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The Work–Family Time Squeeze

Conflicting Demands of Paid and Unpaid Work among Working Couples in 29 Countries

Umeå University, Sweden, jonas.edlund{at}soc.umu.se

The article analyzes work—family balance among working couples in 29 countries using data from ISSP 2002. Arguments derived from theories on family regimes and modernization are tested. The results indicate that respondents can be categorized into three clusters. The first comprises those having a work—family balance; the second, those having an occupational work-overload; and the third, those having a dual work-overload (i.e. those experiencing too strong demands from both work and family responsibilities). Across countries, cluster sizes vary tremendously. The results indicate that the wealth of a country is strongly associated with the likelihood of achieving a balanced work—family situation. Although the overall probability increases with economic wealth, the relative disadvantage for women compared to men persists. The female disadvantage is mainly a higher risk of occupational overload in the rich countries, whereas in poorer countries there is a higher risk of being in a dual work-overload situation. Among the wealthy industrialized democracies, a balanced work—family situation is more common in the familialist German-linguistic country grouping, followed by the Nordic countries characterized by de-familialization. Market-oriented countries perform less well. Within the perspective of the theory on family regimes, the similarity between the familialist and the de-familialist regimes is an unexpected result.

Key Words: balance • conflict • family • ISSP • modernization

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