|
|
2007:3 The Relationship between Changes in the Labour Market and Private, Family and Partnership Life |
Radka Dudová (ed.), Šárka Hastrmanová, Hana Hašková, Hana Maříková, Hana Víznerová, Marta Vohlídalová |
|
In the past seventeen years Czech society has been affected by an array of political, economic, social, and cultural changes, which have continuously introduced major changes into the way of life in society. On the one hand, there has been a profound transformation of the labour market: pressure to spend more time at work combined with full-day absence from the household have increased the stressfulness and physical demands of some types of work, negative job flexibility forces some employees to conform almost ‘ad hoc’ to the demands of the job and their employers, and job insecurity has increased. Many of these changes have made themselves evident also in changes in private and family life. The most visible effects of these changes are seen in women’s participation in the labour market, the waning importance of the institution of marriage, the spread of unmarried cohabitation, the rising divorce rate and increasing proportion of single-parent families, the postponement of childbirth to a later age, and the increasing number of people who live without a partner. This volume looks at the risks affecting the private life of individuals, risks that have been ushered in by changes in the labour market, and it examines whether the shape of the family is changing in the Czech Republic and what groups are most affected by and who most at risk from these changes. The authors also examine the ways in which work life and the private or intimate sphere interact and how individuals cope with the effects of one sphere on the other. Czech society still exhibits the features of being in transition from an early modern to a late modern society - while some characteristics of late modernity are abundantly present (a high divorce rate, deferred childbearing, and increased childlessness), others are only traceable among small groups of the population (the two-parent nuclear family is still regarded by the majority of the population as the ideal, and men’s careers and professional fulfilment take clear precedence over women’s careers). In sum, it cannot be said that the impact of the transformation has put the integration of Czech society at risk or that people want to live alone and without personal relationships. However, relationships will probably no longer take the form of the traditional family, where children are born into a marriage and where marriages last the lifetime of the parents.
Keywords
Work, labour market, transformation, family, partnership life, private life, parenthood, individualisation, marriage
Summary
The Relationship between Changes in the Labour Market and Private, Family and Partnership Life’ is the title of this sociological study of the changes currently occurring in the Czech labour market and private life in Czech society. The authors analyse the interconnections and reciprocal impact of the work sphere and the private sphere. The publication is the outcome of a project of the same name and is based on the results of a quantitative survey focusing on the relationships between changes in the labour market and changes in the private lives of the Czech population. The survey was conducted in the last quarter of 2005 by the Institute of Sociology AS CR on a sample of 5510 respondents aged 25-54. This project is funded for 2005 to 2008 under the Modern Society and Its Changes module (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) of the National Research Programme.
In the past seventeen years Czech society has been affected by an array of political, economic, social, and cultural changes, which have continuously introduced major changes to ways of life in society. One of the areas affected most powerfully by these changes is the institution of the family. The most visible effects of these changes are seen in women’s participation in the labour market, the waning importance of the institution of marriage, the spread of unmarried cohabitation, the rising divorce rate and increasing proportion of single-parent families, the postponement of childbirth to a later age, and the increasing number of people who live without a partner. Private life is also significantly affected by external circumstances, particularly the conditions in the sphere of work and the labour market. The new labour market conditions, the higher demands on the intensity and flexibility of work, and the reduced ‘security’ provided by the state potentially represent a threat to the bases of the integration of society and social cohesion.
The first chapter in this volume, by Radka Dudová and Marta Vohlídalová, introduces readers to the theoretical background of the analysis and the existing empirical research and knowledge in this field. Of particular relevance are contemporary sociological theories of the individualisation of society, which claim that modern society is becoming much more individualised than it was in the past. This has also transformed the nature of partnerships, family arrangements, child-rearing, and parenthood. The chapter also looks at theories dealing with the changes in the labour market and the effects they have on men and women, and generally examines the issue of establishing a work-life balance.
In the second chapter, Marta Vohlídalová and Hana Víznerová describe the features of the Czech labour market today. Although full-time employment with fixed and inflexible working hours is still the prevailing employment model, a growing part of the population is beginning to encounter new forms of working arrangements and risks in the labour market. These include the increasing amount of stress and physical demands put on employees in certain types of jobs owing to the pressure on people to spend more time at work combined with long absences from the home, negative job flexibility, which forces employees to adapt ‘ad hoc’ to the demands of the job and employers, and finally the increasing amount of job insecurity (fixed-term contracts, temporary jobs, entrepreneurial risk). These new risks affect various groups of the population to varying degrees, but those most strongly affected are, on the one hand, employees in the lowest ranking jobs and with the lowest education levels, and on the other hand, people with university education in managerial and supervisory positions and business posts (though each of these groups in a different way).
The third chapter, by Radka Dudová, looks at private-life arrangements in the Czech Republic and the Czech population’s attitudes towards them. The prevailing preference among the Czech public is for heterosexual families with two biological parents. Young people for the most part plan to marry and want to have children, especially young women, who are often accused of ‘selfish’ behaviour in this regard. While some deviate from this standard, this is not directly because of the changes in the labour market.
Marta Vohlídalová writes in the fourth chapter about how professional and private life interact and are reconciled by individuals, and points out that the way careers and professional lives are arranged within a couple still tend to disadvantage women’s professional lives compared to men’s. It is mainly women who cut back and accommodate their professional lives to the needs of their partner or the needs of their family. Hindrances on the professional aspirations of women are also evident in the fact that Czech society is still quite ‘traditional’ even with regard to the division (or rather the lack thereof) of housework between partners.
In the fifth chapter Hana Hašková discusses issues connected with Czech men’s and women’s reproductive plans and focuses on the factors that affect those plans. The research revealed a persistent pro-family orientation among Czech men and women. Not only do the majority of them plan to become parents in life, but the majority of them also regard anything other than health (and perhaps also economic) reasons for choosing to remain permanently childless as unacceptable. Nevertheless, it is possible to expect in the future that there will be a significant increase in lifetime childlessness and especially in the number of single-child families. This applies especially to women with higher education, who see (expect) a conflict between paid work and unpaid care for children more than women with lower levels of education.
In the sixth chapter, Hana Maříková analyses the existence of private and intimate relationships at the workplace. She shows that the sphere of work has not yet become as significant and important in people’s lives as the family, judging from their declared ‘need’ to escape from one sphere to the other in the case of problems, or their expressed dissatisfaction with how one of them is functioning. While work is important in people’s lives and is an important dimension of personal identity, for most people it is no substitute for family and the close social relationships and ties they form outside the formal space of work, and in this regard the family remains an important sphere of intimacy, sharing, and trust between people.
This study primarily informs readers about the theoretical foundation of the project and its basic empirical findings derived from a large quantitative survey of the connections between work and family life. As such it offers a source of information and data that can be applied to other subjects and institutions. Qualitative research will be carried out on the findings and analyses presented in this study and will take a deeper look at identified problems, and the findings from that research will subsequently be published.
|
|
|
|
2009:1 The First Elections to the Senate. An Analysis of the 1996 Elections to the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic |
2008:5 The Perception and Construction of Social Distance in Czech Society |
2008:4 Social Distances and Stratification: Social Space in the Czech Republic |
2008:3 Evolution and Determination of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic between 1955 and 2002 in the European Context |
2008:2 Actors of Local Development - Orlicko |
2008:1 The Political Awareness of Citizens: Theories, Measurements and the Role of Political Awareness in the Study of Political Attitudes |
2007:11 A Permanent or Temporary Change? The Arrangement of Gender Roles in Families with Fathers Participating in Childcare |
2007:10 Participation and Partnership in Local Public Administration |
2007:9 Family Friendly Working Conditions in an International Comparison |
2007:8 The Political Impact of Suburbanisation |
2007:7 Fathers, Mothers and Caring for Children after Divorce |
2007:6 The Foreign Migration of Scientists and Researchers and the Tools for Influencing Migration |
2007:5 The Representation of Different Forms of Family and Working Life in Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
2007:4 Czech Labour Market: Changing Structures and Work Orientations |
2007:3 The Relationship between Changes in the Labour Market and Private, Family and Partnership Life |
2007:2 The Institutional Background of Czech Sociology before the Onset of Marxism |
2007:1 Educational Aspirations in a Comparative Perspective. The role of individual, contextual and structural factors in the formation of educational aspirations in OECD countries |
2006:14 Work and Family Roles and How They Are Combined in the Lives of Czech Parents: Plans versus Reality |
2006:13 The Representation of Parenthood and Childlessness in Selected Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
2006:12 Social Solidarity from the Perspective of the Czech Public |
2006:11 Science as a public matter: science policies and the media |
2006:10 The Issue of Minorities in the Czech Republic: Community Life and the Representation of Collective Interests (Slovaks, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, and Roma) |
2006:9 Social Standing and Lifestyle in Czech Society |
2006:8 The Image of Science in Czech Public Opinion |
2006:7 Social Capital. Concepts, Theories, and Methods of Measurement |
2006:6 Basic Features of the Membership Base of KDU-ČSL |
2006:5 Non-Marital Fertility in the Czech Republic after 1989: The Social and Economic Context |
2006:4 The Phenomenon of Childlessness in a Sociological and Demographic Perspective |
2006:3 Participation, Democracy and Citizenship in a European Context |
2006:2 Autonomy and Cooperation: Effect of the Municipal System Established in 1990 |
2006:1 Socio-economic Values, Policies, and Institutions in the Period of the Czech Republic’s Accession to the European Union |
2005:06 Civil Society in the Regions of the Czech Republic |
2005:05 Civil Society and Civic Participation in the Czech Republic |
2005:04 Work/Life Balance in the Czech Republic: Policy, Time, Money, and Individual, Family, and Company Practices |
2005:03 Regional Elites 2004 |
2005:02 Political Behavior in Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic between 1990 and 2002 – Patterns, Trends and the Relation to Suburbanization and Its Socio-Spatial Patterns |
2005:01 Measuring Value Orientations with the Use of S.H. Schwartz’s Value Portraits |
2004:11 The Formation of Group Mentalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2004:10 Hierarchy as the Strength and the Weakness of Communist Rule. The Legacy of Communist Rule IV: A Volume of Papers from the Seminar Held in Prague on September 11-12, 2003 |
2004:9 Czech National Identity after the Break Up Czechoslovakia and before Accession to the European Union |
2004:8 Life Strategies of Businesswomen and Businessmen at the Turn of the Millennium |
2004:7 Attitudes towards Marriage, Parenthood and Family Roles in the Czech Republic and in Europe |
2004:6 Life Satisfaction: Family,Work, and Other Factors |
2004:5 What Faith? Contemporary Czech Religiosity/Spirituality in the Perspective of Qualitative Sociology of Religion |
2004:4 Structural Tensions in the Interface between the Labour Market and Social Policy in the Czech Republic |
2004:3 Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic – Definitions, Basic Characteristics, Patterns of Suburbanisation and Their Impact on Political Behaviour |
2004:2 International Violence Against Women Survey – Czech Republic/2003: Sociological Research on Domestic Violence |
2004:1 Elections to the European Parliament in 2004 – An Analysis of Electoral Participation and Party Support in the Czech Republic |
2003:12 Hierarchy as a Strength and Weakness of Communist Rule |
2003:11 How the Czech Public Views the Elites the Political and Economic Elites |
2003:10 The Reconstruction of Communist Rule at the End of the 1980s |
2003:9 Women’s Civic and Political Participation in the Czech Republic and the Role of European Union Gender Equality and Accession Policies |
2003:8 Pre-election polls, election results, and validity of measurement before the 2002 elections |
2003:7 Party Preference Surveys, Their Application in Society and the Issue of Quality |
2003:6 The Transformations of Czech Socio-economic Values at the Turn of the Century |
2003:5 Objective and Subjective Assessments of the Financial Accessibility of Housing in the Czech Republic during the 1990s |
2003:4 Entry into Marriage and Unmarried Cohabitation in the Czech Republic since 1989 in Connection with Education |
2003:3 Work and Job Values in CEE and EU countries |
2003:2 Intergenerational Biographic Configurations of the Inhabitants of the NISA Euroregion |
2003:1 Structurally Generated Growth of Inequality |
2002:13 Public Opinion Surveys – Theoretical Aspects and Practical Application |
2002:12 Group Mentalities |
2002:11 The World of Hierarchies and Real Socialism. The legacy of communist rule II: volume of contributions investigating of social hierarchies |
2002:10 Social Context of the Lives of Women Working in Management Positions |
2002:09 Parties in the Parliament. Why, When and How do Parties act in Unity? |
2002:08 Life strategies of women managers: case study |
2002:07 Region and Politics |
2002:06 The World of Hierarchies and Really Existing Socialism |
2002:05 Housing Careers in the Czech Republic 1960 - 2001 |
2002:04 Re-emigrants and Socially Shared Values |
2002:03 Satisfaction with Housing among the Czech Population |
2002:02 The Family Origin on the Evolution of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2002:01 The Rise and Evolution of the New Elites in the Czech Republic (from the end of the 1980´s to the spring of 2002) |
2001:12 Who´s afraid of Hierarchies? The Legacy of the Communist Government |
2001:11 11th September. International On-line Communication Research |
2001:10 Fertility and Family Differentiation in Europe |
2001:09 The rise or decline of political regionalism? Changes of voting patterns in period 1992 to 1998 - the comparison of the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
2001:08 Cross-cutting Cleavages in the Czech Republic. A Comparison of the National Level with a Specific Regional Example |
2001:07 Roma Issues: An Obstacle to Entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union? |
2001:06 ISSP- The Environment |
2001:05 Distribution of Earnings and Income in Transitional Czech Republic |
2001:04 The Bearers of Development of the Cross-Border Community on Czech-German Border |
2001:03 Rent Subsidies in the Czech Republic: A Comparison of Selected Models |
2001:02 The Role Of Political, Social and Cultural Capital in Secondary School Selection in Socialist Czechoslovakia, 1948-1989 |
2001:01 Income maintenance policies, houshold characteristics and work incentives in the Czech republic |
2000:07 Work and Family Experience of Young Female Doctors |
2000:06 Development of the Czech Social Structure in the Years 1988-1999 |
2000:05 Party identifikation in the Czech republic |
2000:04 What makes inequalities legitimate? An International Comparison |
2000:03 Religion and Supernature in Society |
2000:02 Transformation and Modernization of Society on Examples of Selected Institutions |
2000:01 The Housing Policy Changes and Housing Expenditures in the Czech Republic |
1999:11 Geografic Analysis of the Czech Republic Borderland. |
1999:10 Rise and Decline of Right-Wing Extremism in the Czech Republic in the 1990s. |
1999:09 Perceived and fair inequalities: development in the nineties and further coherences |
1999:08 The Czechoslovak citizens' attitudes towards democracy in 1968 |
1999:07 The Czech Middletown Citizens |
1999:06 A Man in a Family – Democratisation of Private Sphere |
1999:05 Development of the Policy of Equal Opportunities of Men and Women in the Czech Republic within the European Integration Context |
1999:04 Actors of Over-frontier Community Development in the Czech - German Borderland |
1999:03 Acquaintances of Local Political Leaders |
1999:02 Housing Market, its Regional Differences and Relations to Social Structure |
1999:01 The Fluctuation of Public Opinion between Years 1990 and 1998 |
1998:06 Modernizační kontext transformace, strukturní a institucionální aspekty |
1998:05 Deputies of the First Czech Parliament (1992-1996) |
1998:04 |
1998:03 Transformation of Czech Family |
1998:02 Results of a Czech-Slovak Comparison: Actors of Social Transformation and Modernisation. Attitudes of Individuals an Institutions to Social Transformation |
1998:01 Trh s bydlením a jeho sociální souvislosti - situace v Praze a Brně |
1997:08 The Family and Change of Gender Roles |
1997:07 The territorial dimension of public administration reforms in East Central Europe |
1997:06 Czech Women in the Labor Market Work and Family in a Transition Economy |
1997:05 |
1997:04 Mass Privatization, Distributive Politics, and Popular Support for Reform in the Czech Republic |
1997:03 |
1997:02 |
1997:01 Political, Organizational and Policy Transformation at the Municipal Level: The Case of Liberec |
1996:12 Osidlování českého pohraničí od května 1945 |
1996:11 Individuální kontakty obyvatel na česko-německé hranici |
1996:10 Socio-Economic Changes in the Czech Republic with an Appendix concerning the 1996 Elections´ Results |
1996:09 Národní identita |
1996:08 Politics, Skills and Industrial Restructuring. Introductory Findings on Local Institutions of Human Resources Development in Czech Machinery Indrustry |
1996:07 Subjective Mobility and Perception of Life Chances in Eastern Europe. Empirical evidence against a Marxist view of relationships between subjective and objective mobility |
1996:06 Zpráva o vývoji sociální struktury české a slovenské společnosti 1945-1993 |
1996:05 Tripartita jako model prostředkování zájmů v politickém systému České republiky |
1996:04 Národnostní a etnické vztahy v českém pohraničí - obraz Čecha, Němce, Rakušana a Roma ve vědomí obyvatel |
1996:03 The Making of Post-Communist Elites in Eastern Europe. A comparison of political and economic elites in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland |
1996:02 Sudetoněmecká otázka v názorech a postojích obyvatel českého pohraničí |
1996:01 Demografické chování obyvatelstva České republiky během přeměny společnosti po roce 1989 |
1995:08 Česká republika v roce 1994. Politická ročenka |
1995:07 Problém normativity a policejní represe v předlistopadovém Československu |
1995:06 Industriální vztahy a sociálně politické orientace českých dělníků a manažerů |
1995:05 Rozdíly v chování regionálních populací a jejich příčiny |
1995:04 Women, Work and Society |
1995:03 Trh práce a jeho potenciál |
1995:02 Etnické a národnostní vztahy v pánevní oblasti severních Čech (s důrazem na romskou problematiku) |
1995:01 In Search of Explanations for Recent Left-Turns in Post-Communist Coutries |
1994:09 Česká republika v roce 1993. Politická ročenka |
1994:08 Large-Scale Privatization: Social Conflict and Consensus |
1994:07 Economic Inequalities Old and New: The Czech Case |
1994:06 Prostředky kauzálního modelování v sociologii. Shrnující pojednání o postupech a přehled základních pojmů |
1994:05 Regionální diferenciace sociálních problémů v České republice |
1994:04 A Historical Comparison of Social Structures in the Czech Republic in 1984 and 1993 |
1994:03 Přeshraniční souvislosti sociálních změn v oblasti české části euroregionu Chebsko |
1994:02 Social and Political Transformation in the Czech Republic |
1994:01 Lotus Organizátor. Uživatelská příručka |
1993:09 Sociální a mzdové problémy zaměstnanců malých a středních soukromých podniků |
1993:08 Sociální postavení rodiny jako základního činitele a adresáta sociální pomoci |
1993:07 Changing Conditions - Changing Values? Changes in the position and perception of education during the post-communist transformation: the case of the Czech Republic |
1993:06 Perceptions of Justice. Principles of Distributive Justice in Comparative Perspective |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:03 RODINA ´89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi postkomunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:02 RODINA '89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi post-komunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:01 Microsoft Word verze 5.5. Uživatelská příručka |
1992:09 Historical Comparison of Social Stratification Types in Czechoslovakia 1967-1991 |
1992:08 Rodina '89. Úloha mentálních schopností a sociálního původu ve formování vzdělanostních aspirací |
1992:07 The Zero Generation of Small Business Owners in Czechoslovakia |
1992:06 Time Use of Small Business Owners. Results and Methodological Comments |
1992:05 Perception of Changing Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1992:04 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1992:03 Politické strany a hnutí v Československu |
1992:02 Politische Partien und Bewegungen in der Tschechoslowakei |
Prague in the New Central Europe. International conference 2-4 June 1990 |
1991:09 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1991:08 Nultá podnikatelská generace |
1991:07 Rodina '89. Zdroje vzdělanostních nerovností |
1991:06 Hodnotové orientace československé mužské mládeže a jejich vztah k obraně vlasti |
1991:05 Gender and the Employment of Higher Education Graduates in Czechoslovakia |
1991:04 Územní vztahy, územní a státoprávní uspořádání České republiky v názorech obyvatel |
1991:03 Social Problems of Participation in the Changing Czechoslovak Economy |
1991:02 K postavení žen v československé společnosti |
1991:01 Socialist Czechoslovakia - System Error and Premises for Change |
1990:06 Názory na rozvoj soukromého podnikání |
1990:05 Growing interest in informal work - consequences for time use research. XIIth World Congress of Sociology, Madrid 1990, Thematic Group 1, Time Use Research |
1990:04 Value-satisfaction Model and the Value of Innovation |
1990:03 Who Gains and Who Loses in a Socialist Redistribution |
1990:02 Ženy a volby '90 |
1990:01 Beyond Educational Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1989:02 Československá varianta Mezinárodní standardní klasifikace zaměstnání (ISCO) |
1989:01 Family Effect on Educational Attainment in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Netherlands |
|
|