University of British Columbia Press A Life in Balance?: Reopening the Family-Work Debate

Magazine articles, talk shows, and commercials advise us that our happiness and well-being rest on striking a balance between work and family. It goes unsaid, however, that the advice is based on an outmoded and unrealistic ideal. This provocative volume challenges the notion – often offered in support of neo-liberal agendas – that paid work (employment) and unpaid work (caregiving and housework) are separate and competing spheres, rather than overlapping aspects of a single existence. Alternative approaches to integrating work and family must be taken into account if we hope to build truly equitable family and childcare policies. Review Despite a large body of scholarship on work-family relationships, none accomplishes what this volume does. It disrupts the work-family binary, demonstrating how this divide contributes to neo-liberal agendas. The chapters consist of fine-grained and nuanced empirical studies as well as broader think pieces that offer alternative conceptions for scholarship and for policy. - Belinda Leach, co-author of Contingent Work, Disrupted Lives: Labour and Community in the New Rural Economy Review Despite a large body of scholarship on work-family relationships, none accomplishes what this volume does. It disrupts the work-family binary, demonstrating how this divide contributes to neo-liberal agendas. The chapters consist of fine-grained and nuanced empirical studies as well as broader think pieces that offer alternative conceptions for scholarship and for policy. Author: Belinda Leach, co-author of Contingent Work, Disrupted Lives: Labour and Community in the New Rural Economy Book Description A Life in Balance? challenges the idea that work and family are separate and competing spheres rather than aspects of a single existence. From the Author Catherine Krull is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and the Cultural Studies Program at Queen’s University, cross-appointed to Women’s Studies, and is an associate dean in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Justyna Sempruch is a researcher at the Center for Gender Studies at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Contributors: Patrizia Albanese, Donna Baines, Maureen Baker, Andrea Doucet, Ann Duffy, Margrit Eichler, Bonnie Freeman, Judy Fudge, Margaret Hillyard Little, Nancy Mandell, Susan A. McDaniel, Norene Pupo, Sue Wilson From the Inside Flap Magazine articles, talk shows, and commercials advise us that our happiness and well-being rest on striking a balance between work and family. It goes unsaid, however, that the advice is based on an outmoded and unrealistic ideal. This provocative volume challenges the notion - often offered in support of neo-liberal agendas - that paid work (employment) and unpaid work (caregiving and housework) are separate and competing spheres, rather than overlapping aspects of a single existence. Alternative approaches to integrating work and family must be taken into account if we hope to build truly equitable family and childcare policies. From the Back Cover Magazine articles, talk shows, and commercials advise us that our happiness and well-being rest on striking a balance between work and family. It goes unsaid, however, that the advice is based on an outmoded and unrealistic ideal. This provocative volume challenges the notion - often offered in support of neo-liberal agendas - that paid work (employment) and unpaid work (caregiving and housework) are separate and competing spheres, rather than overlapping aspects of a single existence. Alternative approaches to integrating work and family must be taken into account if we hope to build truly equitable family and childcare policies. About the Author Catherine Krull is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and the Cultural Studies Program at Queen’s University, cross-appointed to Women’s Studies, and is an associate dean in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Justyna Sempruch is a resear