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April 25, 2002
'Sandwiched' Workers Seek Flexible Firms
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Employers need to do more to help them, according to Kleiman.
She quotes Leslie Hammer, associate professor of psychology at Portland State University in Portland, Ore. "Employers need to provide more flexibility, and managers need to be more understanding," Hammer said. "Many firms are on board for child care, but it's only half the sandwich. They're slower to understand elder care."
Hammer, an industrial organization psychologist, is co-author with Margaret Neal of a new report, "Dual-Earner Couples in the `Sandwiched Generation': How They Manage Work and Family Demands." Neal is professor of community health at Portland State and affiliated with the school's Institute on Aging.
Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Hammer and Neal surveyed 309 sandwiched couples for the report.
"With kids, pressure came just from having responsibility for them while also holding down a job," Hammer said. "With parents, the challenge was greater because it also involved giving emotional support."
To meet their family demands, the wife or husband (more often the wife) chose jobs with more flexibility, turned down relocating, decided not to work toward a promotion, refused travel, worked reduced hours, worked opposite shifts from spouses and cut back on their social lives. "Their most successful coping skill was prioritizing their family and work functions," said the psychologist.
Yet even dual-career couples can't do it alone. "The country is aging and the number of sandwiched workers will explode," said Hammer. "Employers need to be sensitive to the growing dependent-care needs of their employees and create family-friendly policies."
To read Carol Kleiman's column on the Chicago Tribune site, click here.
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