Working it out: strategies to reconcile work and family among Swedish lone mothers

Alsarve, Jenny

doi:10.1332/204674315x14418885009965

Cited by 11 publications

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“…They also show that the mothers were highly reliant on help from their social networks despite the social services and benefits provided by the state. This finding resonates with research showing that lone mothers across different types of welfare state are dependent on informal care (Alsarve, 2015;Ciabattari, 2007;Gill & Davidson, 2001;Harmann, 2013;Herz & Ferguson, 1997;Kröger, 2010;Nelson, 2006;Millar & Ridge, 2009;Skinner & Finch, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Gendered and classed experiences of work–family conflict among lone mothers in Sweden

Roman

2018

Community, Work & Family

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Research on the relationship between lone motherhood and social class is indeed limited. Drawing on 39 in-depth interviews, the overall aim of this article is to increase knowledge of the ways that working conditions and access to economic resources impact on Swedish lone mothers' opportunities to integrate paid work and family. One assumption is that lone mothers are guided by culturally shaped ideas about the proper way to be a mother, and that variance between mothers' notions of good mothering and the means for their realization, i.e. sociological ambivalence, may give rise to conflicts and dilemmas. Results show that low incomes, non-standard hours and temporary employment reduced working-class mothers' prospects of practising the kind of mothering they considered proper, creating dilemmas and high levels of conflict. Mothers could not always effectively use the rights granted to parents by the Swedish welfare state. The variances between notions about good mothering and the means for realizing them were not as big for middle-class mothers, thanks to greater access to economic capital and flexible working hours. Different opportunity structures hence significantly influenced lone mothers' opportunity to combine paid work and caring commitments in ways they found appropriate. RESUMEN Las investigaciones sobre el vínculo entre ser madre soltera y la clase social son realmente escasas. Basándose en 39 entrevistas en profundidad, el objetivo general de este artículo es aumentar el conocimiento en relación a cómo las condiciones laborales y el acceso a recursos económicos impactan en las oportunidades de dichas madres, en Suecia, de integrar el trabajo remunerado y la familia. Una hipótesis es que las madres solteras se guían por ideas arraigadas culturalmente sobre la forma correcta de ser madre. Los resultados muestran que los bajos salarios, los horarios poco convencionales y los empleos temporales son factores que reducen las posibilidades de las madres de clase trabajadora de practicar el tipo de maternidad que consideran correcta, creando también dilemas y conflictos. Estas diferencias entre la idea de buena maternidad y las formas para llevarla a cabo no son tan grandes en el caso de las madres solteras de clase media, esto ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Gendered and classed experiences of work–family conflict among lone mothers in Sweden

Roman

2018

Community, Work & Family

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“…Similarly, Baxter and Alexander () found that, in isolation from other factors, Australian single mothers report more WFC than coupled mothers. Single mothers' high levels of WFC may result from having to solely and with limited resources manage responsibilities (Alsarve, ; Roman, ; Son & Bauer, ) that are shared by two individuals in couples. In the absence of a partner, single mothers' total workload—combining work, domestic, and childcare responsibilities—places heavy demands on their family life, particularly compared with two‐parent families, as shown by previous studies from the three countries we examine in the present study (Bakker & Karsten, ; Kinnunen, Malinen, & Laitinen, ; Millar, ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas so‐called tag‐team parenting as a childcare‐related strategy can help to reduce coupled mothers' family workload and ensuring that the child receives parental care (see Mills & Täht, ; Murtorinne‐Lahtinen et al, ), single mothers navigate work and family responsibilities without a resident partner. Indeed, qualitative studies conducted in Europe (e.g., Alsarve, ; Roman, ) suggest that nonstandard work hours create major difficulties and pressures, particularly for single mothers in combining work and family life. Thus, we expect that the positive association between the amount of nonstandard work hours and WFC is stronger for single than coupled mothers because nonstandard work hours are unlikely to reduce single mothers' total family‐related workload for which the mother is solely and with more limited resources responsible for, compared with families with two parents (Hypothesis 2b).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies on the association between maternal working schedules and family life have generally focused either on North American samples (e.g., Ciabattari, ; Hepburn, ) or dual‐earner families (e.g., Steiber, ; Tammelin et al, ), and the European studies (e.g., Alsarve, ; Roman, ) that look at this issue in single‐mother families have been largely qualitative. Up to now, there has been no quantitative analysis of European single mothers' experiences of combining work during nonstandard hours and family life.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Nonstandard Work Hours and Single Versus Coupled Mothers' Work‐to‐Family Conflict

et al. 2019

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Objective To compare single and coupled mothers' experiences of time‐based work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) and work‐to‐family positive affective spillover (PAS) in the context of maternal nonstandard work hours. Background Despite having become one of the central topics of work–family research, studies examining the relationship of maternal work schedules and family roles have mainly focused on North American samples or dual‐earner families. Although qualitative studies have highlighted the problems faced by European single mothers in relation to the combination of nonstandard work hours and family life, there are no quantitative or cross‐national comparative studies on the association. Method Using a convenience sample derived from the Families 24/7 survey of Finnish, Dutch, and British mothers with children 12 years of age or younger (N = 1,106), path analysis was carried out to assess the associations of single motherhood, nonstandard work hours, and their interaction with WFC and PAS and to compare the associations between 3 countries. Results The positive association between the amount of nonstandard work hours and WFC was found to be stronger among single mothers than coupled mothers in all 3 countries. However, in Finland, both single and coupled mothers, and in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, only single mothers, experienced higher WFC when the mother worked more during nonstandard hours. In all countries, single mothers experienced less PAS than coupled mothers. Conclusion Dutch and British single mothers who work nonstandard hours experience the combination of multiple roles particularly challenging compared with coupled mothers. In Finland, both single and coupled mothers report high levels of WFC when they work more nonstandard hours; hence, a greater amount of work during nonstandard hours is not an automatic indication of heightened challenges for single mothers alone. Implications When aiming to improve mothers' work–family reconciliation via social and workplace policies, it is important to understand the circumstances of single and coupled mothers in different cultural contexts.

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“…These relationships can offer for instance emotional and practical support, a support that can be imperative for lone mothers (cf. Alsarve, 2017) because they do not share their everyday life with a (cohabiting) partner. The aim of this paper is thus to contribute to the research on lone mothers by studying their relationships to their friends.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Friendship, reciprocity and similarity: lone mothers and their relationships with friends

Alsarve

2019

Community, Work & Family

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Studies have demonstrated the importance of informal social relationships in lone mothers' everyday lives, not least regarding their ability to reconcile paid work and care duties. This paper examines lone mothers' relationships with their friends. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Swedish lone mothers, it aims to analyse how friendship relations are described by the lone mothers, to what extent they are characterized by different forms of reciprocity and if the mothers perceive their friends as being part of their families. Inspired by Alberoni's thoughts on friendship, and Finch and Mason's view of reciprocity, the analysis reveals a complex picture of friendship relations. It is argued that friends often play a significant role in the everyday lives of the lone mothers. Friends were seen as key elements in some mothers' lives, and sometimes were defined as 'family', providing emotional as well as practical support; but they were almost entirely absent in the lives of others. The support from their friends was often surrounded by norms of reciprocity. The results indicate that although the help from friends sometimes was decisive and appreciated, the mothers found it difficult to ask friends for help. RESUMEN

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Working it out: strategies to reconcile work and family among Swedish lone mothers

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Gendered and classed experiences of work–family conflict among lone mothers in Sweden

Gendered and classed experiences of work–family conflict among lone mothers in Sweden

Nonstandard Work Hours and Single Versus Coupled Mothers' Work‐to‐Family Conflict

Friendship, reciprocity and similarity: lone mothers and their relationships with friends

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