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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: 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

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: 1 October 2000

Provides a summary of a five‐day workshop held in Istanbul, organized by the International Center for Research on Women. Focuses on the potential for organizing women…

Abstract

Provides a summary of a five‐day workshop held in Istanbul, organized by the International Center for Research on Women. Focuses on the potential for organizing women home‐workers, increasing the visibility of this group and strategies for implementing the International Labour Organisation’s convention on Homework in Turkey.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 20 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 February 2022

Sumesh Soman and Dhanya Mohanan

The study has a twofold purpose. The first purpose is to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women's work–home integration and stress from both a constructivist and…

3184

Abstract

Purpose

The study has a twofold purpose. The first purpose is to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women's work–home integration and stress from both a constructivist and positivist perspective. The other purpose is to emphasize the need for enterprises to understand the embedded considerations of occupational stress of women for strategy formulation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has used a convergent parallel design to obtain data. A total of 63 respondents (a survey with a sample of 53 and ten narratives) was identified using the snowball technique. The respondents were married and working professionals from Kerala. Perceived stress scale was used to procure data on their stress in the home-based work during the pandemic lockdown. Simultaneously narratives were taken from ten respondents from the same pool. The data were analyzed using R software version 4.0.2.

Findings

The findings reflect that home-based work was stressful for women, and they weighed home tasks over work needs. There was no age difference in perceived stress, while it significantly differed by profession and designation they hold. Also, a mother felt more stressed than a non-mother. Quantitative data heavily backed up the narratives. Of the sample, 76% experienced higher stress levels.

Practical implications

This research will help users understand the stress distribution in women workers and how various sample characteristics influence stress. The enterprise could use this study to introduce a gender touch to their strategy. The study also adds value to the existing literature on home-based work during the pandemic.

Originality/value

The study systematically measures the stress felt by women during home-based work using a perceived stress scale. The mixed approach to the study helps to gain a deep understanding of the topic. This study is an original contribution by the authors to the collection of home-based work and stress literature.

Details

IIM Ranchi journal of management studies, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-0138

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2003

Lynette Harris

As home‐based teleworking grows in the UK, more evidence is needed of how working from home shapes the employment relationship and the implications this may have for those line…

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Abstract

As home‐based teleworking grows in the UK, more evidence is needed of how working from home shapes the employment relationship and the implications this may have for those line managers responsible for a home‐based workforce. The reported experiences of a sales team and their line managers at one large international drinks manufacturing company of teleworking during its first year of operation revealed the importance of developing understanding of the complex interface between the domains of work and home life. The findings suggest individual circumstances require close attention before implementing home‐based working with line managers recalibrating perceptions of the boundaries between home and work for positive employee relationships to develop within a new paradigm of “home‐work” relations.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2014

Celia Briar, Elizabeth Liddell and Martin Tolich

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on care workers employed in clients’ own homes recognising the skills and responsibilities of home-based care workers.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on care workers employed in clients’ own homes recognising the skills and responsibilities of home-based care workers.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews and focus groups with domiciliary care workers in New Zealand centred on what these employees actually do during their working day.

Findings

Home-based care workers require the same skills as residential care workers, but they also have greater responsibilities and receive less supervision and support, as they work largely in isolation. In addition, they must spend a large part of their working day travelling between clients: this time is unpaid, and brings their average hourly pay below the minimum wage.

Practical implications

Although the home-based care workers who took part in this project love and are committed to making a positive difference to their clients, they also want the government, employers and the public to recognise their skills, efforts and their challenging working conditions.

Originality/value

In earlier days of deinstitutionalisation, Graham described caring work as a “labour of love”. More than three decades years later, a New Zealand government minister described paid care workers as working partly “for love”. Care work is also currently perceived as unskilled. Both these perceptions depress the pay and working conditions of care staff, and in future may undermine the quality of care delivered to vulnerable clients.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1987

Kathleen E. Christensen

The major conclusions of this study of professional and clerical women who work at home are as follows. Women who work at home as a way of balancing child care and paid employment…

Abstract

The major conclusions of this study of professional and clerical women who work at home are as follows. Women who work at home as a way of balancing child care and paid employment typically live in traditional two‐parent households, where the father is the major breadwinner. These women work part‐time, primarily for “bonus” money and the psychological benefits of doing something other than being a full‐time home‐maker and mother. Second, they do not work and care for their children simultaneously. They most often work when their partners can care for the children, or when their children are at school or asleep. When a professional woman has dependable, steady work, she is apt to employ paid child care. Third, corporations that hire home‐based workers as independent contractors run the risk of creating second‐class corporate citizens.

Details

Office Technology and People, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0167-5710

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2020

Rocco Palumbo

The disruptions brought by COVID-19 pandemic compelled a large part of public sector employees to remotely work from home. Home-based teleworking ensured the continuity of the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The disruptions brought by COVID-19 pandemic compelled a large part of public sector employees to remotely work from home. Home-based teleworking ensured the continuity of the provision of public services, reducing disruptions brought by the pandemic. However, little is known about the implications of telecommuting from home on the ability of remote employees to manage the work-life interplay. The article adopts a retrospective approach, investigating data provided by the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) to shed lights into this timely topic.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical, quantitative research design was crafted. On the one hand, the direct effects of telecommuting from home on work-life balance were investigated. On the other hand, work engagement and perceived work-related fatigue were included in the empirical analysis as mediating variables which intervene in the relationship between telecommuting from home and work-life balance.

Findings

Home-based telecommuting negatively affected the work-life balance of public servants. Employees who remotely worked from home suffered from increased work-to-life and life-to-work conflicts. Telecommuting from home triggered greater work-related fatigue, which worsened the perceived work-life balance. Work engagement positively mediated the negative effects of working from home on work-life balance.

Practical implications

Telecommuting from home has side effects on the ability of remote workers to handle the interplay between work-related commitments and daily life activities. This comes from the overlapping between private life and work, which leads to greater contamination of personal concerns and work duties. Work engagement lessens the perceptions of work-life unbalance. The increased work-related fatigue triggered by remote working may produce a physical and emotional exhaustion of home-based teleworkers.

Originality/value

The article investigates the side effects of remotely working from home on work-life balance, stressing the mediating role of work engagement and work-related fatigue.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 33 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 4000