What are some of the most common issues that dual-career families face?

What are some of the most common issues that dual-career families face?
In the twenty-first century, dual-career families have become a hot topic. The number of women who can study while still pursuing their career goals has increased. The difficulties faced by dual-career families are also on the rise. As opposed to the time spent with their families, couples spend a large portion of their lives at workstations.
Dual-career families face several difficulties. First, it is difficult for them to maintain a balanced personal life due to higher levels of dedication or rather responsibilities from both partners (PerryJenkins & Wadsworth, 2017). Therefore, it leads to increased stress within their lives. Also, couples get it hard to maintain job life and family.

Career growths for partners in a dual-career family might be compromised. This happens due to shared responsibilities, loads which make it hard for a person to pursue his/her career. Dual-career families as well lack closeness as a man may residing in a different place away from the wife due to various locations of workstations. Thus, reducing their productivity as there might lesser physical closeness.

How have the roles of women changed in today’s economy?

For the past 60 years, the number of women in various workstations has hugely increased. This is because women have to enter economic systems with the intention of supplementing the capacity of male earnings.

Legislations on equal opportunities being adopted by most countries have changed the roles of women in nowadays economy. Women today believe they can do anything as long they get educational empowerment (Perry‐Jenkins & Wadsworth, 2017). Women roles have as well be reversed by various feminist movements which champion for the rights of females in society. The movement fights for equal rights for women with their male counterparts.

Similarly, there has been growth in service sectors alongside knowledge economy. This makes women have spaces where their contributions are needed rather than duties where muscular persons are required. Women in various workplaces are nowadays equal to men regarding the remunerations given. This is because women nowadays have the capability of doing whatever men can do. The roles of women have changed due to an education system where people allow their kids to acquire education regardless of their gender.

How has the expectation of who will do household chores when both partners are working changed and why?

With a chauvinistic society expecting women to do all the household chore, there have been changes when it comes dual career couples. In such families, both partners usually come back home from work either late or tired (Chang, 2016). Thus, performing household chores such as cooking among others have been left for others apart from the spouses who come home late or tired.

In most instances, there working couple hire house help who assists in doing daily household chores. This makes the work more comfortable for the couples in advancing their career as they would have ample time to study as well as embark on other duties that are work-related.

However, when both couples are living separately with one another, that is when they live differently due to their distances in workstations, then they may decide whether to have the house help or not. Nevertheless, in cases where there are children, then both partners are tasked with caring for their children though they may have house helps to take care of the children while they are away. Housemaids typically come to the assistance of dual career couples regarding the house chores to be performed in the house (Chang, 2016). For that matter, house help is expected to do more house chores when both partners are working. This is because the couples come back home tired or at times late and may not attend to all their tasks in the house.

Discuss the ten strategies for family, parenting and work balance found in this chapter

The ten plans for family, parenting and work balance found in this chapter include: valuing families. The couples should appreciate their families and have time with them. Both partners should also strive for equality which would promote their peaceful coexistence. Also, work boundaries should be maintained to avoid arising squabbles from infidelity. Partners should as well derive meaning from works they are doing for their career growth. There should be more focus and production at work

Family should be prioritized with the intention of keeping the ties to be stronger. Both partners should take pride in dual earnings to assist in the better upkeep of the family. The other strategy is that couples live a simple life to avoid spendthrift nature by some parents. Decision making should be proactive to make wise pronouncements that would assist the daily running of families. Lastly, both couples should value time as this would assist in time management.

Discuss some of the unique problems faced by families of service men and women

In several ways, families of service men and women are just similar to their civilian colleagues concerning the problems they face. However, there are unique problems which affect military families more as compared to the civilian families. To begin with, military families face marital issues which come as result of separations (Parker et al., 2017). The husband or wife might be taken away on a peacekeeping mission which usually takes longer duration. During such time, the remaining spouse may not be in physical contact with the partner who is on a mission. For that matter, decision-making process and other roles would be played a single partner. The military families also face trauma. Involvement of some family members in combat brings fear to the life of the family members particularly when one is lost in the war.

The injuries which are associated with the combat bring about trauma among the family members. Lastly, recurrent relocations or rather deployments of military personnel might wield emotional toll on their families (Parker et al., 2017). This is because the family members regularly take long before seeing other members who are in service. When it is the father in the military, then children would be raised mostly by the mother. However, when both couples are in the military, then children would rarely see them due to frequent relocations to other places away from home.

What is work-family spillover/crossover

Work-family spillover is the defined as the transmission of well-being state from one particular domain to the other (Barber et al., 2017). The process is deemed to be occurring at an intra-individual level.

The experiences which are transmitted from a single domain to the other may either be positive or at times cynical. The effects of work-family spillover are applicable whenever there are some forms of inter-role conflicts within a family.

References

Barber, L. K., Taylor, S. G., Burton, J. P., & Bailey, S. F. (2017). A self-regulatory perspective of work-to-home undermining spillover/crossover: Examining the roles of sleep and exercise. Journal of applied psychology, 102(5), 753.

Chang, G. (2016). Disposable domestics: Immigrant women workers in the global economy. Haymarket Books.

Parker, P., Cotton, R. D., Yates, M. S., Baxter, J., & Arend, S. (2017). Developmental network structure and support: gendered consequences for work–family strain and work–parenting strain in the Australian mining industry. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-31.

Perry‐Jenkins, M., & Wadsworth, S. M. (2017). Work and Family Research and Theory: Review and Analysis from an Ecological Perspective. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 9(2), 219-237.