The Importance Of Family And Work Life

Family is important. Few would argue this point. According to a recent public opinion poll, the majority of Americans agree that loving family relationships are extremely (91%) or somewhat (9%) important to them. Within the social psychological literature, family roles are consistently ranked high in importance. Furthermore, 75% of adults believe that family is the most important factor in achieving a sense of personal happiness. Despite the strong sentiment many have towards family, several questions remain in the study of family and work life. For this chapter, we focus on what role the family of origin (FoO) plays in interpreting the existential nature of primary social roles. The ultimate goal is to describe how the FoO identity operates

First, employment is operating within some families as a resource, especially among the poor and working classes who are trying to sustain households with children present. If paid workers are underpaid, then being employed is not much different than being unemployed. Second, employment serves as a sense of identification in those families who pursue certain types of jobs in their efforts to propel the FoO into a higher social class position. These families pursue a clear path from higher education to certain professions. For them, paid work is not the end goal. Social status and occupational prestige are the goals. Third, paid work is a signal for those seeking to determine “who is in the family.” When family members disagree about the value of paid work and work pursuits turn into unstable work histories, the employment (or unemployment) of significant others proves just as problematic as one’s own employment status. Importantly, we do not argue that these are mutually exclusive experiences or that they are necessarily overlapping in any consistent way. Whether individuals participate in the labor force for the income it provides, the status it promises, or the signal it conveys depends upon parental socialization that took place during childhood and the level of work volition operating at that particular time in the individual life course. Work volition refers to the ability to choose one’s occupation. Workers with low levels of education typically have low volition as does those compelled to work through governmental regulations (e.g., PRWORA,