Week 11: Field Assignment – Four Interviews on Work-Family Life
Many families are struggling financially although more members of the household are participating in the labor market. Some of the constraints facing families are unemployment, low wages, workplace inequality, family violence, and limited family leave (Benokraitis, 2015).
Participants: Identify the demographics of four participants.
Method: For this exercise, ask four individuals the same four questions from the list below.
OPTIONS: Select 4 Questions:
1. What are your experiences with role strain, role overload, or role conflicts related to the demands of earning a living and managing the home? [Role strain refers to the difficulties that individuals have in carrying out the multiple responsibilities attached to a particular role. Role overload occurs when the total prescribed activities of one or more roles are greater than the individual can handle. Role conflict occurs when two or more roles conflict with each other.]
2. What success strategies are you employing to help you effectively manage the demands of working and family work?
3. Who performs a majority of the household chores and why? How do the family members feel about the daily management of household chores?
4. Under what circumstances would you consider a commuter marriage? What are the pros and cons of a commuter marriage?
5. How have you or members of your family managed or coped with unemployment or underemployment?
6. What types of occupations and work shifts do you and the working members of your family have?
7. Who currently earns the most money in the household? What rights or privileges come with earning the most money?
8. What family and work policies help (or might help) you balance the demands of work and family?
Exercise Short-Essay Format: This short answer must be at least 750 words or 3-4 pages in length (not including cover and reference page) and must be double-spaced, 12-point font and submitted on a Microsoft Word document through Turnitin.
