Men, Wage Work and Family

In the last two decades there has been a plethora of research on a range of subjects collectively and rhetorically known as 'work-life balance'. The bulk of this research, which spans disciplines including feminist sociology, industrial relations and management, has focused on the significant concerns of employed women and/or dual career couples. Less attention has been devoted to scholarship which explicitly examines men and masculinities in this context. Meanwhile, public and organizational discourse is largely espoused in gender neutral terms, often neglecting salient gendered issues which differentially impact the ability of women and men to successfully integrate their work and non-work lives. This edited book brings together empirical studies of the work-life nexus with a specific focus on men's working time arrangements, how men navigate and traverse paid work and family commitments, and the impact of public and organizational policies on men's participation in work, leisure, and other life domains. The book is innovative in that it presents both macro (institutional, how policy affects practice) and micro (individual, from men's own perspectives) level studies, allowing for a rich and contrasting exploration of how men's participation in paid work and other domains is divided, conflicted, or integrated. The essays in this volume address issues of fundamental social, labor market, and economic change which have occurred over the last 20 years and which have profoundly affected the way work, care, leisure and community have evolved in different contexts. Taking an international focus, Men, Wage Work and Family contrasts various public and organizational policies and how these policies impact men's opportunities and participation in paid work and non-work domains in industrialised countries in Europe, North America, and Australia.

Paula McDonald is Senior Lecturer in the Business Faculty at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Emma Jeanes is Senior Lecturer at the Exeter Business School, University of Exeter, UK.

1. Introduction: Locating Men in the Work--Life Nexus Paula McDonald, Emma Jeanes 2. The Work--Family Dilemmas of Japan's Salarymen Scott North 3. The Gender Equal Father? The (Welfare) Politics of Masculinity in Sweden, 1960-2010 Åsa Lundqvist 4. Men's Work--Life Choices: Supporting Fathers at Work in France and Britain? Abigail Gregory, Susan Milner 5. Inside the Glass Tower: The Construction of Masculinities in Finance Capital Raewyn Connell 6. Time Greedy Workplaces and Marriageable Men: The Paradox in Men's Fathering Beliefs and Strategies Pamela Kaufman, Kathleen Gerson 7. Men, 'Father Managers', and Home--Work Relations: Complexities and Contradictions in National Policy, Corporations and Individual Lives Jeff Hearn, Charlotta Niemistö 8. Emotional Dimensions of Fathering and Work-Life Boundaries Berit Brandth 9. All Roads Lead to Hearth and Home: How Young Professional Men Envision the Work, Leisure and Community Nexus Robert M. Orrange 10. Happiness under Pressure: The Importance of Leisure Time Among Fathers in Dual-Earner Households Peter Brown, Helen Perkins List of Contributors Notes Index