Work Lifestyle Choices In The 21st Century

In this book, Hakim presents a new, multi-disciplinary theory for explaining and predicting current and future patterns of women's choice between employment and family work. Preference theory is the first theory developed specifically to explain women's behaviour and choices. As such, it constitutes a major break from male-centred theorizing to date in sociology and economics. Preference theory is grounded on the substantial body of new research on women's work and fertility that has flourished within feminist scholarship. It identifies five major historical changes that collectively are producing a qualitatively new scenario for women in prosperous societies in the 21st century. Throughout the analysis, the USA and Britain illustrate what the new scenario means for women, how it alters their preferences and work-lifestyles choices. Hakim also reviews research evidence on contemporary developments across Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the far East to develop a new theory that is genuine international in perspective.

As we begin the twenty-first century, UK employees work the longest hours in Europe. Workplace stress and home responsibilities are among the top five causes of absence from work. Yet work-life balance has emerged as a key concern for employers, policy makers and the media. This edited volume contains findings from 14 research projects within the ESRC's Future of Work Programme. The research examines the notion of employment flexibility and the effects of gender and care responsibilities on work and work performance. Conflicting needs of employers and employees and the gender divisions in work and family life call into question the feasibility of achieving the Government's aim of work-life balance for everyone.

Most academics in university law schools would claim to offer a liberal education. Few have thought very much about what a liberal education in law means. Basing itself on a detailed examination of the theory of liberal education,this book looks at what the liberal university law school should be doing in terms of its teaching, research and administration.

Both women and men strive to achieve a work and family balance, but does this imply more or less equality? Does the persistence of gender and class inequalities refute the notion that lives are becoming more individualised? This book documents how gender inequalities are changing and how many inequalities of earlier eras are being eradicated.

In a world where the effects of inequality occupy an increasingly prominent place on the public agenda, this book provides up-to-date and thorough analysis from the perspective of a group of researchers at the forefront of social stratification analysis. Exploring Social Inequality in the 21st Century is a clear and critical overview of current debates about social inequality. It includes new information, tools, and approaches to conceptualising and measuring social stratification and social class, as well as informative case studies. Throughout, the researchers describe the direct and indirect costs of social inequality. Divided into two parts – Conceptualising and Measuring Inequality; and Costs and Consequences of Inequality in the areas of Education, Employment, and Global Wealth – it includes new findings about the growth of wealth inequality in the G20 countries, and a detailed examination of tax policies designed to reduce inequality without affecting economic growth. With substantial contributions to the analysis of inequalities in education, and explanations of the processes and consequences of social and gender-based exclusion, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding contemporary social inequality. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Contemporary Social Science.

In an era where generational shifts occur concurrently with evolving mindsets, professionals across various industries strive to harmonize personal and career aspirations. However, recent times have witnessed challenges in achieving this equilibrium, exacerbated by unpredictable climatic changes. This book delves into the realm of the construction industry, where a substantial workforce operates under the open sky across diverse locations. Navigating the intricacies of personal and professional spheres becomes especially daunting for employees stationed at remote project sites. Here, the absence of a structured rhythm breeds stress and eventually culminates in health-related repercussions. Thus, the imperative for establishing a robust work-life rhythm has permeated every facet of individual existence. This paradigm facilitates lucid decision-making, and prioritization, and underscores the significance of familial support. Moreover, integrating comprehensive HR policies is paramount in fostering a conducive environment that nurtures work-life balance within the construction sector. These policies should encompass flexible work arrangements, employee assistance programs, and provisions for remote access to support systems. By embracing such initiatives, organizations can empower their workforce to navigate the demands of both professional obligations and personal well-being more effectively.

In Love and Money, Anne Manne looks at the religion of work – its high priests and sacrificial lambs. As family life and motherhood feel the pressure of the market, she asks whether the chief beneficiaries are self-interested employers and child-care corporations. This is an essay that ranges widely and entertainingly across contemporary culture: it casts an inquisitive eye over the modern marriage of Kevin Rudd and Therese Rein, and considers the time-bind and the shadow economy of care. Most fundamentally, it is an essay about pressure: the pressure to balance care for others and the world of work. Manne argues that devaluing motherhood - still central to so many women's lives - has done feminism few favours. For women on the frontline of the work-centred society, it has made for hard choices. Eloquently and persuasively, Manne tells what happened when feminism adapted itself to the free market and argues that any true definition of equality has to take into account dependency and care for others. ‘It is falling fertility ... above all else, which gives women a political bargaining chip of a new and powerful kind. Policy makers, formerly deaf to mothers' needs, will have no choice but to listen.’ —Anne Manne, Love and Money ‘Anne Manne shows a depth and range of analysis that is rare in social-science writing today. Her arguments go behind the child-care debate, behind the work and family tension that is now in the foreground of most Australians' daily lives, to ask the really big questions.’ —Steve Biddulph ‘In Love and Money Anne Manne calls on us to imagine a radically different model of social and political life, one that centres around care rather than on gendered notions of the autonomous, unencumbered individual.’ —Julie Stephens Anne Manne is an Australian journalist and social philosopher who was has written widely on feminism, motherhood, childcare, family policy, fertility and related issues. She is a regular contributor to the Age and the Monthly. Her books include Quarterly Essay 29 Love and Money: The Family and the Free Market, The Life of I: the New Culture of Narcissism, and, Motherhood: How Should We Care for Our Children? – which was shortlisted for the 2006 Walkley non-fiction prize.

This book demonstrates how local contexts of urbanization and cultures of work are intimately meshed together. Each chapter explores a discrete dimension of the way people organize their working lives in post-industrial cities, taking close account of the social and environmental impact of this balancing act. The book features cross-national and inter-city comparative household level research, highlighting significant contradictions underpinning the nature of production, consumer expectation, work-life balance and urban environmental quality.

'Balancing paid work and family life remains a significant challenge; indeed, the challenges are intensifying as economic austerity threatens the pursuit of gender equality. This excellent book provides extensive justifications for laws and policies which encourage and facilitate the reconciliation of paid work, family life and care-giving. It provides a wealth of data, from a number of jurisdictions, and examines recent trends. It is vital that this area of law and policy is protected and developed and this book plays an important role in that process.' – Clare McGlynn, Durham University, UK This unique selection of chapters brings together researchers from a variety of academic disciplines to explore aspects of law's engagement with working families. It connects academic debate with policy proposals through an integrated set of approaches and perspectives. Families, Care-giving and Paid Work offers an original approach to a very topical area. Not only does it consider the limitations of law in relation to the regulation of care-giving and workplace relationships, but it is premised upon a re-consideration of law's potential and engages with suggested strategies for bringing about long-term social change. Offering a range of analyses, this book will strongly appeal to policymakers and practitioners involved with promoting work and family issues, students in labour and employment studies, law and social policy, as well as academics interested in work and family reconciliation issues, or gender and law issues.

This title was first published in 2003. This text reports on two nationally representative surveys of men and women in Britain and Spain, the former being funded by the Future of Work Research Programme and conducted by the ONS. Catherine Hakim presents a study of ideal models of the family and family roles, work orientation, patriarchal values and lifestyle preferences, showing how these impact on women's marital histories, fertility, employment patterns and occupational segregation, but not on men's labour market participation. Lifestyle preferences and work orientations have a strong impact on women's activities, and especially on married women's choices, but patriarchal values have almost no impact on behaviour. The book also covers educational homogamy, housing classes, labour mobility and contrasts between ethnic minority groups in core values and labour market participation.