Balancing Work and Family in a Changing Society: The Fathers' Perspective

by Elisabetta Ruspini, Isabella Crespi

Overview

Both research and policy on balancing work and family life have tended to focus on mothers' lives. There has been a general lack of comparative research to the complex intersection between old and new forms of masculinity; and between fatherhood, work-life balance, gender relations and children's well-being. As a result, men's fathering roles and their struggle with work-life balance have often been neglected. These cultural challenges should be better theorized within family and social policy research. This volume examines how fathers fulfill their roles both within the family and at work and what institutional support could be of most benefit to them in combining these roles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349959822
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	02/11/2020
Edition description:	1st ed. 2016
Pages:	229
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Isabella Crespi is Associate Professor in Cultural sociology at the University of Macerata, Italy.

Elisabetta Ruspini is Senior Associate Professor in Sociology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.

Table of Contents

PART I: FATHERHOOD AND MEN'S WORK-LIFE BALANCE. A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ACROSS CONTINENTS
1. Changing Fatherhood and Fathering across Cultures towards Convergence in Work-Family Balance: Divergent Progress or Stalemate?; Michael Rush and Rudy Seward
2. 'The Choice was Made for Us': A Genealogical and Relational Approach to the Stay-at-Home Father Concept in North America; Andrea Doucet
3. Cultural Values, Family Policies and Fathering Practices in Central-eastern Europe; Piotr Teisseyre
PART II: CHANGING FATHERS: WORK, CHILDREN AND RECONCILIATION STRATEGIES
4. Changing Family Models: Emerging New Opportunities for Fathers in Catalonia (Spain)?; Lluis Flaquer, Almudena Moreno Minguez and Tomas Cano
5. What makes Fathers Involved? An Exploration of the Longitudinal Influence of Fathers' and Mothers' Employment on Father's Involvement in Looking After their Pre-School Children in the UK; Colette Fagan and Helen Norman
6. Reconciling Work and Family among Japanese Fathers with Preschool-aged Children; Tomoko Matsuda, Saori Kamano, Mieko Takahashi, Setsuko Onode, Kyoko Yoshizumi
7. Work-life Balance and Fathers in Austria? Empirical Evidence at the Company Level; Nadja Bergmann and Helene Schiffbänker
8. Between Change and Continuity. Fathers and Work-Life Balance in Italy; Maria Letizia Bosoni, Isabella Crespi and Elisabetta Ruspini
PART III: FATHERS' WORK-FAMILY LIFE BALANCE: CONFLICTS AND CHALLENGES
9. Involved Fatherhood: Source of New Gender Conflicts?; Diana Lengersdorf and Michael Meuser
10. From 'Absent-from-Home Father' to 'Committed Father': Changes in the Model of Fatherhood in Poland and Role of Mothers-'Gatekeepers'; Maßgorzata Sikorska
11. What Work-Family Conflicts do Fathers Experience in Sweden and the US?; Anna-Lena Almqvist and Gayle Kaufman
12. 'At the End, the Father Works More and the Mother Stays Home' – Swedish and Polish Fathers and (Un)Achieved Work-Life Balance; Katarzyna Suwada

Editorial Reviews

Twelve essays explore the changing ideals and experiences for men around fatherhood and employment. The scope is vast, covering the experience of fatherhood in countries around the globe. … Some of the chapters are reviews and assessments of existing research, while others present new analyses and theories. … Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” (S. K. Gallagher, Choice, Vol. 54 (6), February, 2017)

From the Publisher