Blog 4

I believe that there are many different sets of characteristics for a good family life. Characteristics for family life differ from family to family. There is not one set for all families however, I do believe some characteristics for one family may have one or two that is the same as another. One characteristic for good family life that I believe is definitely important is time. In order for a family to be good there has to be time spent between them. Also, communication, health care, child care, support, happiness, responsibility, caring, and morals play a role in good family life. It is hard to maintain some of these characteristics when the parents of a family is constantly working. A family, more so parents, have to learn how to balance family and their career. To balance your family and your career means to have time for your family and time for work. When trying to balance family and career, parents should not let their work interfere with family time. There may be jobs that does not allow parents to work at home therefore, that working parent have to have the drive and motivation to separate the two from each other. It may be difficult to separate family and work because there is always something that goes in within the family that may stress the working parent out while at work because they can't be there or get to the issue at the time. Even when the working parent arrives home there may be times in which they will receive calls from work in which the have to take. This however, takes time away from spending time with their family. Also, sometimes there are jobs that have on call duties in which when they need you they call you to come in. That can happen at anytime in which again, takes time away from spending time with your family. However, there are many more reasons why a balance between family and work is difficult to achieve. Sometimes there is mandatory meetings, over time, long hours that are required for employees to work or participate in.

Changes in gender roles has made work and family situations more complicated for women because women still feel that it is there responsibility to take care of their family. Although, society is being more acceptable for men to take on women tasks, women still have that drive that it is there duty to nurture. Therefore, women is doing twice as much work by working in their place of employment and working at home. This becomes complicated because women come home from long hours of work and then start to do household chores which leaves no time for themselves or family. Now that more and more women are becoming employed men are now subjected to do tasks they normally wouldn't do if it were years ago.

There are numerous ways that employers can be sensitive to their employees family needs and obligations. If more employers were sensitive to their employees needs, there can be an increase in "productivity, quality, and retention." One way that employers can show sensitivity is by allowing flex time. In the PowerPoint it does display some companies that allows flex time such as traditional flex time and daily flex time. I, myself, use to experience traditional flex time in which I was allowed to create my own scheduled which worked perfect for me because I was able to work around my school schedule. If it worked for me I am positive it worked for those who had children. It was a great change in the company until they removed it and placed us on a strict schedule which caused concerns and stress. Another way would be telecommuting, in which allows the employee to work at home. This is one of the methods the management in the UK mentioned which worked great with their carers. Another good program, that I believe is great, is the FMLA act which benefits mothers and families. I think this act is very beneficial because it gives the mother time to interact with her newborn child and family while still getting income. This relieves a lot of stress and gives the mother time to relax for a couple of months. Not only can employers help with the needs of employees but the support of family and friends can help as well. Having the support from others can help in many ways. A good support system makes things a lot easier. If a mother is having trouble with someone watching her kids she can call her family members to help. Also, the support from co workers can make a day more easier and calm. It is always good to have someone there for you when it is needed.