Friday, 14 January 2005 - 2:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Employment and Income

Low-Income Mothers in Retail Jobs: Nonstandard Work Schedules and Child Care Packaging Strategies

Purpose

The ability of low-income parents to secure childcare is critical for employment success. Yet many factors complicate efforts to obtain childcare, not the least of which are “nonstandard” work schedules (non-daytime hours, weekends, variable schedules). Childcare centers are unavailable outside of weekday hours, and parents with nonstandard schedules rely disproportionately on informal care, especially relatives. Jobs with nonstandard schedules are ubiquitous across the occupational hierarchy, but especially prevalent among entry-level positions such as cashier and sales jobs (Presser, 2003).

The purpose of this study is to deepen knowledge of factors that may hinder the fit between employment and caregiving and to identify policy and practice levers that hold promise for easing work-childcare challenges. Four research questions are addressed: 1) What demands do work schedules place on caregiving responsibilities? 2) What employer practices constrain or enable parents to respond to caregiving responsibilities? 3) What and who is involved in maintaining the childcare strategies of parents with nonstandard schedules? 4) How are parental work schedules experienced by providers, informal networks, and children?

Methods

Participants are 51 low-income retail employees purposively drawn from 6 retail sites. All are mothers of children under 6, employed in customer service (7), cashier (14), sales (14), or manual (16) jobs. Indepth interviews (1.5-4 hours) were conducted with each participant. Audiotaped interviews were transcribed and analyzed for salient themes corresponding to the research questions and to reveal similarity and variation across participant experiences.

Results

Over three-fourths of participants identified scheduling as a central concern, including fluctuating hours, coverage across variable shifts, and unpredictable schedules. Formal and informal workplace practices provided levers of opportunity that tempered work-childcare challenges; although their availability varied. No respondents reported employer-sponsored childcare benefits, however “personal days” were sometimes granted. Another formal mechanism was the practice of “claiming availability” – allowing employees to specify preferred and unwanted shifts. Informal practices were more common, and included informal supports from supervisors (excusing tardiness, allowing schedule changes) and coworkers (shift-swapping). Such relationship-mediated benefits were not universal, and could involve risks and obligations. Jobs with nonstandard schedules required providers who tolerated fluctuations in use and had flexible schedules. To meet these requirements, participants engaged in “child care packaging strategies” - a patchwork of arrangements often including multiple providers across childcare sectors. Informal caregivers were critical – providing regular and reserve care, transporting children, assisting with meals – whether or not formal childcare programs were utilized. Childcare strategies were complicated and contingent on the follow through of multiple actors who sometimes faced economic difficulties and competing role demands. Childcare strategies put stress on relationships, and raise concerns about the quality and stability of children’s time in nonparental care.

Implications

Findings suggest that making formal childcare sectors more responsive to employment (extending hours, providing transportation) and supporting informal providers through increased reimbursement, provider training, and community investments might be fruitful. Reforms on the employment side might be equally critical, as scheduling stability and employee autonomy could reduce childcare interferences and increase productivity. These implications are of course cautionary, given the study’s size and representativeness.

See more of Employment and Income
See more of Oral and Poster

See more of Celebrating a Decade of SSWR (January 13 - 16, 2005)