How new parents in low-wage jobs juggle the demands of work and childcare, and the easy ways employers can help Low-wage workers make up the largest group of employed parents in the United States, yet scant attention has been given to their experiences as new mothers and fathers. Work Matters brings the unique stories of these diverse individuals to light. Drawing on years of research and more than fifteen hundred family interviews, Maureen Perry-Jenkins describes how new parents cope with the demands of infant care while holding down low-wage, full-time jobs, and she considers how managing all of these responsibilities has long-term implications for child development. She examines why some parents and children thrive while others struggle, demonstrates how specific job conditions impact parental engagement and child well-being, and discusses common-sense and affordable ways that employers can provide support. In the United States, federal parental leave policy is unfunded. As a result, many new parents, particularly hourly workers, return to their jobs just weeks after the birth because they cannot afford not to. Not surprisingly, workplace policies that offer parents flexibility and leave time are crucial. But Perry-Jenkins shows that the time parents spend at work also matters. Their day-to-day experiences on the job, such as relationships with supervisors and coworkers, job autonomy, and time pressures, have long-term consequences for parents’ mental health, the quality of their parenting, and, ultimately, the health of their children. An overdue look at an important segment of the parenting population, Work Matters proposes ways to reimagine low-wage work to sustain new families and the development of future generations.

This book brings together leading scholars from a wide range of disciplines to provide a comprehensive account of the health and well-being of one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population: immigrants and their descendants. Re-orientating present-day debates over immigration, it sheds new light on understanding of population health.

This handbook is designed to illuminate issues involved in the intersection of family life and paid employment from a broad range of disciplines. These contributions by leading national and international work-family scholars represent state-of-the-art summaries of research. Topics include emerging work-family topics such as work-family facilitation and families and work in a global context. Special importance is given to differentiating the influence of workplace flexibility in making the relationship of work to family more positive. Other articles examine the role of gender and generation in understanding the family-work interface. This volume examines an often-overlooked topic in work-family literature: fathers and the influence of their work environment on the job to family relationships at home. New perspectives related to maternal employment are also presented. Whether you are a researcher, teacher, business professional, or student, Handbook of Families and Work: Interdisciplinary Perspectives is essential if you want the latest in work-family research.

In today's industrialized societies, the majority of parents work full time while caring for and raising their children and managing household upkeep, trying to keep a precarious balance of fulfilling multiple roles as parent, worker, friend, & child. Increasingly demands of the workplace such as early or late hours, travel, commute, relocation, etc. conflict with the needs of being a parent. At the same time, it is through work that people increasingly define their identity and self-worth, and which provides the opportunity for personal growth, interaction with friends and colleagues, and which provides the income and benefits on which the family subsists. The interface between work and family is an area of increasing research, in terms of understanding stress, job burn out, self-esteem, gender roles, parenting behaviors, and how each facet affects the others. The research in this area has been widely scattered in journals in psychology, family studies, business, sociology, health, and economics, and presented in diverse conferences (e.g., APA, SIOP, Academy of Management). It is difficult for experts in the field to keep up with everything they need to know, with the information dispersed. This Handbook will fill this gap by synthesizing theory, research, policy, and workplace practice/organizational policy issues in one place. The book will be useful as a reference for researchers in the area, as a guide to practitioners and policy makers, and as a resource for teaching in both undergraduate and graduate courses.

Each of the contributors describes how theory has been used to generate new knowledge in the field and suggests future directions for how theory may be used to extend our knowledge base. The book helps readers acquire a working knowledge of the key family science theories, findings, and issues and understand how researchers make use of these theories in their empirical efforts. To maximize accessibility, each of the renowned contributors addresses a common set of issues in their chapter: Introduction to the content area; Review of the key topics, issues, and findings; A description of each of the major theories used to study that particular content area; Limitations of the theories; Suggestions for better use of the theories and/or new theoretical advances; Conclusions about future theoretical developments.

Navigating the complexities of organizational behavior and human resource management can be daunting in today's fast-paced workplaces. The ever-changing landscape, driven by technological advancements and evolving employee expectations, challenges professionals and academics alike. Many struggle to fully grasp and adapt to these shifts, which can lead to low employee engagement, ineffective leadership, and ethical dilemmas. What is needed now is a comprehensive solution that provides insights and strategies to address these challenges head-on. Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management for Complex Work Environments takes on this role, and delves into critical topics such as leadership, employee well-being, team dynamics, and ethical decision-making. By exploring these subjects, readers gain a deeper understanding of the intricacies of modern workplaces and how to navigate them effectively. The book bridges the gap between theory and practice, offering actionable insights applied in real-world scenarios. It is a valuable resource for professionals looking to enhance their skills and knowledge in organizational behavior and human resource management.

This book examines the effects on health and inequalities in health of work and unemployment, drawing upon international evidence from occupational health and epidemiology as well as the social sciences. It examines various health outcomes including mental health, musculoskeletal pain, mortality and self-reported general health.

The contributions in Creating Healthy Workplaces include a number of interventions that relate the efforts undertaken by researchers and organizations together, to reduce stress and improve the mental and physical health of employees through positive change initiatives. Those working in the field of occupational stress have received criticism that too much emphasis has been placed on negative issues and that positive initiatives have been largely ignored. With the growing influence of the positive movement, this book explores the implications of using a positive approach as opposed to a stress management one and compares the types of interventions they each require. From a positive perspective, there is a need to understand the characteristics of healthy, thriving, and flourishing people and organizations. This book explores the implications of using a positive approach as opposed to a stress management one. Some of the interventions described in Creating Healthy Workplaces target individuals and their attitudes and behaviours, others target workplace relationships, work units and the wider organization. Outcomes such as reduced occurrences of smoking, obesity, depression, elevated blood pressure, accidents and workplace injuries, presenteeism, absence and staff turnover are reported. The factors associated with the success of these interventions are identified and advice is given as to how interested individuals and organizations might proceed to develop worksite interventions on their own.

This book integrates the growing clinical research evidence related to the emerging transdisciplinary field of occupational health and wellness. It includes a wide range of important topics, ranging from current conceptual approaches to health and wellness in the workplace, to common problems in the workplace such as presenteeism/abstenteeism, common illnesses, job-related burnout, to prevention and intervention methods. It consists of five major parts. Part I, “Introduction and Overviews,” provides an overview and critical evaluation of the emerging conceptual models that are currently driving the clinical research and practices in the field. This serves as the initial platform to help better understand the subsequent topics to be discussed. Part II, “Major Occupational Symptoms and Disorders,” exposes the reader to the types of critical occupational health risks that have been well documented, as well as the financial and productivity losses associated with them. In Part III, “Evaluation of Occupational Causes and Risks to Workers’ Health,” a comprehensive evaluation of these risks and causes of such occupational health threats is provided. This leads to Part IV, “Prevention and Intervention Methods,” which delineates methods to prevent or intervene with these potential occupational health issues. Part V, “Research, Evaluation, Diversity and Practice,” concludes the book with the review of epidemiological, measurement, diversity, policy, and practice issues–with guidelines on changes that are needed to decrease the economic and health care impact of illnesses in the workplace, and recommendations for future. All chapters provide a balance among theoretical models, current best-practice guidelines, and evidence-based documentation of such models and guidelines. The contributors were carefully selected for their unique knowledge, as well as their ability to meaningfully present this information in a comprehensive manner. As such, this Handbook is of great interest and use to health care and rehabilitation professionals, management and human resource personnel, researchers and academicians alike.

Global aging, technological advances, and financial pressures on health and pension systems are sure to influence future patterns of work and retirement. This handbook offers an international, multi-disciplinary perspective, examining the aging workforce from an individual worker, organization, and societal perspective.