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Publication #FAR5052

When Family is Cause for Firing1

Donna Davis2

When my children were young, the work-family conflict in my world came to a boiling point as my boss at the time was telling me that the 50+ hours a week I was putting in was inadequate and that I needed to put in more time. As he left my office, I got a call to let me know that my five-year-old daughter was going to require surgery. My dream job had turned into a nightmare.

And, while we hear stories of the difficulties professional women face, the juggling of work and family is an acute but underreported problem for many working- class families. In a recent report from the University of California's Center for WorkLife Law, professor and center director Joan Williams studied 99 union arbitrations that provided a heartbreaking view of how work and family conflict impacts working-class families in the United States.

Williams found that working-class families face several barriers to successfully balancing work and family, including inflexible schedules and "mandatory overtime that leaves single mothers, divorced dads, and 'tag team' families in jeopardy of losing their jobs" (Williams, 2006, p. 3). She explained that these workers are vulnerable to discipline or being fired for doing what "any conscientious parent, child, or spouse would do" (Williams, 2006, p. 3), such as tending to a sick child or elderly parent when no other support is available.

Williams describes this working-class struggle as the new face of work/family conflict that must be addressed by employers and legislation to assist families in meeting their responsibilities as parents and employees.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our Web site at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/442.mp3

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/442.wav

Reference

Williams, J. (2006). One sick child away from being fired: When "opting out" is not an option. San Francisco: Center for Work Life Law, University of California Hastings College of Law.

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR5052, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published February 2009. In the interest of time or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Donna Davis, Senior Producer, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Reviewed by Suzanna Smith, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.