How is Occupational Authority Related to Full-Time Workers’ Access to and Use of Work-Family Resources?

• In Event: 3523 - Family Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 13: Work-Family Policies

Abstract

Work-family resources have valuable benefits for workers’ well-being and family relationships, and scholars argue that these policies are key to reducing the gender wage gap. Work-family resources are more widely available to workers in higher-status, but it is unclear how authority enables workers to increase access to and use of resources. Although occupational authority increases workplace power, it also comes at a cost of greater stress and longer work hours, which may reduce workers’ ability to obtain or use resources. Using new data from the American Time Use Survey, I examine whether occupational authority is associated with greater access to and use of job resources that aim to balance spheres of work and family. First, I find that authority is positively related to access to work-family resources, but this may only hold true for men. Greater authority increased the probability of access for women only minimally. Second, I find that authority is not related to the use of work-family resources. This was unexpected given the research on backlash toward workers who use work-family resources in high-status positions. Overall, the results indicate that women do not experience the same benefits of working in occupations with greater authority, but that the negative effects from the fear of cultural backlash may be overstated.

Author

• Kaitlin Johnson, Indiana University