Margo Hilbrecht

Experiences, perspectives, and meanings of family vacations for children

Abstract Previous research on family vacations has emphasized tourism and marketing but largely ignored lived experiences. As part of a larger project exploring the meanings of family vacations to all family members, this study focuses on childrens perspectives through analysis of in‐depth interviews of 24 school‐age children from 15 different families. Throughout the many different types of vacations, activities were central and created a context from which three main themes emerged. The first was a focus on having fun as an important vacation outcome. The second, newness and familiarity, conveyed the importance of adventure, new experiences, and other possibilities within a secure and stable social environment. The third theme was the centrality of social connections to reaffirm and strengthen relationships with family and friends. Childrens experiences did not neatly fit into previously established family leisure models, thereby reinforcing the importance of considering all family members’ perspectives in future research.

How compatible are participatory ergonomics programs with occupational health and safety management systems

OBJECTIVES Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a major cause of pain, disability, and costs. Prevention of MSD at work is frequently described in terms of implementing an ergonomics program, often a participatory ergonomics (PE) program. Most other workplace injury prevention activities take place under the umbrella of a formal or informal occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). This study assesses the similarities and differences between OHSMS and PE as such knowledge could help improve MSD prevention activities. Methods Using the internationally recognized Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS 18001), 21 OHSMS elements were extracted. In order to define PE operationally, we identified the 20 most frequently cited papers on PE and extracted content relevant to each of the OHSAS 18001 elements. RESULTS The PE literature provided a substantial amount of detail on five elements: (i) hazard identification, risk assessment and determining controls; (ii) resources, roles, responsibility, accountability, and authority; (iii) competence, training and awareness; (iv) participation and consultation; and (v) performance measurement and monitoring. However, of the 21 OHSAS elements, the PE literature was silent on 8 and provided few details on 8 others. CONCLUSIONS The PE literature did not speak to many elements described in OHSMS and even when it did, the language used was often different. This may negatively affect the effectiveness and sustainability of PE initiatives within organizations. It is expected that paying attention to the approaches and language used in management system frameworks could make prevention of MSD activities more effective and sustainable.

Self-employment and family life: constructing work–life balance when you're ‘always on’

This study explores how men and women who are self-employed and have children living at home construct work–life balance. Guided by the concept of work–life fit, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 parents who were self-employed and had at least one dependent child. Using thematic analysis, the first theme, ‘in control,’ related primarily to schedule flexibility but also extended to income opportunities and, sometimes, to job security. Feelings of control were experienced and expressed in relation to shortcomings of previous job experiences, business location, and preferences for raising children. The second theme, ‘always on,’ meant that parents expected to be both readily accessible to children and available to clients, while continually pursuing income opportunities. This contributed to time pressure, although some viewed participation in volunteer and childrens activities as a form of business networking. Work–life balance was described in terms of time, activity, or experience. Most participants believed self-employment contributes positively, but some questioned whether work–life balance is possible. Parents mostly followed traditional gender role patterns. Some fathers resisted this arrangement and saw self-employment as a way to participate more actively in family life. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Highway to health? Commute time and well-being among Canadian adults

This paper examines commute time, time spent in activities benefical to well-being, and the relationship to self-assessed well-being. Using cross-sectional data from the 2010 Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 24, time use patterns and feelings of well-being are assessed for a subsample of 3409 men and women who regularly commute to work by car. Drawing upon a resource drain model, daily activities known to affect well-being were selected for analysis, and well-being was measured by life satisfaction and time pressure. Time spent commuting is associated with lower levels of life satisfaction and an increased sense of time pressure. Reduced time for physically active leisure and experiences of traffic congestion mediate the association of commute time with well-being, consistent with a resource drain model. Results suggest workplace practices aimed at increasing opportunities for physical activity and government-led efforts towards more integrated solutions to reduce traffic congestion may help increase well-being.

Changing perspectives on the work-leisure relationship.

Abstract In this paper, selected theories and research on the work–leisure relationship are reviewed and approaches that might be developed further in relation to changing workplace cultures and socio‐economic trends are discussed, with a particular focus on Canada. Key concerns in studying and theorising about work and leisure are highlighted and potential areas for development are discussed. Beginning with foundational work–leisure theories based on a manufacturing economy, selected theories of advanced capitalism are introduced along with contemporary theorising about the work–leisure relationship in response to social and structural changes. The varied nature of employment experiences suggests that it is unlikely a grand, overarching theory of the work–leisure relationship is desirable, or even possible. While globalisation will lead to some shared experiences, other factors that influence experiences of work and leisure such as cultural differences, geographic variability, and gender relations should not be overlooked in future research into the work–leisure relationship.

Association of dual-earner parents' perceptions of time-stress with leisure participation: an analysis of gender and social context

With a population-based sample of dual-earner parents (951 women and 1059 men), we examined the association of paid work hours and perceived time-stress with two forms of leisure participation and the ways gender may shape the social context of that participation. We expected that although work hours and time-stress would be associated with a lower likelihood of leisure participation, the typically gendered nature of childcare would mean women would be unlikely to reduce time spent with children, but men would. The two forms of leisure, watching TV and walking or jogging, were selected based on the nature and frequency of participation in these activities and the opportunity to do so in a variety of social contexts, namely alone, with another adult or with a child present. In bivariate and multivariate analyses, results showed greater paid work hours were associated with a lower likelihood of leisure participation, but the association of time-stress with likelihood of leisure participation was less consistent. Although women had higher levels of perceived time-stress than men and also more instances of reduced leisure participation (e.g., less TV watching than men), time-stress did not reduce likelihood of leisure with children, and there was also no gender difference in this association. The present study highlights the potential of using social context data from national surveys to gain further insight on how perceptions of time-stress relate to leisure.

Adolescent Time Use, Eating Habits, and Obesity

Abstract Rising obesity rates among Canadian adolescents have created concerns about population health and implications for the health care system. As part of the Ontario Adolescent Time Use Study (OATUS) 2001/03, 2,113 students aged 12 to 19 reported on time use, physical health, well-being, social relationships, and academic performance. Students were classified by Body Mass Index into weight categories of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. Significant positive relationships were found between obesity and skipping breakfast, and watching television during family meals. Obese adolescents spent more time engaged in computer activities and watching television, and less time in physically active and social leisure. As well, they were bullied more frequently, reported having fewer friends, decreased popularity, and lower levels of self-worth. Normal weight adolescents reported significantly higher levels of self-assessed fitness, health, and had a more positive outlook for continued good health in the future. Normal weight teens also performed better academically and attributed greater importance to post-secondary education than obese teens.

Understanding the association between time spent caregiving and well-being among employed adults: testing a model of work-life fit and sense of community

ABSTRACT This study examines factors associated with work–life fit and sense of geographic community as mediators of the negative association between caregiving demands and well-being among employed informal caregivers. Data were drawn from a larger project assessing well-being among residents of three mid-size cities in Ontario, Canada. A subsample was selected of informal caregivers who worked for pay for at least eight hours/week (n = 276). Caregiving demands were measured by time spent caring for an adult who was a relative, friend, or neighbour. Well-being followed a holistic conceptualization advanced by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. The more time spent caregiving, the lower participants’ well-being ratings were. This association was mediated by perceived time adequacy, income adequacy, and sense of community, such that the more time participants spent caregiving, the lower their ratings of these three resources. This explained the initial association of caregiving hours with reduced well-being. Enhanced well-being was more strongly associated with sense of community than any other factor, which supports the importance of the community domain in understanding well-being among employed caregivers and suggests its further testing with other population groups. Policy implications for employers and community organizations are provided.

The association of physically active leisure with well-being among diverse racial groups

Using nationally representative Canadian data (n = 92,362), we examined potential racial diversity in the association of physically active leisure participation with well-being. Although there was a direct association of physically active leisure participation with both physical health and mental health, the nature of these associations differed for the White racial group compared to several other racial groups. More specifically, greater physically active leisure participation was associated with better self-rated health for White Canadians, but this association was weaker for Chinese, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Pacific Asian Canadians, and those who identified as other or multiple racial identity. Similarly, greater physically active leisure participation was associated with better mental health for White Canadians, but this association was weaker for those who identified as Black, Chinese, South Asian and Pacific Asian Canadians. Results are discussed in terms of leisure constraints and a potential deficit in how leisure activities are measured with a diverse population.

Enforced leisure: Time use and its well-being implications:

The article examines well-being and social implications of “enforced leisure” resulting from unemployment and underemployment. The first part of the article reviews statistical and research evidence about social and well-being implications of unemployment and underemployment in the context of “technological unemployment” and globalization. The second part examines well-being implications of enforced leisure (due to being unemployed or working part time because the respondent “could not find a full-time job”) based on time use and well-being data collected as part of 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2010 Canadian General Social Surveys. Indicators used in the analyses of social and well-being correlates of “enforced leisure” include respondents’ time use, levels of perceived happiness, life satisfaction, satisfaction with work–family balance, satisfaction with the use of time, self-assessed health, perceived stress, and indices of social integration such as sense of belonging to the community, trusting people, or exposure to socially destabilizing behavior.