Who
Is at Risk? Predictors of High Work–Life Conflict
* Report Five: Reducing
Work–Life Conflict: What Works? What Doesn’t?
Yet to come:
* Report Six : Work–Life Conflict in Canada in the New Millennium: Key Findings
and Recommendations from the 2001 National Work–Life Conflict Study
Source:
Public
Health Agency of Canada
Governing
work life intersections in Australia over the life course: policy and prospects
Barbara
Pocock
Posted 18-07-2007
This paper from the 2007 Australian Social Policy
Conference examines the current situation of Australians as they put together
their work and larger lives, under a particular policy regime. Pocock argues that
an ethic of care needs to accompany Australia's well developed ethic of work,
and that new arrangements are necessary to govern their simultaneous realisation.
Source:
Centre
for Work+Life, University of South Australia
Mothers
and fathers with young children: paid employment, caring and wellbeing
Jennifer
Baxter, Matthew Gray, Michael Alexander, Lyndall Strazdins and Michael Bittman
Posted
16-07-2007
This paper examines how the use of child care, the time parents
spend with children, and parental wellbeing relate to parental employment.
Source:
Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (Australia)
Work,
life and time: the Australian work and life index 2007
Barbara
Pocock, Natalie Skinner and Philippa Williams
Posted 12-07-2007
Work affects
most working Australians beyond the workplace. Over half employees surveyed find
that work sometimes, often or almost always affects their activities beyond the
workplace (52.6% of the total) and even more find it regularly keeps them from
spending the amount of time they would like with family or friends (60.7%).
Source:
Centre
for Work+Life, University of South Australia
What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
May
15, 2007
Study:
Workaholics and time perception, 2005
One out of every three Canadians
identifies themselves as a workaholic, and these individuals are much more likely
to be dissatisfied with the balance between their work and family time than other
workers, a new study has found. The study, published today in the May online edition
of Canadian Social Trends, used data from the 2005 General Social Survey (GSS)
to examine whether quality of life is different for workers who describe themselves
as workaholics than for those who do not self-identify as workaholics.
Complete study:
Time escapes me: Workaholics and time
perception
By Leslie-Anne Keown
HTML
PDF
(75K, 5 pages)
February 13, 2007
Study:
Time with the family, 2005
Spending more time at work and less
time with the family? You're not alone, according to a new study that examines
the time Canadian workers spend with family members during a typical workday.
The study, published today in Canadian Social Trends, found that on average workers
spent 45 minutes less with their family during workdays in 2005 than they did
two decades earlier. Based on a 260-day work year, that amounts to 195 hours less,
or the equivalent of about five 40-hour work weeks.
Complete study:
Time
spent with family during a typical workday, 1986 to 2005
by Martin
Turcotte
This study examines the time workers spend with family members during
a typical workday. Using data from four different cycles of the General Social
Survey on time use, it documents the evolution of the average time spent with
family between 1986 and 2005. In particular, it accounts for factors that can
contribute to an understanding of these changes.
HTML
version
PDF
version (105K, 10 pages)
Links
to Canadian Social trends Articles by Subject
Links
to earlier issues of Canadian Social Trends
Work
hours instability
December 2006
Andrew Heisz and Sébastien
LaRochelle-Côté
Discussions related to work hours are typically
driven by cross-sectional studies. Much less is known about the longitudinal perspective
and the persistence of long hours or periods of underemployment. The annual hours
of employees are examined over a five-year period to determine what proportion
experience variable work years and how their well-being is affected.
PDF
version (409K, 20 pages) - this link opens a PDF file containing both
articles above
Source:
Perspectives
on Labour and Income
International
Mobility: Patterns of
Exit and Return of Canadians, 1982 to 2003
(PDF file - 365K, 61 pages)
November 17, 2006
This paper exploits the unique
strengths of the tax-based Longitudinal Administrative Database to measure the
flows of Canadians to other countries and the patterns of return over the period
from 1982 to 2003.
Executive
Summary (HTML)
Source:
Analytical
Studies Branch Research Paper Series
- links to 100+ research papers
going back to 1994
What's New from the Institute for Research on Public Policy:
The
Use of Family Friendly Workplace Practices in Canada (PDF file - 526K,
42 pages)
September 2006
The increase in two earner households has changed
the structure of the labour market, presenting employees, government and firms
with new challenges. These changes have spurred an increasing interest in
new
workplace practices and policies that may respond to the requirements of the New
Economy. Research in the area covers a variety of fields in social sciences and
has mainly focused on the availability of benefits to workers with families. However,
a natural question that has only received passing attention is to what extent
these benefits are being used by families.
News
Release (PDF file - 35K, 2 pages)
Toward
Squaring the Circle: Work-Life Balance
and the Implications for Individuals,
Firms and Public Policy (144K, 28 pages)
Contents:
* Introduction
*
Defining and Framing Work-Life Balance
*Demographic and Labour Market Trends
*
Work Hours, Constraints on Choice and the Life Cycle
* Work-Life Balance in
the Context of Labour Policy
* Conclusion
Working
for Working Parents:
The Evolution of Maternity and Parental Benefits in Canada
(PDF file - 218K, 42 pages)
May 2006
Table of Contents:
* Introduction
* Setting the Stage: The Changing Labour Market and Social Context for Families
with Young Children, 1973-2002
* A Short History of Maternity and Parental
Benefits Policy in Canada
* Sample Benefit Calculations for Five Historical
Periods and the Quebec Program
* Statistical Evidence on Benefit Receipt
*
What Are the Goals of the Federal Program and How Well Are They Being Achieved?
*
Where to From Here? Discussion and Recommendations
Take
Back Your Time Day - October 24
Take Back Your Time is a major
U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling
and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships,
our communities and our environment. October 24th Is Take Back Your Time Day.
-
incl. links to: Home | Join Our E-Mail List | Handbook | Contact | News &
Events | Media About TBYT Day | Four Windows Of Time | Public Policy Agenda |
Support Time Day
Getting punched : The job and family clock : It's time for flexible work
for workers of all wages, (PDF file - 159K, 32 pages) J. Levin-Epstein,
Center for Law and Social Policy, Washington,
July (2006).
Source:
Council
for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil
de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC[version
française]
30-Jun-06
-Report
from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recommends “free
early education for all three and four year-olds.”
>>
TOWARDS SQUARING THE CIRCLE:
WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS,
FIRMS AND PUBLIC POLICY
Report from the Institute for Research
on Public Policy considers “whether and how problems of work-life balance
run across the whole spectrum of the working population.”
Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
- University of Toronto
From The Scout Report, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (U.S.):
Study
finds that full-time stay-at-homes would make over $130,000
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12613676/
May
3, 2006
NEW YORK - A full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year
if paid for all her work, an amount similar to a top U.S. ad executive, a marketing
director or a judge, according to a study released on Wednesday.
What
a life: Working 9 to 5?and 6 to midnight..
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=137678
What
is Mom's Job Worth?
http://www.salary.com/careers/layoutscripts/crel_display.asp?tab=cre&cat=Cat10&ser=Ser253?=Par622
Mommy
Talk: Misconceptions about Working Moms
http://www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=5371
Digital
History: Mothers and Fathers in America: Looking Backward, Looking Forward
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/mothersfathers.cfm
Working
Moms Refuge
http://www.momsrefuge.com/
Over the past hundred years, a number of economic and social transformations have resulted in dramatic changes to the American family structure. While debates about this complex topic rages on, one thing is certain: Stay-at-home moms do a great deal of work, and the work encompasses everything from managing household finances to counseling children (and sometimes even their own spouse). This week, the staff at Waltham-based Salary.com released an intriguing study that shows that a full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year if she were paid for all the diverse tasks she performs. This amount is similar to the annual wage earned by an ad executive or judge. In order to tabulate these predicted earnings, the survey administrators calculated the earning power of the jobs that 'most closely comprise a mother's role?. Of course, this included such professions as janitor, van driver, psychologists, day-care teacher, as well as several others. Some of the prevailing sentiment among mothers upon hearing about the study can be summed up best by the forthright remarks made by Dr. Laura Riley, a mother of two: "There is no price tag-I'm priceless."
The first link [above] leads to coverage of this story from MSNBC.com, complete with a video commentary by newscaster, Lisa Daniels. The second link will take users to a piece from this Wednesday?s Boston Herald that offers additional insight into the study. The third link takes users to the special page on the wages of stay-at-homes created by Salary.com. The fourth link whisks users away to a very interesting commentary by Marci Laehr (a working mom) on the debates about whether or not to stay-at home full-time after the birth of a child. Visitors can also chime in with their own opinions here, if they so desire. The fifth link leads to a fine essay offered by Professor Steven Mintz of the University of Utah on the changing roles of mothers and fathers in America over the past few hundred years. The final link, appropriately enough, leads to a bit of an electronic refuge for working moms. Here users will find tips for single moms seeking to maintain some balance between their careers and their family life.
The six links and the review
above are from The Scout Report,
Copyright
Internet Scout Project 1994-2006. http://scout.wisc.edu/
Related Link:
Mom
Salary Wizard
"Are you wondering what mom should be paid for her
work as mom? Salary.com has now valuated the "mom job" of both the Working
and Stay at Home Mom! We consulted Stay at Home and Working Moms to determine
the top 10 jobs that make up a mom's job description. If paid, Stay at Home Moms
would earn $134,121 annually (up from 2005's salary of $131,471). Working Moms
would earn $85,876 annually for the "mom job" portion of their work,
in addition to their actual "work job" salary."
Source:
Salary.com
Work-Life
Balance in Canadian Workplaces
"This website has been created
to help organizations design and implement supportive programs and policies facilitating
work-life balance. By reducing work-life struggles, individuals can enjoy a healthier
lifestyle while improving productivity at work. A first section allows employers,
unions, managers and human resources practitioners to access the latest information
and examples of best practices that enhance work-life balance for their employees.
A second section highlights the issues of an aging workforce."
Source:
Labour
Program - Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
