Time control, job execution and information access

Work/Family Strategies in the Context of Low-Wage Work and 24/7 Schedules

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2172427
AutoresMélanie Lefrançois (0000-0001-9553-8695, CINBIOSE Research Centre, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, Canada), Karen Messing (0000-0001-6657-0725, CINBIOSE Research Centre, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, Canada), J Saint-Charles (0000-0002-7029-9672, CINBIOSE Research Centre, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, Canada)
Ano2017
Volume20
Fascículo5
Páginas600-622
Data de publicação2017-10-20
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCommunity Work & Family (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1366-8803 • E-ISSN: 1469-3615
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13668803.2017.1379950
OpenAlexW2769861731
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas5
Referências citadas63

Low-wage work and rigid atypical schedules reduce workers' leeway to manage their work/family interface, resulting in high levels of work/family conflict and in health issues. Faced with these inflexible conditions and a lack of formal work/family measures, workers rely primarily on informal practices where relational dynamics with coworkers and managers play an important role. However, low-wage workers with little schedule control are underrepresented in the work/family literature and little is known about how they deal with work/family issues in their workplaces. What role is played by workplace relationships in strategies used by workers to manage their work/family interface in the face of imposed, extended and variable schedules? Using an interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological framework combining communication and ergonomic work activity analysis, we analyzed data collected through direct and participant observations, semi-structured interviews, interaction diaries and administrative documents. This community-initiated ethnographic case study helped us identify three main types of work/family strategies related to (1) work time; (2) work execution and (3) access to relational resources. We also discuss how these strategies are embedded in the work activity and relational context, including gender dynamics, and are entangled with individual, team and organizational considerations. Some potential solutions are presented

Context (archaeology · Control (management · Knowledge management · Political science · Public relations · Schedule · Work (physics · Computer Science · Emotional Labor in Professions · Engineering · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges · Social Psychology