Monitahoisten vaatimusten keskellä: Yksinhuoltajaäitien epätyypilliset työajat ja työn ja perhe-elämän yhteensovittaminen

Authors

• Sanna Moilanen University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Keywords:

lone mothers, yksinhuoltajaäidit, non-standard work hours, epätyypillinen työaika, work–family reconciliation, työn ja perhe-elämän yhteensovittaminen, comparative study, vertaileva tutkimus

Abstract

News headlines recently published in the Finnish media together with international work–family research have indicated that lone mothers’ work during non-standard hours, for example, during evenings, nights, and weekends have the potential to intensify the challenges these families encounter in their everyday life. Mothers’ shift work, for instance, along with the experienced challenges with work–family reconciliation can further negatively affect child wellbeing. Although in Finland, shift work is relatively common among employed women, there has been little research on the experiences of lone mothers with regard to non-standard work hours. My doctoral study examined how lone mothers in Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom experience the reconciliation of work and family life when the mothers work during non-standard hours. These countries were chosen because they are characterized by different childcare service provisions and maternal work hour cultures. The results showed that lone mothers across the three countries, experienced non-standard work hours primarily as a challenge in terms of work–family reconciliation. In light of these findings, policy attention should be paid to facilitating the reconciliation of work during non-standard hours and family life in lone-mother families that could also benefit the wellbeing of lone mothers and their children.