Long hours and longings: Children’s views of fathers’ jobs

In Australia, fathers tend to work long full time hours, and are more likely than mothers to report conflict between work and family life. A new study conducted by Dr. Strazdins and co-authors uses two waves of a large national, representative Australian sample of children aged 10-12 and their families to examine the work-family interface and the temporal aspects of fathers’ jobs. The study considers fathers’ work hours, flexibility, schedules, and work intensity and how this may shape children's views of their fathers’ jobs. It also examines the extent to which fathers’ concerns that their jobs are interfering with their family life are reflected in what children say.

Dr. Strazdins will present descriptive information about what children think of fathers’ jobs and how this may differ by child age, gender and family socioeconomic status. She will also address the question: Do fathers and children agree in terms of temporal aspects of fathers’ job? She will then discuss the extent to which fathers’ long work hours, inflexible schedules, evening and weekend work, and intensity may alter family time and routines and put pressure on father–child interactions, and whether these relationships may depend on mothers’ work hours and family income.