Jody Hughes

Social Capital at Work

A great deal of the research into the determinants of labour market outcomes has focussed on the role of human capital and the structure of the labour market. Relatively little attention has been paid to the role of social capital. This paper investigates the extent to which an individuals social capital relates to their labour market outcomes. The relationships between social capital and labour force status and social capital and job search method are explored using data collected from a national random sample of Australians. Both a network and typology approach to measuring social capital are used.

Family change and community life An empirical investigation of the decline thesis in Australia

According to the decline thesis, the changes that have occurred within family life have undermined community life. Using data from a national random survey of Australian adults we explore this claim in the Australian context. We develop a series of hierarchical regression models to examine how non-traditional family forms and values relate to community life, measured through community group membership, trust and reciprocity. Our findings provide some support for the decline thesis for men. For women, we find more evidence that family change is unrelated, or positively related, to community life. As a counterpoint, we find that non-traditional attitudes to family roles and relationships are related to high levels of community engagement, trust and reciprocity, for men and women.

The decentring of couple relationships? An examination of young adults living alone:

There have been numerous suggestions that the growth of living alone represents a challenge to the hegemony of the family and heterosexual couple relationships, yet the evidence is mixed. This article draws on qualitative research with Australians living alone in their twenties and thirties. Their relationship circumstances, hopes and expectations are described in order to question whether they are decentring or deprioritising couple relationships in their lives. I find that most see living alone as a way of building an independent life prior to partnering. While living alone may coincide with a focus on self and life outside couple relationships, it also often coincides with idealised notions of romantic love and the search for a soulmate. Given this, I argue that most young adults living alone are not challenging the hegemony of heterosexual couple relationships, but finding new ways of maintaining the heterosexual couple ideal.

A logical response to the demands of the labour market? Young people living alone in Australia

It is clear that increasing numbers of young adults are choosing to live alone, both in Australia and elsewhere around the world. What is less clear is why they are living alone and, specifically, to what extent this housing trend might be driven by the pressures and demands of an employment structure that makes intimate relationships less possible. One aspect of the individualisation thesis that has been under-explored is the argument it makes that social and institutional conditions in late modern societies require individuals to prioritise paid work and remain ‘free and flexible’ in their personal lives – a logical explanation for the growth of living alone. This article assesses this argument using a study of young adults living alone in Australia. In-depth qualitative interviews indicate that only a minority perceive that their work has influenced their decision to live alone. However, this claim needs to be placed in the context of a simultaneous awareness that they are all ‘very busy’, with lives that are universally perceived as being easier to manage when living alone. The article considers the implications of these ‘busy lives’ for young adults’ relationship futures and current work–life experiences, thus contributing to knowledge about individualisation, identity and the role of paid work in young people’s housing decisions.