1. |
- Almqvist, Anna-Lena
(författare)
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Expectations relating to childcare among French and Swedish families
- 2007
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - : Routledge. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; 10:1, s. 17-38
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates how policy and values interrelate concerning expectations of childcare based on 80 interviews with 40 families with young children from France and Sweden, respectively. Upbringing, learning and socialization are important expectations among French parents. The results presented here are in line with educational goals that may have been influenced by policy. The findings suggest that France may, in terms of expectations on childcare, still belong to the conservative cluster as categorized by Esping-Andersen (1990), although family policy may differ from that of, for example, Germany and Italy in the same cluster. Swedish parents stress the importance of the individual child as well as pedagogy, thus, indicating compatibility between a parental wish for the individual development of the child and an emphasis on collective care in Swedish family policy.
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2. |
- Almqvist, Anna-Lena, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Young people with complex needs meet complex organizations : an interview study with Swedish professionals about sustainable work practices
- 2018
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - : Routledge. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; 21:5, s. 620-635
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper concerns preconditions for the well-being of young people with mental ill-health combined with social vulnerabilities, also referred to as youth with complex needs. Research questions are: What barriers to sustainable work practices for young people labelled as having complex needs do professionals encounter? What do professionals identify as possible ways to overcome these barriers? Sustainable work practices are reflected in three themes: empowerment, relationships and collaboration. The findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 24 professionals, 3 men and 21 women, working in psychiatric care and the social services in two Swedish municipalities in 2016 and 2017. Major barriers are lack of continuity and co-ordination in staff and support, and fragmentation of work practices. As a consequence of the increased specialization of human service organizations, young people have to interact with many different professionals which could cause disparate interventions. Possible ways mentioned to overcome these barriers are supported through good interactional skills, using keyworkers as well therapeutic alliances, wrap-around services and case management. Complexity is linked to organizations and work practices rather than to young people. An often dysfunctional service delivery system in organizations with rigid boundaries may also affect professionals’ aim for sustainable support.
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3. |
- Alsarve, Jenny, 1980-
(författare)
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Friendship, reciprocity and similarity : Lone mothers and their relationships with friends
- 2020
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - : Routledge. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; 23:4, s. 401-418
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies have demonstrated the importance of informal social relationships in lone mothers’ everyday lives, not least regarding their ability to reconcile paid work and care duties. This paper examines lone mothers’ relationships with their friends. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Swedish lone mothers, it aims to analyse how friendship relations are described by the lone mothers, to what extent they are characterized by different forms of reciprocity and if the mothers perceive their friends as being part of their families. Inspired by Alberoni’s thoughts on friendship, and Finch and Mason’s view of reciprocity, the analysis reveals a complex picture of friendship relations. It is argued that friends often play a significant role in the everyday lives of the lone mothers. Friends were seen as key elements in some mothers’ lives, and sometimes were defined as ‘family’, providing emotional as well as practical support; but they were almost entirely absent in the lives of others. The support from their friends was often surrounded by norms of reciprocity. The results indicate that although the help from friends sometimes was decisive and appreciated, the mothers found it difficult to ask friends for help.
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4. |
- Andersson Cederholm, Erika
(författare)
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Lifestyle enterprising: the "ambiguity work" of Swedish horse-farmers
- 2014
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; 18:3, s. 317-333
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The article introduces the concept of ambiguity work as a specific form of work-life balancing performed when making a livelihood based on leisure interests and a personal lifestyle. The study focuses on female self-employed horse-farmers in Sweden involved in service work with and through horses. Through an analysis of narratives and practices of this service work, based on ethnographic interviews and observations, boundary negotiations of various social spheres are discernible: Work and life, and the commercial and the personal. The analysis shows that the horse-farmers perform a delicate and ongoing balancing act between family interests, individual leisure and paid work. Drawing on the notion of sociological ambivalence, it is suggested that this balancing act does not strive for demarcations, but rather to stay betwixt-and-between social spheres. It is argued that lifestyle enterprising is enacted and confirmed through ongoing boundary negotiations, or ambiguity work, that sustains a tension between keeping and blurring social boundaries. It is further argued that ambiguity work in this type of lifestyle enterprising both reinforces and questions ideals and norms concerning small business management and professional versus non-professional relationships.
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6. |
- Aslan, Pinar, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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'Kids' in between? : Views on work, gender, and family arrangements among men and women of migrant descent in Sweden
- 2021
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - : Routledge. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; 24:5, s. 586-602
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study used qualitative interviews to explore perceptions of labour market participation in relation to gender norms and parenting ideals among employed Swedish men and women of migrant descent. Using an abductive thematic approach, we demonstrate how the respondents viewed labour market participation from different perspectives. The females saw it as a source of emancipation, whereas the men primarily viewed it as a means of providing for a current/future family. While our respondents depicted themselves as dedicated to social norms of gender equality, they expressed gender-biased views on work and family. The respondents' immigrant heritage also influenced their views on labour market participation, gender and family. Gender inequalities in the parental generation motivated them to arrange their work and family lives differently, and the Swedish social and political context offered them incentives and opportunities to be more gender-equal than their parents. We view and analyse these findings from a life course-perspective, showing how cultural and contextual influences affect respondents' perspectives on work and family arrangements.
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7. |
- Björk Eydal, Guðný, et al.
(författare)
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Trends in parental leave in the Nordic countries : has the forward march of gender equality halted?
- 2015
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; 18:2, s. 167-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the development of parental leave in the Nordic countries in the last decade or so and explain the different approaches taken by individual countries in this regard. Focusing on recent developments, though mainly on the provision of a father's quota, we discuss whether we are actually witnessing a paradigm shift in some of these countries, i.e. a movement away from an emphasis on the dual earner/dual carer model and a reverting back to a more traditional family model approach where the mother is seen as the main parent. This change is commonly presented under the guise of it respecting the 'free choice' of individual families. Furthermore, the article asks why the changes in question have taken place and examines the positions of different political parties towards the issue. The article shows that the Nordic countries are developing somewhat different policies and the intra-Nordic gap in both policies and politics seems to be increasing rather than narrowing.
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8. |
- Boye, Katarina, 1975-
(författare)
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Paid leave to care for sick children – the limitations and opportunities at work
- 2024
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; , s. 1-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One particularly understudied aspect of the gendered division of work and care is paid leave to care for sick children (CSC). Even though fathers in Sweden take a relatively large share of CSC, fathers still use less leave than mothers. One potential explanation is gender differences in working conditions and income. This study uses high-quality survey data from the Swedish Level-of-Living Survey (LNU) 2000 and 2010 with linked register data to analyse, first, associations between working conditions and income on the one hand and CSC use on the other hand and second, the role working conditions and income play in the gender differences in CSC. The results from a two-part model show that the relatively large gender difference in the likelihood of using CSC is somewhat reduced when controlling for working conditions and income. The relatively small gender difference in the number of CSC days used by CSC users is diminished and rendered statistically non-significant when controlling for working conditions and income. Hence, gender differences in working conditions and income contribute to the gender difference in the number of CSC days used by CSC users, while other explanations need to be found for fathers’ lower likelihood of using any CSC.
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9. |
- Cox, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Mothers’ experiences of family life during COVID-19: a qualitative comparison between Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States
- 2023
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic amplified demands on parents regarding balancing childcare and working from home. How parents distribute responsibilities differs culturally, and governments undertook varied strategies to address COVID-19. Research indicates that the pandemic resulted in increased burden for mothers, but also that it created a novel situation in which parenting and working styles could be re-evaluated. However, Swedish mothers of toddlers and school-aged children were underrepresented in this research, and their voices can contribute to understanding how mothers in countries with different gender norms and lockdown statuses were affected. This study aimed to illuminate how mothers in a country with explicit commitment to gender equality in parenting and no lockdown (Sweden) experienced the pandemic, in contrast to mothers from countries that had lockdowns and different gender norms in parenting (the UK and US). Findings based on 193 mothers’ qualitative responses to open-ended questions indicated that mothers struggled with COVID-19 financial worries and concerns about family wellbeing. Support, both external and in coparenting, varied considerably among participants. Positives were reported, such as gratitude, closeness, and better quality of coparent interactions. We highlight the importance of considering emotional work, and the need to support parents both in times of crisis and beyond.
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10. |
- Fahlén, Susanne
(författare)
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Does Gender Matter? Policies, norms and the gender gap in work-to-home and home-to-work conflict across Europe.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Community, Work and Family. - London : Routledge. - 1366-8803 .- 1469-3615. ; , s. 1-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article examines gender differences in work-to-home conflict (WHC) and home-to-work conflict (HWC) in 10 European countries and considers to what extent such differences can be linked to the institutional/societal context. This study combines the conventional demand-resource approach and an institutional framework on work–family reconciliation policies and gender norms by using data from the European Social Survey. The analyses reveal that work and home demands affect men’s and women’s perceived conflict somewhat differently, and that the two conflict dimensions are gender asymmetrical and linked to patterns that result from men’s and women’s traditional home and work spheres. This cross-country comparative analysis shows greater gender gap in perceived conflict in countries with weaker policy support for work–family reconciliation and more traditional gender norms suggesting that individuals’ perceptions of WHC and HWC are institutionally embedded.
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