1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«Our article shows how the employees in this sector reconcile their work and family and personal life, given the low level of workplace rights—they are usually non-unionized and subject only to the minimum labor standards—as well as the low quality of their employment and difficulty of their working conditions.» (p. 2)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The following question is asked: «Given their working conditions and low workplace rights, how do male and female employees manage to reconcile work and family life and in the area of home care, and particularly in domestic work for the elderly?» (p. 2)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«[A] study was conducted with 33 employees and 23 employers in [the area of home care].» (p. 2) The first sample consisted of «10 employees in the private sector and 23 in the social economy firms (ESSAD). [As for the second sample, the employers worked] with 3 private companies and 20 ESSAD managers.» (p. 5)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«Considering the time conflict caused by the different roles and tasks that many women and men have to assume with regard to their family, and the difficulty of combining the competing demands of family and work, it is surprising to see that most employees interviewed expect very little support from their employer, although some request and do obtain specific schedules and working hours. […] Although the social economy firms seem to offer a little more support, at least in arranging schedules according to preferences, people working in these firms as well as those working in the private firms consider that work–family balance is essentially a question of personal organization. Indeed, they do not seem to expect much support from the employer, and they do not expect workplace rights to be developed in relation to work–family issues in this sector, as is more often the case in unionized environments and higher level work statuses (Tremblay, 2012a, 2012b). […] Women without children and those whose children are grown up have fewer difficulties. Single mothers clearly indicate they have difficulty, all the while still not expecting anything in terms of workplace rights.» (p. 8)