Balancing work and family in Canada: An empirical examination of conceptualizations and measurements

Abstract

The issue of work and family balance has been on the agenda of many governmental and nongovernmental organizations in recent years and has led to the adoption of various policies. However, combining work and family responsibilities remains a challenge for many parents. In this paper, we examine the work-family conflict experienced by Canadian working parents. For the purpose of this paper, work-family conflict is conceptualized as the time-related stress arising from the competing demands of the different roles imposed on working parents. Our objective is three-fold. First, we take a critical look at how time stress has been conceptualized and measured in previous studies. Using data from the 2005 Canadian General Social Survey on time use, we suggest an alternative multi-item scale. Second, we examine the impact of different predictors on parents' time stress, paying special attention to the impact of work-related factors. Finally, we discuss the impact of provincial variations in family policy on parents' time stress. Although Québec has introduced a number of familyoriented policies, we do not find evidence that these policies have resulted in less time stress for working parents in Québec. © Canadian Journal of Sociology.