Working mothers most in need of social support less likely to get it
Postado por
Luana Santos
O suporte social
mostra-se importante ao longo de qualquer etapa do ciclo vital, principalmente
durante períodos de transição e estresse. Trabalhar no turno da noite em geral
é uma mudança de ritmo que apresenta muitos desafios. Além da dificuldade de
gerenciar as horas de trabalho, mães que trabalham em turnos noturnos também se
veem num contexto em que necessitam gerenciar as tarefas diárias do cuidado com
o filho. Trabalhos realizados recentemente tem dado indícios de que tais mães,
que aparentemente são mais propensas a necessitar de suporte social, tendem a
recebe-lo menos. Uma das explicações possíveis é que devido aos horários de
trabalho, tais pessoas se envolvem menos com sua comunidade, enfraquecendo sua
possível rede de apoio, além de passar menos tempo com o cônjuge e ter altos
níveis de conflito em seus relacionamentos. Atenção especial deve ser dada às
crianças, que podem ter seu desenvolvimento e relações sociais afetadas devido
ao contexto que pode ser estressor também pra elas.
The night shift or any other nonstandard work schedule presents many
challenges for working mothers. Besides the difficulty of managing the job’s
hours, there are daily tasks and unexpected crises that arise outside of work.
They might need someone to watch a child or provide a ride. There are doctor
visits and school functions. Knowing people who can help in a pinch can provide
a private safety net.
Now, a new study by Jessica Su, assistant professor in the Department of
Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, and Rachel Dunifon, professor in the
Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University, links
nonstandard work schedules to weaker private safety nets, particularly for
African-Americans, the less educated and those who persistently work outside
the typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday schedule.
However, there also is evidence in some cases that switching from a
standard to a nonstandard schedule increases the safety net.
These mixed results, published last week in the Journal of
Marriage and Family, suggest that the working mothers
most in need of social support are the least likely to actually have access to
it.
The research breaks new ground and is among the first quantitative
studies to use robust methods and a large sample to examine the relationship
between maternal nonstandard work schedules and social support.
“Social safety nets are important buffers from anxiety and stress. They
give working mothers confidence that help is there when it’s needed. Safety
nets provide peace of mind,” says Su, the paper’s lead author.
“You’re already a working mother, balancing all of life’s complexities
with your work schedule and you don’t have a strong safety net. That’s detrimental.”
Su says the link between nonstandard schedules and weak social support
is consistent regardless of what that support might be. The finding suggests
that it’s not a lack of a connection with people who might be able to help in a
particular area, such as child care, but rather a general sense of weak support
across many aspects of the mother’s life.
“On the other hand, we don’t know why switching to a nonstandard
schedule increased the safety net,” Su says. “The data set doesn’t present us
with why someone switched to that schedule.”
Job stress, fatigue and a poor home life might serve to weaken social
support, but there are some people who use a nonstandard schedule strategically
to help others in ways that 9-to-5 workers cannot, according to Su.
“It could be a matter of tag-team parenting,” she says. “One spouse
taking care of daily chores while the other is at work.”
Su says additional research is needed to explain the divergent findings.
The current study involving 2,716 women who gave birth in large cities
from 1998-2000 developed from questions raised by the authors’ previous
research on nonstandard work schedules, research conducted mostly from the
perspective of parents and their children and other interpersonal
relationships.
Those results suggested people working nonstandard schedules were less
likely to be involved in their communities; they spent less time with their
spouses; had high levels of conflict in their relationships; and were more
likely to get divorced. This, in turn, affected the children in the
relationship and their development.
“We started thinking of what we already knew about nonstandard work
schedules and interpersonal relationships, and asked if those effects might
spill over into broader social networks,” Su says. “What we’re finding is that
mothers most likely to work a nonstandard schedule are also the mothers most
likely to experience these negative consequences.”
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