Strain and Enrichment in the Role of Employed Mothers in Israel
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11220110 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Katz (0000-0003-1689-5526, University of Haifa, corresponding author), Ruth Katz |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 195-216 |
| Publication date | 1989-12-18 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Marriage & Family Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0149-4929 • E-ISSN: 1540-9635 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1300/j002v14n01_11 |
| OpenAlex | W2005176479 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 10 |
This paper analyzed some central elements in the dual role behavior of Israeli employed mothers. Two approaches can be distinquished in the study of working mothers specifically, and multiple role sets in general. The role-strain approach maintains that the two sub-roles compete for scarce resources, thus impairing their performance and adversely affecting the role occupant and her contibution to society. The enrichment approach empphasizes the reciprocal complementarity of the sub-roles and, as a result, the advantages which may compensate for the strain. Some of the skills and assets acquired in one aspect of a dual role are likely to help the role occupant improve their performance and ward off burnout. The balance between strain and enrichment characteristics the Israeli working mother was examined, and the conditions under which strain diminishes while enrichment increases were identified. A representative sample of 1,500 married couples were interviewed by means of a structured questionnaire. The main findings are: -The average burden, measured in hours, carried by the working mother is larger than the comparable burden on married fathers or on homemakers. -Decreasing the number of children reduces the gap between self image at work and the one at home, whereas a decrease in the hours of paid employment reduces the sense of burnout. -Mothers who are rich in resources, schooling, income, and occupational prestige, tend to moderate the role-strain by reducing their tasks: the number of children and the amount of work hours. -Mothers who are rich in resources are able to recruit hired help to ease the burden involved in the dual role, but they do not manage to enlist greater help from their husbands. -Mothers who are rich in resources succeed in maintaining work continuity more than do mothers having limited resources. -Mothers who are rich in resources tend to perceive their work as contributing to their children's education. The findings indicate that the dual role encompasses elements of strain, internal competition for scarce resources as well as elements of enrichment. The general ramifications of these findings pertaining to the employment of women and to sexual equality are discussed
Burnout · Complementarity (molecular biology · Demographic economics · Developmental psychology · Economics · Environmental health · Occupational prestige · Socioeconomic status · Clinical Psychology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,1 |
| Citation span | 1996 - 2009 (14) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |