Role strain and stress in working mothers

Role Strain and Stress in Working Mothers

I had never given much thought to this subject until I returned to school at UHD. It was here I saw the mothers not only working and raising a family but also going to school. I was impressed to say the least. These were the true super moms. I thought I understood time management; this experience gave it a whole new meaning. I literally saw physical exhaustion in the night classes. I observed that the working mothers tended to socialize with each other. While researching this topic I found this a coping resource which reduces stress (Ekenrode and Gore 1991); inversely, contending with difficulties draws a much clearer mindset and relieves the prevalence and abundance of pressure.

This is different from the tangible support which will be shown in the paper. Family support looks to be just as important as working conditions. The family does present a lot of work but this can be offset by emotional and physical support (Cohen, S. Kessler, R. Gordon, L. 1997). Interestingly it has been shown that the birth of children requires a woman to assume more, not less responsibility for household task along with the care (Bjorklund, B. 2008).

I would like to look at the role conflicts and their effect on the mother, how they cope and what can be done to help, at home and work. I am also very interested in the effect on the siblings. I realize that I am going to have to bring in my focus. I have looked at single parent vs. couple or dual income earners. The effects at the work place as opposed to home life are interesting. The entire paper could be written on available resources to help cope with the role strain. I think maybe juggling school could help-there is much balancing needed in this lifestyle.

II. First Premise

Role Strain and Stress

"Measuring Stress is the definitive resource for health and social scientists interested in assessing stress in humans" (Cohen, Kessler, Gordon, 1997). No doubt, both work and family create significant sources of stress. This underemphasized cognitive appraisal process, by which both work and family equally generate stress, can be and is typically disregarded as impertinent to the larger picture in life; in other words, it is left to be understood as the side plate to the main entree.

By employing a person-environment theory to examine how the comparison of work and family experiences to the person's values relates to stress and well-being, we can further this regulatory abasement accordingly. By monitoring the statistics and figures from nearly two-thousand employees, assessment regarding autonomy, relationships, security, and segmentation for both work and family come to light. Accordingly, we are allowed to examine the relationship of fit with work and family satisfaction, anxiety, depression, irritation, and somatic symptoms.

Comprehensively, the overall well-being of an individual improves as experiences further toward values and improve to a pronouncedly lessened extent as experiences exceed values. Well-being also establishes higher rankings when experiences and values are both high than when both were low. In our findings, these relationships were generally strongest for within-domain fit and well-being, and several relationships were moderated by work and family centrality.

The concerns of the typical working mother, as has herein been discovered (2008, Bjorklund & Bee), revolve around two questions. From the view of the mother: Due to the fact that I have not been able to accompany them at home:

Are my children suffering?

Will they continue to be in good shape and good health, both physically and psychologically?

When fully considered, these two questions become quite the elaborate complications with intricate answers that depend on a personal value scale. What might this woman hold higher on the value scale? The employer comes first, very much the mindset of the male prototype, in many cases the husband, ex-husband, or the boyfriend? Or might the well-being of the children solely depend upon the sole responsibility of the mother? Or might the woman be able to delegate responsibilities onto other family members, the child's (or children's) father, or other family friends so she can be allowed to regard other pending responsibilities? Or are the children at an age where they do not need as much meticulous care?

Many mothers, in all sincerity, must maintain a stable form of employment as a means for survival. Therefore, they can simply not manage the time to fill all substantive necessities they have pending. Whether mothers work to provide a stable means for their children to survive, to earn enough to supplement for preset arrangements or to compensate, to fulfill a personal sense of accomplishment, or to fulfill any other means necessary, many mothers work outside the home. In fact, at least 72% of mothers work outside the home (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005).

For the sake of the children, mothers develop a greater advantage once she substantiates beneficial rapport and rounded ethics in the workplace and establishes quality and focused time with the family at home with the least amount of friction. "The nature of the interface between work and family is complex and determined by personal, familial, organizational, and sociocultural factors" (Eckenrode & Gore, 1990). Each component best benefits when every aspect excels. For mothers who voluntarily choose to partake in the workforce, children better maximize academically; students who achieve greater academic scores find many options readily available and have fewer behavioral problems; when students as a whole experience fewer behavioral problems at an early age, police make fewer arrests and cite fewer criminal charges; then society better prospers; and so on.

The United States is one of only five countries in the world that does not offer paid maternity leave, nor are companies legally required to offer paid maternity leave, to employees (United Nations Statistics Division, 2010). Moreover, despite that work can also interfere with important family responsibilities and can cause increased marital strain, an overwhelmingly majority of mothers are unconditionally left with the majority of the housework and child care when they come home from work. As a result, employed mothers are stuck with less leisure time and far more stress.

Quite simply, this is more a simple matter of personal human psychology than infiltrated sociology. We can better actualize how a motivated and proactive person will work with others by first watching how that person personally perceives him or herself.

Considerations to Ensure Optimal Family Health:

At the times I am not available, are my children well taken care of?

Has every asset of my family life been carefully considered and am I in touch with y spouse?

Does my work-life create unbearable tension?

Do I properly maintain the fortitude of my marriage?

Does the quantity of my time spent with my children and family suffice for sake of my psychological health as well as my family's?

Does the quality of my time spent with my children and family suffice for sake of my psychological health as well as my family's?

As we have seen, measuring stress does indeed pose as the definitive resource for health and social scientists interested in evaluating stress in humans. However, holding focus on these elements is elemental in maintaining a healthy marriage and family. Since both work and family are significant sources of stress, attention to this factor must hold priority. Apparently, if not perceived as a cornerstone to family wealth, this side plate to the main entree needs maintenance for survival.

III. Second Premise:

Conclusion

I had never given much thought to this subject until I returned to school at UHD. It was here I saw the mothers not only working and raising a family but also going to school. I was impressed to say the least. These were the true super moms. I thought I understood time management; this experience gave it a whole new meaning. I literally saw physical exhaustion in the night classes. I observed that the working mothers tended to socialize with each other. While researching this topic I found this a coping resource which reduces stress (Ekenrode and Gore 1991); inversely, contending with difficulties draws a much clearer mindset and relieves the prevalence and abundance of pressure.

This tangible support as displayed in the paper demonstrates how family support mirrors the importance of working conditions. Emotional and physical support becomes swiftly offset through the means incorporated by family communications or miscommunications. As has been illustrated, the birth of children requires a woman to assume more rather than less responsibility for household task along with the care. The typical role that conflicts at home and work and their effect on the mother, how they cope and what can be done to help, can be classified, categorized, systematized, grouped, or diagnosed and dealt with accordingly; the main point is that we all live consciously and question then research any difficulty -- especially before it invites any unwarranted or taboo complication onto the siblings.

Concerning the individual, or subject herein, the adage "don't put more on your plate than you can eat" or else "don't put more in your mouth than you can chew" shines a light on these concerns. Moreover, selection of the exact stress measure in concern to any individual depends upon the question being asked. Whether the level of stress is high or low, the negative or positive (constructive) response holds a greater bearing.

V. References:

Eckenrode, J. Gore, S. Stress Between Work and Family (1990)

Bjorklund & Bee (2008). The Journey of Adulthood. (6 th ed). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Cohen, S. Kessler, R. Gordon, L. Measuring Stress: A Guide for Health and Social Scientists (1997)

"United Nations (UN)." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 20 Jun. 2010 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616264/United-Nations.