Time, support, respect, and love are elements that constitute a good family life. Time should be spent between all family members so that strong bonds can be built. It is important for kids to spend time with their parents so that they will feel loved and cared for. It is important that parents have leisure time to spend with each other as well. I think supporting your family members is a huge characteristic of good family life. It is difficult to feel confident if you do not have family support. Respect is also important because parents should have respect for each other which sets an example to their children that both parents are equal and valued in the family. Families provide a sense of identity for their individuals. I believe it is these characteristics that shape strong, independent, and happy people.
Balancing a career and a family proves difficult for people who are faced with this challenge. In our time, often both parents hold jobs and have less time to stay at home with children. Women feel more guilt for having a career than men which is likely a cause to the notions set by society that women should be nurturers. To balance a career and a family is costly and stressful. For instance, having to provide daycare for your children proves to be extremely expensive. One woman in one of the video clips suggests that women who work but want to have children should start out with doing something flexible. It is more difficult to approach an employer and let them know that you want to work less. This situation must be presented professionally to the employer. Many factors contribute to the difficulty of balancing a career and a family. People in this situation feel as though they are constantly in a rush or exhausted. Not having enough leisure time to spend with yourself and with your family can be permanently damaging to everyone in the family.
Changes in the traditional gender roles has made work and family life more complex because both parents are constantly busy and trying to balance both aspects of this lifestyle. Two-thirds of spouses today both work. Men are taking on more household responsibilities, but women still feel that they are responsible for making sure the house is clean and that dinner is ready. The fact that more moms are working now has added much more stress for females. More families today are single parent families, which is very difficult because they have no choice but to balance both lifestyles and they have to do it alone. Men and women are frequently forced to get additional part-time jobs just to make ends meet. More and more people also go to school, work, and balance a family life, and with that added responsibility of school, life becomes even more intense.
Employers in the United States could look to the United Kingdom as an example for being sensitive to their employees’ family needs and obligations. Employers should allow people to have more flexible schedules – whether it is through shift changes or working from home – in order to balance both aspects of life without becoming too overwhelmed. As long as the employee remains as productive there should not be an issue in allowing this flexibility. Many times employers do not think about the stresses that people face outside of the work environmnet, especially women, who must balance work and family. I think it is important for people to be considerate of these obligations and put themselves in others’ shoes from time to time.
Support is hugely important when it comes to balancing work and family. If a person has no support from their friends, family, or neighbors, it makes it extremely more difficult to manage. With the support from these various people, responsibilities can be divided up and shared. For example, car-pooling with neighbors is a huge time saver and benefit for working individuals. Having a spouse who is supportive of dividing up responsibilities is going to be much more productive than one who refuses to help. Having support from the people in your life creates more leisure time, which is often hard to come by in this day and age and in our society. Balancing priorities with the support of others is significantly less stressful than having no support.
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