Parenthood delayed to cope with job stress
CanWest News Service/Vancouver Sun
By: Kathryn May
October 03, 2007

OTTAWA -- Half of Canadians are coping with the growing stress and workload of their jobs by delaying or not having children, a strategy a new study concludes works better than the family-friendly support policies offered by their employers.

The federally funded study… found employers in all sectors are shifting the burden of balancing work-life on their workers, forcing them to resort to "personal self-sacrifice" like sleeping less, working harder, giving up social lives and having fewer children to cope.

In fact, the study concluded so-called "family-friendly" policies like unpaid leave, job sharing and flexible work arrangements not only force workers to deal with the upheaval in their lives with their own time and money, but they increase stress and workload because workers who take advantage of them don't get ahead.

"When work and family becomes too much, we cut the family and just work. That's what we're doing," said Linda Duxbury, who co-authored the study, the fifth in a series of reports into how Canadians cope with work-life balance.

"And the strategy works because their overload and balance is better, but people are making those decisions when their careers are going up, they're doing well and they feel they can't handle any more. Then, they hit their late 40s and there is nothing they can do."

Duxbury, a professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, co-wrote the series of reports based on a massive survey of nearly 33,000 workers. The study was commissioned by Health Canada.

The study showed the few who decide to put family first and cope by prioritizing, delegating work to others, saying no to extra work and seeking support from family and friends have less stress, but they typically don't get ahead.

One in four respondents said they coped by having fewer children, while 28 per cent said they delayed having children or opted to have none at all. It's most dramatic among educated women.

Duxbury said it's high time employers realize that work and family lives are no longer "separate worlds" and Canada's productivity depends on helping employees manage them together.