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Book part
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Jana Mikats

Home-based work results in a specific spatiotemporal arrangement: one location serves as both the family home and the workplace. This mode of work shapes the everyday family life…

Abstract

Home-based work results in a specific spatiotemporal arrangement: one location serves as both the family home and the workplace. This mode of work shapes the everyday family life and at the same time has to be adjusted to suit the divergent needs of all family members involved, especially if children live in the same household. So far, research on home-based work has predominantly examined home-based workers’ and adults’ perspectives. Therefore, this chapter puts children’s perspectives at the centre of the inquiry and recognises the wider web of family relations and home by focussing on the spatiotemporal coordination of everyday family life.

This chapter examines how children conceptualise parental home-based work in relation to their everyday family life and home, and how they participate in family practices in the context of home-based work.

The contribution is based on original empirical data that were collected during fieldwork with 11 families in Austria. It builds on observations of daily routines in these families, photointerviews and guided tours through the home with kindergarten and primary school-aged children as well as qualitative interviews with home-based workers living in these households.

From children’s perspectives, the findings show various independences between paid work and family life when work and home coincide. The in-depth analysis of these everyday situations emphasises how children actively modify and shape everyday family life and home in the context of parental home-based work arrangements. Family practices are constantly done and in so doing turn temporarily both the house and the workspace into a home.

Details

Bringing Children Back into the Family: Relationality, Connectedness and Home
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-197-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2022

Reetika Dadheech and Dhiraj Sharma

The purpose of the study is to determine the factors influencing the job choices of Indian women working in the informal manufacturing sector. The informal sector has always…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to determine the factors influencing the job choices of Indian women working in the informal manufacturing sector. The informal sector has always played a significant role in emerging and developing countries. This study investigates the effect of social cultural norms influencing women informal workers in the manufacturing sector to participate in home-based work (HBW) or non-home-based work (non-HBW) .

Design/methodology/approach

Both Quantitative and Qualitative methodology have been used. In accordance with descriptive statistics, a multinomial logistic regression model was employed to assess women's likelihood of participation in home-based activities. To gain a more in-depth insight, semi-structured interviews were used to collect the perspectives of both men and women workers. The data were analysed using narrative analysis.

Findings

The findings reveal that a high fixed cost is a key driver of HBW. Workers prefer to work from home when the loss of joint household production due to working outside is substantial. Social and cultural standards play a significant effect in job selection for women. These conventions limit women's employment options, and the current study demonstrates that strong social and cultural standards limit women to home-based jobs only.

Social implications

Enhancing women's involvement in the public realm is critical and may be accomplished by affirmative action; but, for women to be treated equally in their homes and in society, an attitude shift is necessary. Despite the government's initiatives and regulations aimed at protecting informal women workers, many of the programmes and legislation fall short. The position of women in this environment cannot be improved until and unless the norms of society are flexible and liberal for Indian women. The first step would be to educate people and make them aware of the need to abandon outdated practices and embrace new progressive ideals. It will not be achievable just via government efforts; rather, both the government and society must work together to achieve the same goal.

Originality/value

The author hereby declares that this submission is their own work and to the best of their knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. The author would like to undertake the above-mentioned manuscript has not been published elsewhere or under editorial review for publication elsewhere; and that all co-authors have agreed to have seen and approved the manuscript for submission.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 43 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 September 2020

Andrea Ollo-López, Salomé Goñi-Legaz and Amaya Erro-Garcés

This article aims to analyze individual-, organizational- and country-level factors that determine the use of home-based telework across Europe according to the technology…

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Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to analyze individual-, organizational- and country-level factors that determine the use of home-based telework across Europe according to the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the technology–organization–environment model.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the impact of individual-, organizational- and country-level factors on telework, multilevel models are estimated to prevent problems derived from biased standard errors when micro- and macro-level data are combined.

Findings

The main findings show that, according to the usefulness side of the TAM, employees with family responsibilities, those that live away from their work and highly qualified workers use more home-based telework. Additionally, and according to the ease of use side of the TAM, empowerment in firms facilitates home-based telework. At the country level, lower power distance, individualism and femininity, better telework regulations and technology developments are also facilitators of home-based telework.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data. This prevents the estimation of causal effects. Additional research would benefit from the use of panel data and from a more detailed analysis of the effects of country dimensions.

Practical implications

From an applied perspective, politics related to cultural dimensions are suggested to stimulate home-based telework.

Originality/value

The research contributes to previous literature by: (1) considering a large sample to conduct an empirical analysis of the use of home-based telework across Europe, (2) including micro and macro factors, (3) providing a theoretical framework to explain home-based telework, (4) applying a rigorous definition of home-based telework and (5) focusing on employees who are able to adopt home-based telework.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 42 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Karyn Loscocco and Andrea Smith‐Hunter

Recent research on women business owners de‐emphasizes home‐based business ownership, despite the fact that home‐based ownership is on the rise. This study uses data from the…

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Abstract

Recent research on women business owners de‐emphasizes home‐based business ownership, despite the fact that home‐based ownership is on the rise. This study uses data from the Upstate New York Small Business Project to compare women engaged in home‐based businesses to their counterparts, who locate their businesses outside the home. The results indicate that the women engaged in home‐based business ownership experience less work to family conflict than their counterparts. Yet their businesses enjoy less economic success than those run by their non‐home‐based counterparts. This suggests that home‐based ownership may be a good option only for women who do not have strong financial needs.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Ohood Al Roomi and Mohamed Ibrahim

This paper addresses the effects of a set of variables on sales performance of home‐based business in Dubai. The variables includes owner’s gender, private sources of funds…

Abstract

This paper addresses the effects of a set of variables on sales performance of home‐based business in Dubai. The variables includes owner’s gender, private sources of funds, external sources of funds, usage of technology, business expenses, number of weekly hours an owner works, outsourcing or sub‐contracting, age of business, and number of the family members assisting the owner in running the business. The results showed significant positive effects for the average weekly hours an owner devotes to the business and mild effects for the use of technology. However, the remaining variables did not show any significant relationship with homebased business performance. Of particular importance is the lack of significant effects for gender. This indicates that business performance is not tied up to gender. Both men and women could do equally well in the field of home‐based business.

Details

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1026-4116

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 April 2022

Mohammed Alhaji Mohammed

The recent COVID-19 pandemic compelled people to spend most of their time at home to avoid spreading the virus, signifying staying away from offices, schools and marketplaces and…

Abstract

Purpose

The recent COVID-19 pandemic compelled people to spend most of their time at home to avoid spreading the virus, signifying staying away from offices, schools and marketplaces and where many people congregate. This situation put enormous pressure on residential buildings, which functioned as alternative spaces to schools and offices. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of home-based online classes because of the COVID-19 outbreak on residential buildings in Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected population-representative survey data from 324 eligible respondents using an online questionnaire and conducts descriptive and Spearman's correlation analysis using the SPSS 28.0 program.

Findings

This study found that the use of space during COVID-19, home-based learning space comfort and home-based online learning perception affected home-based online space requirements during the school lockdowns. Higher school levels, learning space comfort levels, types of education and number of school-aged children in a house were correlated with various types of discomfort experienced during home-based online learning. Lastly, the parents' preference for their children to continue online studies was correlated with the adverse effects of online learning and the possible advantages of online learning.

Originality/value

Lack of studies about the impact of home-based online classes on residential space requirement and use resulted in insufficient investigation and documentation of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on home-based learning environments. This research contributes to the literature on the factors affecting spatial requirement during emergencies and how significant this relationship is.

Details

Facilities , vol. 40 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2008

Elizabeth Walker, Calvin Wang and Janice Redmond

This paper seeks to explore self‐employment through home‐based business ownership as a potential solution to the inter‐role conflict experienced by women attempting to balance…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to explore self‐employment through home‐based business ownership as a potential solution to the inter‐role conflict experienced by women attempting to balance dual work and family roles.

Design/methodology/approach

Home‐based businesses (n = 626) were surveyed in Western Australia as part of a larger national study. Data were collected on operator and business characteristics, and specific home‐based business issues (e.g. reasons for preferring a home‐base, management and planning, growth facilitators and barriers). Four‐way comparisons investigating the dynamics of home‐based business ownership between male and female operators and operators with and without dependants were made.

Findings

The attraction of home‐based business ownership is driven predominantly by the flexibility afforded to lifestyle and the ability to balance work and family. While these advantages were more salient for women than for men, gender per se was not a determining factor in why operators started a home‐based business. The more significant determining factor was the issue of dependants.

Practical implications

Self‐employment, particularly through home‐based business ownership, may well solve some women's necessity to balance work and family. However, it may not be a viable solution for all women, particularly those seeking high financial and career rewards.

Originality/value

This paper contributes empirical findings regarding home‐based businesses which, as a distinct form of small business and self‐employment alternative, still remain very much under‐researched. The paper also addresses the issue of home‐based businesses being emancipatory vehicles for women juggling to manage work and family, and provides findings which question this increasingly populist notion.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 March 2021

Natascia Boeri

Using the case of women home-based workers in India and the aspirations they have for their children, this chapter argues that aspirations across generations can reveal…

Abstract

Using the case of women home-based workers in India and the aspirations they have for their children, this chapter argues that aspirations across generations can reveal constraints and conflicts of current social positions. As workers in the informal economy, women’s work experiences are shaped by a matrix of oppression shaped by gender, class, caste, and religion. Yet, resistance to this work only became apparent when discussing hopes for their children’s future. It was in these articulations of aspirations that women stressed the exploitative characteristics of their work and their wish for their children to avoid these same experiences.

Details

Gender and Generations: Continuity and Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-033-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Anand Prakash, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Kapil Deo Prasad and Abhishek Kumar Singh

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate linkage among productivity, quality, and business performance in home-based brassware units in India.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate linkage among productivity, quality, and business performance in home-based brassware units in India.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involved action research of home-based brassware units applying procedures for three-stage least-squares (3SLS) regression analysis, with data obtained through questionnaire survey based on convenience sampling.

Findings

This study has supported the established belief that quality leads to productivity, and subsequently productivity leads to better business performance for home-based brassware units in India. The consistent and logical result of this study using 3SLS regression analysis has provided empirical understanding of the appropriate linkage among productivity, quality, and business performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations of findings, as it studied the home-based brassware units in the Indian context only.

Practical implications

This study implies that marketable home-based brassware products are to be produced by taking into account boundaries of production within the framework of goals and value created by motivation and dependability for monitoring the business performance. Identifying an appropriate linkage among productivity, quality, and business performance may project a holistic evaluation of the policy development related to home-based brassware units.

Originality/value

This is an original study to test empirical linkages among productivity, quality, and business performance using 3SLS regression analysis particularly for home-based brassware units in India.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 66 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2015

Jessica Simon and Megan McDonald Way

– This paper aims to explore gender differences in terms of self-employment for US Millennials, relating them to working from home as well as other factors.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore gender differences in terms of self-employment for US Millennials, relating them to working from home as well as other factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a population-based survey, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, which allows to compare home-based vs non-home-based self-employed women and men on a wide variety of characteristics. Descriptive analyses reveal the unconditional relationships between the covariates of interest, and the authors use ordinary least squares regression to reveal the conditional correlations between working from home and earnings for both women and men.

Findings

The authors find that working from home is highly negatively correlated with earnings for women, but not for men, and that working from home may trump the other characteristics typically associated with lower earnings.

Research limitations/implications

The regression subsample is relatively small (n = 245), leading to omitted variable bias in the regression. The “working-from-home” variable is potentially endogenous. The small sample size does not allow the authors to use detailed information on the self-employment industry. Future research should focus on finding larger samples and a way to instrument for working from home.

Social implications

Work/life trends and communications technology have made working from home more prevalent (Mateyka et al., 2012). It is important for researchers and policymakers to understand the gendered implications of basing a business at home.

Originality/value

The study is the first to use population-based data to focus specifically on gender gaps in earnings of self-employed Millennials in relation to working from home.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

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