Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

LIVE: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

Quality sleep is essential for health. But what happens to our brains when sleep patterns are disturbed? Join our experts to explore the interplay between sleep disruption and neurological diseases, and the questions that you need to be asking your patients to help you prevent the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

The experience of work-life balance across family-life stages in Switzerland: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study

Authors: Ariane G. Wepfer, Rebecca Brauchli, Gregor J. Jenny, Oliver Hämmig, Georg F. Bauer

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2015

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The division of paid and unpaid labor in families continues to be highly gendered with men doing more paid work and women doing more unpaid care work. This is especially true for life stages with young children. Our study investigates the subjective experience of demands in the work and the private domain and the experience of work-life balance across family-life stages as a consequence of this gendered division of labor.

Methods

We used data from a survey study on work-life issues and health in four large companies in Switzerland (N = 3664).

Results

In line with our hypotheses, subjective work and private demands were predicted by an interaction of family-life stages and gender. Specifically, during the primary child-rearing family-life stages, women experience more private demands than men while men experience more work demands, regardless of level of employment. Furthermore, women who work part time experience more work-life balance than women who work full time and more than men who work part or full time during the primary child-rearing family-life stages.

Conclusions

Results are discussed in terms of a gendered work-life experience across the life course and the need for part-time work for both genders. Finally, conclusions are drawn concerning our results’ implications for public health considerations.
Literature
1.
Hämmig O, Gutzwiller F, Bauer G. Work-life conflict and associations with work- and nonwork-related factors and with physical and mental health outcomes: a nationally representative cross-sectional study in Switzerland. BMC Public Health. 2009;9:435.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
2.
3.
Martinengo G, Jacob JI, Hill EJ. Gender and the work-family interface: exploring differences across the family life course. J Fam Issues. 2010;31:1363–90.CrossRef
4.
Duxbury LE, Higgins CA. Gender differences in work-family conflict. J Appl Psychol. 1991;76:60–73.
5.
Hill JE, Jacob JI, Shannon LL, Brennan RT, Blanchard VL, Martinengo G. Exploring the relationship of workplace flexibility, gender, and life stage to family-to-work conflict, and stress and burnout. Community Work Fam. 2008;11:165–81.CrossRef
6.
Kapinus CA, Johnson MP. The utility of family life cycle as a theoretical and empirical tool: commitment and family life-cycle stage. J Fam Issues. 2003;24:155–84.CrossRef
7.
Charles M. A world of difference: international trends in Women’s economic status. Annu Rev Sociol. 2011;37:355–71.CrossRef
8.
Galinsky E, Matos K. The future of work-life fit. Organ Dyn. 2011;40:267–80.CrossRef
9.
Schweizerische Arbeitskräfte Erhebung 2013 (SAKE). Neuchâtel: Swiss Federal Statistical Office; 2014.
10.
Moen P. From “work–family” to the “gendered life course” and “fit”: five challenges to the field. Community Work Fam. 2011;14:81–96.CrossRef
11.
Moen P, Sweet S. From “work–family” to “flexible careers.”. Community Work Fam. 2004;7:209–26.CrossRef
12.
Mescher S, Benschop Y, Doorewaard H. Representations of work--life balance support. Hum Relations. 2009;63:21–39.CrossRef
13.
Green F, McIntosh S. The intensification of work in Europe. Labour Econ. 2001;8:291–308.CrossRef
14.
Kelliher C, Anderson D. Doing more with less? Flexible working practices and the intensification of work. Hum Relations. 2009;63:83–106.CrossRef
15.
Kossek EE, Lewis S, Hammer LB. Work-life initiatives and organizational change: overcoming mixed messages to move from the margin to the mainstream. Hum Relat. 2010;63:3–19.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
16.
Anxo D, Boulin J-Y. The organisation of time over the life course: european trends. Eur Soc. 2006;8:319–41.CrossRef
17.
Crompton R, Lyonette C. Work-Life “Balance” in Europe. Acta Sociol. 2006;49:379–93.CrossRef
18.
Bielenski H, Bosch E, Wagner A. Working time preferences in sixteen european countries. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions; 2002.
19.
Rosenfeld R, Birkelund G. Women’s part-time work: a cross-national comparison. Eur Sociol Rev. 1995;11:111–34.
20.
Tijdens KG. Gender roles and labor Use strategies: Women’s part-time work in the european union. Fem Econ. 2002;8:71–99.CrossRef
21.
Sandor E. Part-time work in Europe. Luxembourg: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions; 2011.
22.
Gregory A, Milner S. Editorial: work-life balance: a matter of choice? Gend Work Organ. 2009;16:1–13.CrossRef
23.
Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Familien in Der Schweiz: Statistischer Bericht 2008. Neuchâtel: Swiss Federal Statistical Office; 2008.
24.
Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Das Engagement Der Väter in Haushalt Und Familie: Modul Zur Unbezahlten Arbeit 2010 Der Schweizerischen Arbeitskräfteerhebung. Neuchâtel: Swiss Federal Statistical Office; 2013.
25.
Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Demografisches Verhalten Der Familien in Der Schweiz. Neuchâtel: Swiss Federal Statistical Office; 2009.
26.
Mattessich P, Hill R. Life cycle and family development. In: Sussman MB, Steinbmetz SK, editors. Handbook of marriage and the family. New York: Plenum; 1987. p. 437–65.CrossRef
27.
Erickson JJ, Martinengo G, Hill EJ. Putting work and family experiences in context: differences by family life stage. Hum Relations. 2010;63:955–79.CrossRef
28.
Demerouti E, Peeters MCW, van der Heijden BIJM. Work-family interface from a life and career stage perspective: the role of demands and resources. Int J Psychol. 2012;47:241–58.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Blanchard-Fields F, Chen Y, Hebert CE. Interrole conflict as a function of life stage, gender, and gender-related personality attributes. Sex Roles. 1997;37:155–74.CrossRef
30.
Grzywacz JG, Almeida DM, McDonald DA. Work-family spillover and daily reports of work and family stress in the adult labor force. Fam Relat. 2002;51:28–36.CrossRef
31.
Klammer U. The “Rush Hour” of life: insecurities and strains in early life phases as a challenge for a life course-oriented, sustainable social policy. In: Tremmel J, editor. A young generation under pressure? Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2010.
32.
Clarkberg M, Moen P. Understanding the time-squeeze: married Couples’ preferred and actual work-hour strategies. Am Behav Sci. 2001;44:1115–36.CrossRef
33.
Allen TD. The work – family role interface: a synthesis of the research from industrial and organizational psychology. In: Schmitt NW, Highhouse SI, Weiner IB, editors. Handbook of psychology. 2nd ed. Hoboken: Wiley; 2013. p. 698–718.
34.
Frone MR. Work–family balance. In: Quick JC, Tetrick LE, editors. Handbook of occupational health psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association; 2003. p. 143–62.CrossRef
35.
Greenhaus JH, Allen TD. Work-family balance: a review and extension of the literature. In: Quick JC, Tetrick LE, editors. Handbook of occupational health psychology. 2nd ed. Washington: American Psychological Association; 2010. p. 165–83.
36.
37.
Hämmig O, Bauer G. Work-life imbalance and mental health among male and female employees in Switzerland. Int J Public Health. 2009;54:88–95.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Brauchli R, Bauer GF, Hämmig O. Job autonomy buffers the impact of work-life conflict on organizational outcomes. Swiss J Psychol. 2014;73:77–86.CrossRef
39.
Knecht MK, Bauer GF, Gutzwiller F, Hämmig O. Persistent work-life conflict and health satisfaction - a representative longitudinal study in Switzerland. BMC Public Health. 2011;11:271.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
40.
Schafer JL, Graham JW. Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychol Methods. 2002;7:147–77.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Field A. Discovering statistics using SPSS. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc; 2005.
42.
Becker P, Moen P. Scaling back: dual-earner Couples’ work-family strategies. J Marriage Fam. 1999;61:995–1007.CrossRef
43.
Jeffrey Hill E, Martinson V, Ferris M. New-concept part-time employment as a work-family adaptive strategy for women professionals with small children*. Fam Relat. 2004;53:282–92.CrossRef
44.
Moen P, Yu Y. Effective work/life strategies: working couples, work conditions, gender, and life quality. Soc Probs. 2000;47:291–326.CrossRef
45.
Bittman M, Wajcman J. The rush hour: the character of leisure time and gender equity. Soc Forces. 2000;79(September 2000):165–89.CrossRef
46.
Noor NM. Work- and family-related variables, work–family conflict and women’s well-being: some observations. Community Work Fam. 2003;6:297–319.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
The experience of work-life balance across family-life stages in Switzerland: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study
Authors
Ariane G. Wepfer
Rebecca Brauchli
Gregor J. Jenny
Oliver Hämmig
Georg F. Bauer
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2584-6

Other articles of this Issue 1/2015

BMC Public Health 1/2015 Go to the issue

Research article

A cross sectional analysis of behaviors related to operating gas stoves and pneumonia in U.S. children under the age of 5

Study protocol

The Hi Five study: design of a school-based randomized trial to reduce infections and improve hygiene and well-being among 6–15 year olds in Denmark

Research article

Social representations of male circumcision as prophylaxis against HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe

Research article

Validation of a measure of health-related production loss: construct validity and responsiveness - a cohort study

Research article

Quantifying the contribution of changes in healthcare expenditures and smoking to the reversal of the trend in life expectancy in the Netherlands

Research article

The diminishing socioeconomic disparity in obesity in a Chinese population with rapid economic development: analysis of serial cross-sectional health survey data 2002–2010