Journal Article

Long Hours and Longings: Australian Children's Views of Fathers' Work and Family Time

Strazdins, Lyndall, Baxter, Jennifer A., Li, Jianghong

2017

Overview

Using two waves of paired data from a population sample of 10- to 13-year-old Australian children (5,711 father–child observations), the authors consider how the hours, schedules, intensity, and flexibility of fathers' jobs are associated with children's views about fathers' work and family time. A third of the children studied considered that their father works too much, one eighth wished that he did not work at all, and one third wanted more time with him or did not enjoy time together. Logistic regression modeling revealed that working on weekends, being time pressured, being unable to vary start and stop times, and working long hours generated negative views in children about fathers' jobs and time together. The time dilemmas generated by fathers' work devotions and demands are salient to and subjectively shared by their children.

• Publisher: Wiley,The National Council on Family Relations,Wiley Subscription Services, Inc,Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subject: child well-being / Children / Children & youth / Childrens Attitudes / Employed Women / Families & family life / Families and Time / families and work / Family (Sociological Unit) / Family work relationship / Fathers / Flexibility / Growing Up in Australia, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), waves 4 and 5 / Labor Force Nonparticipants / Labor Market / Mothers / Parent-child relations / Perceptions / Success / Time / time use / Vaterschaft / Work / work hours / Work life balance / Working Hours / work–family balance