Working Mothers Health Article

Day care arrangements

More than eight million school-age and fifteen million preschool-age children are placed in the charge of substitute care givers during the hours their mothers are working. The major options for child care include staggered work hours that allow parents to meet all child care needs themselves; care by relatives or close friends; hiring a babysitter or housekeeper; and day care in private home or at public facilities, including day care centers, nursery schools, and company-sponsored programs. In 1990, provisions for children under the age of five were split almost equally between in-home care by parents or other relatives and out-of-home care by nonrelatives. The percentage of child care provided by day care centers had increased from 6% in 1965 to 28% in 1990, partly because the influx of women into the workforce had narrowed the pool of female relatives and friends available to take care of other people's children. In the past two decades, employment by day care centers has increased over 250%, representing a gain of almost 400,000 new jobs. However, a 1995 survey found that only 10% of the nation's 681 major employers offered on-site care programs to their employees.

Alternative work arrangements

Given the failure of either home or workplace demands to ease significantly, working mothers routinely sacrifice time for themselves, and many report high levels of stress, anxiety, and fatigue. In addition, many still feel torn between the conflicting demands of family and career and feel guilty for not being able to spend more time with their children. Increasing numbers of working mothers also feel responsible for helping their own aging parents as they develop health problems and become less able to handle their own affairs. (And parents traditionally place greater demands on grown daughters than on sons.) In addition, working mothers are often expected to assume most of the responsibility in family emergencies, such as the illness of a child, which periodically disrupt their already overloaded schedules.

Dissatisfied with the pressures and sacrifices of combining mothering with full-time work, many women have sought alternatives that allow them to relax the hectic pace of their lives but still maintain jobs and careers. According to one study, the number of companies offering some type of employment flexibility to their workers rose from 51% in 1990 to 73% in 1995. Fifty-five percent offered flex-time, while 51% offered part-time work. Mothers who work part-time gain more flexibility and more time with their children, as well as time to devote to their own needs. They are able to be there when their children get home from school, attend school plays and other functions, and take their children to doctor appointments without facing conflicts at work. However, part-time work also has disadvantages, even aside from the cut in pay. Many part-timers carry workloads disproportionate to the number of hours they put in, sometimes being required to be available by phone to clients or colleagues during their hours at home. They may also face the resentment of co-workers on a nine-to-five schedule, and part-time work, like time taken off the job, usually places women at a disadvantage in terms of professional advancement. Promotions come later, and the ufast-track" positions are often out of reach altogether.

An employment arrangement that is becoming increasingly popular is job sharing, in which two people jointly fill one full-time position. They may alternate their hours in a variety of ways depending on what arrangement best suits the personal and professional needs of both women. For example, one pair of job sharers may work alternate days, while another arrangement may have each woman working two days in a row and part of a third day. Job sharing opens up a wider arena of employment than that normally available to holders of traditional part-time jobs, and unlike most part-time employees, women who job share generally receive benefits, prorated in accordance with the number of hours each works. For working mothers another advantage of job sharing is that women who job share often cover for each other when unusual family needs arise. In successful job sharing arrangements, the partners have a cooperative, supportive relationship, staying in close touch to maintain continuity on the job. One study found that the number of companies with job sharing arrangements almost doubled between 1992 and 1994.

The computer revolution has made possible yet another alternative work option for mothers seeking extra time and a more flexible schedule: telecommuting, or working from home. According to reports in both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, telecommuting is the fastest-growing type of alternative work arrangement in the United States today. It can replace either all or part of one's hours at the workplace, and a telecommuter can work either part- or full-time. Telecommuters receive and send documents via their company's computer networks and can be available, if necessary, by e-mail, voice mail, and pager. Even when a telecommuting employee is expected to adhere to fixed work hours, the arrangement still provides a significant savings in time spent dressing for work, commuting back and forth, and socializing with other employees. Experts caution, however, that a woman who works at home should not expect to simultaneously take care of her children. Telecommuting mothers are advised to arrange for child care during their working hours and to be disciplined in maintaining boundaries between their work and their family life. Like other alternative work arrangements, telecommuting can result in a loss of professional status, due to the prejudices of colleagues and superiors and also to the networking opportunities lost while working at home. In addition, some employers try to change the employment status of telecommuters to that of independent contractor, resulting in a loss of benefits.

A final option for working mothers who want a challenging but flexible work schedule is self-employment, a rapidly growing career option for women. While the number of entrepreneurs in the United States increased 56% overall in the 1980s, the number of female entrepreneurs grew 82%. It is estimated that women will start 2.5 million companies in the 1990s and that they will own half of all American businesses by the year 2000. In the early 1990s home-based businesses started by women were the fastest-growing type of small business. The number of women employed in these ventures tripled between 1985 and 1991. Self-employment can accommodate a wide range of skills and employment backgrounds, from cooking and crafts to consulting and tax law. Self-employed women working at home may put in long hours and those leaving high-powered corporate jobs usually earn less money, at least initially, but they gain flexibility and control over their schedules. Like telecommuters, self-employed women need to make day care arrangements and be able to mentally and physically maintain boundaries between their business and personal lives. Fortunately, start-up costs for home-based businesses are relatively low. For women requiring assistance, low-interest loans can be obtained through the Small Business Administration, which also runs a variety of training and networking programs for female entrepreneurs. A number of states also offer programs that aid women-owned businesses.