Work Pressures
UK pressures are long and anti-social working hours for some, worklessness for others
Just like financial pressures, families face a variety of work pressures. Long and unsocial working hours, weekend working and long commutes all detract from the potential amount of shared time family members can spend together. The resulting time-squeeze may also adversely affect the quality of parental relationships with one another, and with children. Unsurprisingly, some people find it tough to juggle work pressures and fulfil family responsibilities. Already hard-pressed for time, this may be worse for those who find their jobs too demanding and stressful. For many, flexible working may be one of the precious few ways to attenuate some of these pressures, but access to flexible working is subject to national labour laws and organisational policy.
Work, with the implication of the income it brings, is widely acknowledged as a way out of poverty and a source of relief for families under some form of financial burden. But it can also be a source of pressure – particularly that of a psychological and emotional nature – to the family if breadwinners face a very real prospect of losing their jobs. Stress from work can be hard to leave at work. If too much work can cause problems, so can too little: a lack of work also destabilises relationships.
The list of pressures:
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