Mothers make it work
Friday 11 January 2008
Career focused professional parents need to cooperate in order to effectively manage work and family life but the mother does the majority of the juggling. One mishap may cause chaos in the finely tuned system.
Dr Almuth McDowall, Lecturer at University of Surrey, will coordinate a symposium about working families in the UK on Thursday 10 January 2008, at the Annual Conference of the Division of Occupational Psychology (part of the British Psychological Society) at the Stratford-Upon-Avon Holiday Inn.
Dr Lynne Millward Purvis, also from the University of Surrey, interviewed dual-career ‘professional’ couples in the UK about how they successfully manage work and family life. The key to success are cooperation and a finely tuned juggling act for parents. Results also revealed that it tends to be mother that has to do most of the organisation. For the most part this system works well but there can be dire consequences if one part of the arrangement fails.
All women interviewed agreed it is essential for both partners to work as a team, remain optimistic and remember that work makes family life possible and that time outside of work is to be enjoyed. Dr Lynne Purvis said: "There is no doubt that career mums make it all work. Employers should acknowledge their responsibilities openly which will enable them to achieve optimal levels of productivity."
Dr Almuth McDowall said: "This is also echoed by the other research presented here – flexibility is important and needs to be negotiated on an individual basis. Our findings also include guilt – mothers would prefer more time with their families and fathers worry about not being as effective at work when returning from paternity leave".
Also at the symposium:
- Shane Crabb and Dr Lynne Millward Purvis will talk about the fathers’ perspective on working life before and after child-birth
- Claire Taylor and Dr Almuth McDowall will talk about how women in the UK Police make sense of juggling work and families
- Claresta Tsang and Dr Lynne Millward Purvis will talk about career women and their identity and motivation
Media Enquiries
Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk
