WORKING LIFE, WORKING FAMILY: THE CASE OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN IN ASIA Vicki Thein Curtin University of Technology Kent Street Bentley WA 6102 AUSTRALIA Telephone: + 61 8 9266 1295 Facsimile: + 61 8 9266 7897 Email: Vicki.Thein@cbs.curtin.edu.auAnd Siobhan Austen Curtin University of Technology Curtin School of Business Kent Street Bentley WA 6102 AUSTRALIA Telephone: + 61 8 9266 7343 Facsimile: + 61 8 9266 3026 Email: Siobhan.Austen@cbs.curtin.edu.au
WORKING LIFE, WORKING FAMILY: THE CASE OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN IN ASIA ABSTRACT Issues related to ‘work-life balance’ have recently come to the fore in public policy debate and academic inquiry in Australia. As yet, however, these questions have been relatively under-explored in the context of Asian business and society. The paper reports the results of focus groups and individual interviews with mainly professional women aged 25 to 45 in Singapore and Hong Kong. Our analysis of the data from the focus groups and interviews addressed two key research questions: (1) How do women in Asian countries perceive work/life conflicts? (2) What approaches do they use to handle work/life conflicts in the context of varying economic, political, cultural and social/family situations? The paper also briefly explores the possible broader economic consequences of different approaches to work/life issues across cultures, making use especially of frameworks established by recent Nobel laureate, Douglass North. Douglass North emphasises the importance of developing an understanding of the prevailing attitudes to the economic and social issues in question. These understandings will not only inform the types of policies or initiatives that are likely to work but also the likely direction of change if and when it is initiated. .11. INTRODUCTION This paper addresses two key research questions: (1) How do women in Asian countries perceive work/life conflicts? (2) What approaches do they use to handle work/life conflicts in the context of varying economic, political, cultural and social/family situations? The paper reports the results of focus groups and individual interviews with professional women aged 25 to 45 in Singapore and Hong Kong. The paper builds on other work, especially by De Bruin and Dupuis (2004) which has questioned the cultural specificity of terms such as work/life balance and, in turn, challenged the appropriateness of applying western-style human resource management policies in other contexts. As opposed to the mainstream literature, mainly based on Anglo-American contexts, which tends to proceed from the conceptualization of work and the home as separate domains and thus, in opposition with each other, our findings indicate that Asian women in global cities seem to perceive the domains of work and family/life as fluid and as interdependent instead of in sharp opposition with one another. The paper also briefly explores the possible broader economic consequences of different approaches to work/life issues across cultures, making use, especially, of conceptual frameworks established by recent Nobel laureate, Douglass North. 2. BACKGROUND LITERATURE ON CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES TO WORK-LIFE BALANCE A range of cross-cultural studies have pointed to cultural differences in how employees and employers in different countries tackle work and family issues. One example is a recent study by Joplin, Francesco, Shaffer and Lau (2003), which identified macro-level factors (economic, social, technological and legal) that could explain observed differences in 2organizational approaches to work and family in five countries (China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Singapore, and the United States). It observed that work was a priority in China, Hong Kong and Singapore; however, it also noted that employees in these countries were spending increased hours at work and that work intensification and work overload were becoming increasingly prevalent. The priority attached to work observed by Joplin et al. appears, at face value, to conflict with some parts of the literature on Asian/western cultural values. This asserts that, on a continuum of individualistic to collectivistic cultures (Harzing and Hofstede, 1996), China, Singapore and Hong Kong are still more collectivistic than individualistic and therefore more family than work oriented. Yang, Chen, Choi and Zou (2000), in a study comparing Chinese and American women, described the collectivistic orientation in China, contending that sacrificing family time for work is viewed as self-sacrifice for the benefit of the family or as a short-term cost incurred to gain long-term benefits. In contrast, a more individualistic orientation was evident in the United States where sacrificing family time for work is often perceived as a failure to care for significant others in one’s life. Similar findings were reported by Granrose, Chow and Chew (2005) who examined Chinese women’s employment in different government contexts, including Hong Kong, China and Singapore. In most Asian countries filial piety operates within hierarchical family structures causing women to have multiple obligations to their immediate family, their elderly parents and to their jobs. Confucianism affects working mothers as the family is seen as a fundamental unit within this tradition. Chan and Lee (1995) also suggest that the family in a Confucian society takes precedence over its individual members. Industrialization and 3globalization may have reduced the influences of these Chinese traditions; however, Confucianism still has an impact on the cultural worlds of these Chinese women. Lau (1981) coined the term “utilitarianistic familism” to describe the family work interface in Hong Kong. This term could apply to each of these societies where the tendency is to place family interests above those of the individual. Work is then often seen as instrumental in serving the economic needs of the family. A remark by Aryee, Fields and Luck (1999) about Hong Kong Chinese women could apply to each of these societies: “… employees may perceive work success as important primarily because it is instrumental in the family’s economic well-being” (p. 495). Describing the Hong Kong Chinese, Redding, Norman and Schlander (1994) observed that commitment to the work role is a means-to-an-end, and the end is the family’s financial security. This overlapping of the work and family roles is common across these three societies. (See also Redding, 1993; Redding & Wong, 1986) Pursuing a similar argument but relating it directly to the question of work-life balance, Greenhaus et al. (1989) claimed that in Asian societies the motherhood mandate is firmly entrenched and, therefore, married professional women may have more difficulty than men in managing the work-family interface and thereby experience more work-family conflict. Supporting these conjectures, a survey of Singaporean workers (Skitmore and Ahmad, 2003) indicated that many women would trade some earnings for family time. However, the survey respondents asserted that they valued more flexible working hours and a high work profile ahead of leisure activities. This is an important finding in the context of our own inquiry as it suggests that a focus on work does not imply an individual focused on themselves or, conversely, that if they seek time away from work it is for ‘leisure’. Rather, Skitmore’s and 4Ahmad’s research implies that work may be sought for the benefit of the family and that time away from work may also be sought to support family needs or priorities. This emphasis on the family is also evident in Lo’s (2003) study of married female professionals with children in Hong Kong. She found that the traditional nature of the Hong Kong family, compounded by long working hours, led to an exhausting lifestyle for her respondents. The women expressed a preference for more flexibility in their work and shorter working hours. However, the women were described as family oriented with little support from their husbands or their organizations to assist them in family matters. 3. BACKGROUND: THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLICY CONTEXT OF WORK-LIFE DECISIONS IN SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG Singapore and Hong Kong are similar in their economic structures, both capitalistic and integrated into the global economy. However, Hong Kong is more laissez-faire than Singapore, which has been described as a paternalistic, capitalist society. In both societies, employees work long hours and few childcare facilities are provided by private organisations. Reflecting in part the emphasis given to the family in Confucian society, many grandparents serve as carers for their grandchildren when the mother is at work. If financially able, some working women also employ domestic maids, and this is supported in Singapore at least by attractive government subsidies (Yeoh, Huang and Gonzalez, 1999). Singapore has a higher labour force participation of women (at 55.5 per cent in 2001) than that of Hong Kong (at 51.9 per cent) (ILO, 2006). Chow (2005) noted that the social status of women in Hong Kong has improved significantly in recent times even though the traditional Chinese culture still lingers and serves to subordinate women in some situations. She feels that industrialization has not significantly changed the patriarchal family and only led to new 5strategies to adapt to the changes in society. There are fewer multi-generational households, smaller families and more divorced single-parent families. The Hong Kong Census listed 66 percent of the households as one nuclear family. Women are marrying later, having few children and living more in nuclear families. This has certainly increased the female labour force. However, there is little support in the workplace for women and there has not been a concerted effort to adopt family-friendly policies in Hong Kong organisations. The Hong Kong government has made little effort to develop a comprehensive women’s policy. The overriding expectation is that people will take care of themselves and social welfare should be avoided. Chow describes this as a “self-help Chinese society that coexists with a noninterventionist government” (2005, p. 120). Few employers provide childcare and the government’s facilities are sparse. Although the Hong Kong Government established the Equal Opportunities Commission in 1991 there has been no attempt to undertake active affirmative measures to benefit women. One benefit they are given is 70 days maternity leave at four-fifths of their usual salary. The attitude of the Hong Kong government is in direct contrast with the Singaporean government, which established the Quality Workplaces Department in February 2004 to try to encourage policies that would create family-friendly organisations. According to the Ministry of Manpower’s website, this was part of the national effort to put together a holistic package of policies and schemes to support marriage and parenthood. The government is promoting work-life strategies as a means for organisations to attract and retain talent in today’s competitive economy (Chew & Khatri, 2005). In a Budget Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Lee Hsien Loong (2004), mentioned plans to use civil service agencies to “set a clear example to companies of 6how employers can create a work environment that is supportive of families”. Despite these initiatives, there appears to be room for improvement, especially among the private sector. Acting Minister for Manpower, Dr Ng Eng Hen (2004), provided many interesting statistics on the current state of play in Singapore with regards to work-life balance practices. Private sector companies were described as being “generally sympathetic towards marriages, emergencies, maternity/paternity leave and exam leave. …[But] they do less well when it comes to time off to take care of sick relatives, employer-provided childcare benefits and flexible working arrangements”. Less than 10 per cent of private sector establishments provide family care leave; only 4 per cent of private sector workers were on part-time, flexitime or flexi-place working arrangements in 2002; and only about 3 per cent of all childcare places are provided by private sector employers. It is clear that the Singaporean government wants to encourage greater flexibility and sees this as an initiative that could apply to workers at different stages of their lives, not only for younger female workers. The government’s message has changed from one of family-friendly policies to work-life harmony with a focus on providing flexible work strategies. According to Minister of Manpower, Ng Eng Hen, this should “enable employees to manage their work responsibilities alongside personal and family needs” (People’s Daily Online, July 19, 2005). Measures have also been implemented to reduce the costs of foreign maids for working families. It must be kept in mind that one of the most important ‘drivers’ for policy change relating to work-life balance issues for women in Singapore and Hong Kong is not so much a concern for the wellbeing of women but, rather, for population growth rates, especially in the context of population ageing. Due in part to increases in education and the pressures of balancing 7work and family roles, fertility rates have declined dramatically in recent decades. In Singapore the number of births per woman fell from 4.7 in 1965 to 1.4 (below replacement fertility) in 2001 and is expected to fall further (Austen, 2005). In Hong Kong the fertility rate has fallen below 1.0. In Singapore, the current policies are strongly pro-natalist, encouraging especially university graduates to have more children (see Austen, 2005, for an overview). Initiatives aimed at improving work-life balance are often aimed at increasing the likelihood that these women will have children, rather than reducing the time pressures on women who already have 2 or more children. However, they also address predicted shortfalls in the supply of skilled labour (see Austen, 2005) and, as noted above, are viewed as important components of plans aimed at retaining the competitiveness and, in turn, the economic growth opportunities of each nation. 4. NORTH’S COGNITIVE/INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING THE LINKS BETWEEN CULTURE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE The effectiveness of the policy measures aimed at addressing fertility rates and women’s labour market participation – and thus the future economic prospects of the countries - will be affected by women’s own perceptions of work-life conflicts and the suitability of alternative means to address these conflicts (ranging from opting out of motherhood to opting out of paid work). Douglass North (1994) makes these potential linkages clear in his discussion of the determinants of a nation’s economic performance through time. In his analytical framework, “…the admixture of formal rules, informal norms, and enforcement characteristics…shape economic performance” (p.366). Specifically, he argues that whilst rules may change overnight, informal norms change slowly and, because these norms define the legitimacy of rules – and actions taken in relation to these rules – they will determine the effectiveness of 8policy initiatives. He asserts that “…revolutionary change is never as revolutionary as its supporters desire” (p.366). The recent policy initiatives of especially the Singapore government in relation to the provision of flexible working hours, maternity leave and formal childcare places are good examples of the changes in rules that North refers to. They are designed to promote economic performance by achieving change in the relationship between women’s work and family lives. The policies provide financial incentives and other encouragements for changes in working hour patterns, the use of formal child care, and temporary absences for maternity. The cultural attitudes described in Section 1 are examples of the informal norms referred to by North. The attitudes define the legitimacy of women seeking change in, for example, their working hour arrangements or in passing the care of family members onto ‘others’ (such as a child care centre or retirement home). North argues that cultural attitudes such as these fundamentally shape how individuals view and interpret the world and the nature of their emotional response to different financial and other incentives. He also observed that attitudes or norms reflect each individual’s cultural tradition and, as such, they are slow to change. Applied to the case of work-life balance initiatives, North’s framework carries the clear implication that the behavioural response and, ultimately, the effectiveness of policy change will vary across cultures. Understanding the nature of cultural institutions (in our case attitudes to work-life conflict) is thus imperative to the design of effective policy. North’s analysis contains one further implication that is important to note. He argues that cultural institutions affect not only the pace of economic change but also the direction of this 9change (North, 1994, p. 364). Economies are understood as ‘path-dependent’. Specifically, the nature of existing cultural beliefs (such as those relating to the legitimacy of home-based versus formal child or elder care options) will affect the type of markets and associated relationships that develop. In a culture that gives primacy to individual – and not family – responsibility – non-home based care facilities (such as crèches) are likely to develop. These are less likely to emerge in cultures where family responsibilities are emphasised. In those situations, home-based care (such as maids and nannies) is likely to be a more important market form. In sum, Douglass North’s model emphasises the importance of developing an understanding of the economic and social prevailing attitudes to the question under investigation. These understandings will not only inform the types of policies that are likely to work but also the potential direction of change if and when it is initiated. 5. METHODOLOGY Our study of women’s attitudes to work-life balance issues in Singapore and Hong Kong reflects the nature of this discussion. It is an example of a multi-level approach to crosscultural research similar to that of Korabik, Lero and Ayman’s (2003). Specifically we sought to balance the “macro-level” perspective on the work-family interface, which relates to public policies affecting women’s employment and family roles, with a “micro-level” analysis of the voices of women as they described the ways that they experienced the issues. By interviewing women about their work experiences we gained insights into how they translate and respond to work-life policies; their experiences of the day-to-day support available to women with family obligation; and, thus, how likely it is that work-life conflicts facing women will be resolved in their favour. 10Using focus groups, we gathered the perceptions of mainly professional women in Singapore and Hong Kong. The interviews were conducted in English. We conducted 21 focus groups during 2005 and 2006 in Singapore and Hong Kong. The majority of participants were employed full-time. Over 50 percent of the women who participated in this study had Bachelor degrees (34 per cent) and Masters level degrees (18%), while those participants with high school and diploma level qualifications comprised nearly one quarter (12% each) of participants. Close to 30 percent of the participants had children (ranging from 1 to 3), while single women made up 57 per cent of the sample. The working hours per week ranged from 9 to 66 and, on average, one in five participants (22 per cent) reported that they worked up to 50 hours a week. The participants worked in a range of industries including finance, insurance, law, marketing, hospitality, and services. We asked the women in each of the groups whether they were able to balance the competing demands of work, family and personal activities or whether they found themselves in conflict over which demands should take precedence over others. Our aim was to explore how women in Asian countries perceive work/life conflicts and what approaches they used to manage these issues in the context of varying economic, political, cultural and social/family situations (e.g. making use of family members and/or maids for help with household chores and childcare, rather than a spouse or a childcare facility). We divided the interview protocol into five sections: work/life issues, work/family issues, family-friendly policies, gender stereotypes about home duties and work for women and couple dynamics. 116. FINDINGS Working Life Work was a priority for the professional women in our study. However, in line with the literature, our findings here suggest that the majority of women perceived their work as serving the goal of bettering their families. They had adopted Lau’s (1981) notion of utilitarianistic familism. Work was seen, by many participants in both Singapore and Hong Kong, as instrumental to have enough money for sustaining the family. The majority of the women in the study believed that the primary reason that they were engaged in paid work was to provide for the financial and material needs of their family members. Without financial support, how can you provide enough care for the children? (Office manager, single, 41 years old, Hong Kong) Engaging in full-time paid work away from one’s own family is not always only for financial and material needs of the family, but also to enhance the financial ability in terms of supporting children’s education. I told myself that I am working so that we can have a double income and can provide a bigger house for the children and also further education for them. I have two maids to help me. (Marketing Executive with children in Singapore) It was also found that support for financial needs of the family often extends to not only one’s own parents, but also to other siblings. Basically I earn money to support my family and help my sister. (Entry-level manager, single, Singapore) In a society where affordability for housing and motor vehicles is low, the greater ‘need’ for double-income households was evident. For this reason, women able to (and willing to) engage in both child-rearing and earning money outside their homes, were held in high regard: 12I think working mothers are more valued because they provide for the family. (Real estate advisor, single, Hong Kong) While a majority of the study’s participants appeared to be willing (or accepted as having “no choice other than going out to work, it is our culture”) to swap family time with long hours at the office, many women were aware and seemingly resigned to the fact that they might have to sacrifice their career aspirations. For instance, when asked if one had to choose between having a career and having a family, it was found that some respondents did not consider their jobs as a ‘career’. Instead, they considered their work as a ‘job’ that simply provided money for the family. I think I can do both, if I get married, I will treat my job as my career [now], but after marriage, I think it is only a job to earn money for living. I would like to spend more time with my family, especially when I have kids. (Office manager, single, 41 years old, Hong Kong) I am not yet married, so I can have both career and family. When I am married, I can’t have both, I don’t think. I can have a job and a marriage. But not a career and a marriage. Career is different from jobs. Career, you need to devote more time, you need to climb up the career, you have to give up everything. If you take it as a job, then you can have both. (Manager in Hong Kong, single)Working Family In a focus group with three young lawyers in Singapore, the collectivistic nature of the family and the importance of family needs in decisions about work were clearly evident. Here people work because it’s a family thing…we come together for a joint income for the whole purpose of the family…that’s the collectivist culture. (Lawyer in Singapore) The culture is such that there is an expectation that daughters/professional women will go to work to earn money, while their mothers and mothers-in-law, often working in combination with a paid domestic (typically foreign) worker, fill the vacuum at home by taking up responsibilities with childcare and daily household chores. 13My maid looks after the child when I am away, and my mother-in-law also comes during the day, she comes 3 to 4 times a week, she comes to our house to look after the child. She does not live close to us, she has to travel for an hour, because this is her first grandchild, she is retired, and has nothing to do at home. She likes to help us out, because she is there during the day, makes me more relaxed about leaving my baby with the maid, otherwise, my baby would be alone with the maid. (Manager, married with a child, lives in Hong Kong) I have been very dependent, my parents come to my rescue, my in-laws come to my rescue, my maid comes to my rescue. I am so used to the comfort of having people around me. When my husband has to travel, then it is just me and my kids, my parents come and live with me. We don’t live that close to my parents, but Singapore is very small. We live next door to my in-laws, we bought a place just next door to them, cooking is done at their place, catering to my place, the maid lives there, kids are taken care of here and there. It is a very convenient arrangement. We are so very lucky. Therefore, I can’t do without their help. (Trainer in hospitality, married with two children, work part time, lives in Singapore)It’s a real collectivist effort as well because the mothers and the mothers-in-law kick in automatically when you go in to work. I mean collectivism, because at the end of the day, even though I am working, I am working for the family (Lawyer in Singapore) Also supporting the existing literature on the role of the family, the dominant family type among the group of women who participated in our study was one in which parents lived with their children or children co-habited with their parents. One participant described the “family dynasty system” that she had married into. She married the eldest son in a large family and, because he was the eldest, all the siblings came to stay with them in a large house. At one time there were fourteen of us and four generations under one roof: my great grandmother-in-law, my grandmother-in-law, my mother in law and my family. I have three boys and I want them to learn the meaning of give and take and sharing…we have a family goal and a family plan that tells us what’s up for this year. (Small business manager/owner with children, Singapore) Families in Asia are in close and constant connection and many activities revolve around families. Parents and children often live nearby to one another and visit each other frequently to exchange information and share meals. When adult children move out of their family 14homes, they often continue to live with their sisters and brothers (as opposed to co-habiting with friends or strangers, as in the West). No, I don’t have conflict between the three issues [work, family and leisure]. I spend time with my mother, she likes to see me every week, usually on Saturdays, I have tea with her, maybe dinner too. On Sundays, I have my time with my husband. I don’t live with my mum. I live with my husband. We meet with my mum, my sister, and brother and my husband and we meet and eat out. I am very close with my family. My sister comes every week to meet my mother. (Manager in Hong Kong, married) An additional reason for the women to prioritise work appeared to be related to considerable pressure from families and friends to demonstrate career success. These pressures came through the social expectations of close family members that their financial investments in a potentially successful career would need to be realised. In some cases, these expectations of delivering on career success were reinforced by offers of childcare support from grandparents to enable these young women to work. In Singapore, the highly competitive nature of Singaporean society, combined with the notions of ‘status’ and ‘face’, added to these high expectations. My parents expect me to work while they look after my baby. Because they think, well, if you were going to stay at home, you did not have to get a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. There is also a lot of peer pressure when I go out with my friends everybody is getting their promotion. (Manager in Singapore) Because you have to be a very successful career woman, you have to be a good mother and you have to be a wonderful wife. (Lawyer in Singapore) Personally I feel quite a lot of expectations from my mother because she has always told me, don’t quit; I will help you look after your children. (Lawyer in Singapore) The need to work hard and be competitive was just part of the culture. In Singapore, you must go to this school, you must earn A’s. Since we were young, we thought we must constantly work our brains. (Manager in Singapore) You strive for the highest you can go, the best house, and the best car. (Entrylevel Manager in Singapore) 15Views on policy measures The Singaporean participants were clearly aware of the government’s attempts to boost family life. Two participants talked about this policy in the following terms: The government still tries to influence the people. We recently had a family campaign, to spend more time with your family, have dinner with them. They realize that children are growing up and starting to spend more time at work or outside rather than with their family. (Entry-level manager, single, in Singapore)On Friday they say you can go at 4:30 [normally work until 5 pm] and eat with your family. There are posters encouraging you to spend time with the family. (High Income Professional in Singapore) However, although the women were aware of the policies relating to fertility and the importance of spending time with one’s own family, not all young women expressed a desire or an expectation to marry or adopt a family-oriented role. One woman who described herself as opinionated, open-minded and a feminist was quick to point out: I think expectations are changing in Singapore. I think with women going out to work and people traveling and experiencing other cultures and perhaps becoming a bit more westernized, they are not getting married. They have jobs that require them to travel a bit and they really value their careers. (High income professional, married without children, in Singapore) Another participant described the change towards individualism and materialism. I think women are better educated now; they want to earn their own money to spend. (High Income Professional in Singapore) The influence of polices relating to the cost and availability of foreign maids in deciding some of these changes in attitudes was evident in some comments. For example, one woman commented that there was no need for her to stay home. I hate to do house chores. I don’t think I can cook so there is no point for me to stay home. (High Income Professional, married with kids, in Singapore) 16Similarly, working mothers in Hong Kong focus groups were aware of government policies relating to childcare facilities. There appeared to be incongruency between government policies and services that did not match working mothers’ expectations and preferences. For example, participants were reluctant to use childcare facilities for three reasons: 1. the high costs in relation to home-based care; 2. a lack of trust towards non-family members hired to provide childcare; and 3. inconveniences associated with opening hours and transport to facilities. No, hours are not good; prices are too high, more expensive than hiring a maid. Childcare centres can teach things, yes, some of them do have professional staff. But, it is good enough for the maid and my mother to look after the child. (Project officer with one child, Hong Kong) Well, in HK, it is very difficult. We are both working and we do not really trust the maid. We hear all these stories, but if the maid is with my parents, my parents can have an eye on the kids. (Manager in insurance with one child, Hong Kong). Childcare facilities for over 6s are difficult to find…they are available only until about 4/5 pm, but you still need childcare until about 8 pm. We do work here until about 8 pm. The hours are not good. (Designer with one child, Hong Kong) 7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The study is in an early stage of an on-going research and data collection process, and thus, this paper only reports on the preliminary ‘impressions’ of a large amount of qualitative data. Nonetheless, the paper achieves its objectives in attempting to describe perceptions of work/family conflicts in Singapore and Hong Kong. It has shown the central role of family networks in shaping women’s decisions on the extent to which they engage in paid work – with participants citing, above all other considerations, the importance of working to provide for the collective financial needs of the family. The centrality and closeness of family in the lives of the women in the study stands to illustrate the complex nature of work/family dynamics in Asian societies, whereby women commit to serving collective financial needs, which typically involve lengthy periods of physical absence from the home. In return, parents 17or members of the extended family reciprocate by rendering tremendous help with childcare and maintenance of the home. Notably, there were indications that this family based system of managing work/life conflicts was not an entirely voluntary matter of individual ‘choice’ as several participants felt that there was pressure from close family members to realise their individual earning potential and that there was an expectation that successful careers were a necessary return for past investment in education. These pressures and expectations were reinforced by wider cultural norms that stressed the value of competition, hard work, and increasing wealth and status. While of seemingly lesser significance than collective interests and social expectations, someparticipants also suggested that work was a means of achieving individual material goals and a sense of individual identity and personal satisfaction. Thus, the study provides insights into the complex nature of the interaction between the individual and the collective in Asian societies. The study also briefly examines government policy measures relating to family, childcare, and fertility in the three countries with an aim to empirically explore the ‘fit’ between those policy measures and prevailing cultural norms and expectations. The preliminary analysis of the data tends to suggest that some of the policy measures were unlikely to be effective as they were incongruent with informal cultural and behavioural norms. North’s admonition that informal norms and behaviour change more slowly than formal rules and programs was clearly seen in the responses of Hong Kong and Singaporean women who preferred their homes as sites for childcare rather than outside facilities. Even though their pro-natalist governments were trying to increase fertility rates, it was likely that the countervailing attitudes of these working women would mean changes would be very slow. For example, in 18Singapore there was scepticism as to the effectiveness of government campaigns to encourage women to spend more time with their families given the fact that the prevailing culture in most organisations was such that leaving work at 5 pm or before a senior manager leaves the workplace was considered by many to be detrimental to achieving financial bonuses and promotions. Similarly, in Hong Kong, working mothers were aware of facilities for childcare but expressed views that these options were too expensive and inconvenient in comparison to home-based care and that childcare provided by non family members in the home or in day care facilities was culturally inappropriate. Through qualitative analysis, this exploratory study aimed to deepen the findings of existing studies. It focused on aggregating emergent themes that were common across the various groups. Congruent with the literature, our findings support the notion of the centrality of the family along with its social pressures that these women should work to provide financial support for their families. However, there was some evidence of changes away from extended families towards nuclear families and women desiring careers for their intrinsic satisfaction. There were also some mismatches between government policy and the needs of these women. Given the fact that single women made up half of the sample, we intend to analyse our data further to provide comparisons between married and single women and their work/life conflicts. It is our intention that future research will provide a closer examination of the suitability of government policies in relation to prevailing cultural norms. REFERENCES Aryee, S., Fields, D. and Luk, V. (1999). A cross-cultural test of a model of the work-family interface, Journal of Management, 25(4, July-August): 491-.Austen, S. (2005). Demographic change in Singapore and its possible consequences for women’s involvement in the paid workforce, Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government, 11(2): 11-33. 19Chang, H. and Lee, R. P. L. (1995). Hong Kong families: At the cross-roads of modernism and traditionalism. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 26: 83-99. Chew, I. K. H. and Khatri, N. (2005). The impact of government and family responsibilities on the career development of working women in Singapore. In C. S. Granrose (Ed.) Employment of Women in Chinese Cultures: Half the Sky. (pp. 128-156). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Chow, I. H-S. (2005). The impact of government policy on working women in Hong Kong. In C. S. Granrose (Ed.) Employment of Women in Chinese Cultures: Half the Sky. (pp. 107-127). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. De Bruin, A. and Dupuis, A. (2004). Work-life balance?: Insights from non-standard work, New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 29(1, February): 21-37. Granrose, C. S., Chow, I. H-S. and Chew, I. K.H. (2005). Theoretical perspective son women’s employment careers in a national government context. In C. S. Granrose (Ed.) Employment of Women in Chinese Cultures: Half the Sky. (pp. 9-34). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Greenhaus, J. H. Parasuraman, S., Granrose, C. IK. Rabinowitz, S. and Beutell, N. J. (1989). Sources of work-family conflict among two-career couples, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 34: 133-53. Harzing, A. and Hofstede, G. (1996). Planned change in organizations: The influence of national culture, in P. Bamberger and M. Erez (Eds.) Research in the Sociology of Organizations: Cross-cultural Analysis of Organizations. Geenwich, CT: JAI Press. International Labor Organisation (ILO) (2006). Laborsta International, Accessed on May 22, 2006: http://laborsta.ilo.org/ Joplin, J. R. W., Shaffer, M. A., Francesco, A. M. and Lau, T. (2003). The Macroenvironment and work-family conflict: Development of a cross cultural comparative framework, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 3(3): 305-328. Lau, S. K. (1981). Utilitarianistic familism: The basis of political stability. In A. Y C. King & R. P. L. Lee (Eds.), Social Life and Development in Hong Kong (pp. 195-216). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. Lee H. L. (2004). Budget Speech 2004, Accessed on June 24, 2004: http://www.mof.gov.sg/budget/budget_2004/budget_speech/section19.html. Ministry of Manpower. (2006b). Work-life harmony a winning business strategy: Singapore minister, People’s Daily Online, Accessed on February 28, 2006: http://english.people.com.cn/200507/19. Ng, E. H. (2004). Response to Members of Parliament on pro-family workplace practices, Accessed on June 24, 2004: http://www.mom.gov.sg/MOM/CDA/0,1858,3669--------4909----,00.html.North, D. (2004). Economic performance through time, The American Economic Review, 84(3, June): 359-368. Redding, S. G. (1993). The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism. New York: de Gruyter. Redding, S. G., Norman, A., and Schlander, A. (1994). The nature of individual attachment to the organization: A review of East Asian variations. In H. C. Triandis, M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (vol. 4, pp. 647-688). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. 20Redding, S. G. and Wong, G. Y. Y. (1986). The psychology of Chinese organizational behaviour. In M. H. Bond (Ed.) The Psychology of the Chinese People. (pp. 267-295). New York: Oxford University Press. Skitmore, M. and Ahmad, S. (2003). Work-family conflict: A survey of Singaporean workers, Singapore Management Review, 25(1, Jan-June): 35-52. Yang, N., Chen, C. C., Choi, J., and Zou, Y. (2000). Sources of work-family conflict: A SinoU.S. Comparison of the effects of work and family demands, Academy of Management Journal, 43(1, Feb): 113-. Yeoh, B., Huang, S. and Gonzalez, J. (1999), ‘Migrant Female Domestic Workers: Debating the Economic, Social and Political Impacts in Singapore’, The International Migration Review, 33(1): 114-136.
No comments:
Post a Comment