1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« [...] this study examines trends in the total hours worked by employed couples (those with at least one spouse employed), the distribution of single - and dual - earning families, and the proportion of hours and earnings contributed by dual-earner spouses over the past decade. » (p. 21) It also « [...] investigate[s] work-hour preferences and perceptions of work-life balance (WLB) and personal stress among dual-earners [...]. » (p. 21)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
- Labour Force Survey (LFS)
- General Social Survey (GSS)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« More families with two earners means less time available for unpaid work and leisure activities. One potential concern might be that parents are spending less time with their children. However, this may not necessarily be true since people make choices about how to spend their time. Indeed, research has shown that, at the expense of other activities, both mothers and fathers in dual-earner families have increased the time they spend on child care (Bianchi 2000 and Marshall 2006). A second concern is the pressure and stress parents experience when attempting to manage work and family responsibilities. The issue of juggling paid and unpaid work has helped spur the creation of many workplace programs and policies such as dependent care initiatives, work–life stress management, workplace flexibility, and leave and benefits (HRSDC 2007). Understanding the labour market dynamics within families helps with the ongoing development of such practices. The third major area of interest is family role specialization. Research has shown that although couples are increasingly sharing economic and domestic responsibilities within families, a gender division of labour is still evident (Marshall 2006). Within many dual-earner couples, women continue to spend relatively more time on domestic work and men more time on economic work. The increase in dual-earners has slowed, so perhaps the evolution of breadwinning patterns within couples has as well. » (p. 21)