9.2.1 Parental/family care of children

Beliefs about parental/family care for children underpinned most participants' decisions. Men and women across all categories of involvement in paid work felt strongly that parents/family should provide all or most of the care for very young children, and for some parents, for dependent children of any age. The age of their youngest child had a strong influence on almost all participants' participation in paid work.

Regardless of their income, occupation, or level of education, participants did not want pre-school children, particularly those under two, in full day centre-based services. As children got older, parents were more willing to use part time centre-based services and other formal early childhood education such as playcentre, kohanga reo, and kindergarten, usually for the opportunity for their children to interact with other children. Only parents who had pre-school children and worked full time used these services to enable them to work.

Recent Ministry of Social Development research has confirmed that New Zealand parents make extensive use of informal childcare (Ministry of Social Development, 2006). The importance of wider family in providing care for children and general support for parents across all ethnic groups is a key finding of this and other recent studies.

The 1998 New Zealand Childcare Survey found that the type of early childhood education or informal childcare parents used varied by the age of the child. Unpaid care by relatives was the most commonly used care for children under one year old (Department of Labour and NACEW, 1999).

The use of formal early childhood education and care services has also grown (Ministry of Education, 2006). The Ministry of Social Development research showed that about a third of parents used formal childcare services (Ministry of Social Development, 2006). New research providing information about why parents choose to use or not use formal child care services would help explain the relationship between this growth and parental, particularly mothers', participation in paid work.

9.2.2 Financial factors

All participants took their financial circumstances into account when making decisions. However, people's actual personal and household income appeared to have no relationship to their views about whether they needed to be in paid work for the income, or could afford to have one parent work part time or not at all. Income from work was an important factor in the decision for people working longer part time hours and full time.

For people with partners, and particularly for men, relative incomes were important in deciding who would be the primary caregiver. However, men who were in fulltime work and took on the primary caregiver role did so for other reasons as well, such as working evening shifts or having flexible employment.

9.2.3 Other factors

Work related factors such as personal satisfaction, intellectual stimulation, and feeling valued were also strong influences on people's decisions to be in paid work, both part and full time. Although they did not discuss the quality of their work in any depth, a majority of those in full-time work were in jobs that paid well above the national average. These are likely to be jobs that provide both intellectual stimulation and personal satisfaction. The findings align with recent research into balancing work and caring responsibilities, where a majority of respondents would prefer to have a job even if they had a reasonable living without one (Department of Labour 2003 and 2006; Families Commission 2005; Ministry of Social Development 2006).

Employers' and colleagues' attitudes, and workplace flexibility, such as glide time, working at home and an ability to work part time, were significant but not the strongest factors in people's decisions about participating in paid work. They were more important for people with older children who considered them in combination with other factors, such as family support for caring for children.

Acceptance of traditional gender roles was a decisive factor for some participants, and underpinned other participants' decisions. The latter group did not necessarily hold traditional views about gender roles, but slipped into these roles once a child was born. For example, they may have shared domestic work before they had a child but did not do so afterwards. A recent Ministry of Social Development study found that about a third of adults with families believe that the father should earn the family income and the mother should stay at home (Ministry of Social Development 2006).

A range of other factors working in combination had some influence on decisions. These included living in a rural area, having more than two children, being unable to drive, and having spent years out of the paid workforce. People also made decisions to change their hours of paid work because they wanted to study, or because particular work opportunities arose.

People made their decisions for personal reasons. They did not consider the state of the labour market, or the effects of government policies such as tax credits for working families, or the availability or cost of childcare. The lack of discussion about the cost of childcare may reflect the relative affluence of the sample. It is interesting in the light of the 2004 Living Standards study, which found that families who identified cost as a reason for not using childcare were more likely to be in some degree of hardship than other families with dependent children.

It is unclear whether New Zealand's comparatively low rate of employment among mothers of pre-school children reflects active choices by parents or constraints on choices due to lack of support in areas such as childcare. This study suggests that, for this sample at least, the lower rate of employment largely reflects an active choice.

Similar factors influenced decisions of people from different ethnic, age, income and occupational groups, with the exception of managers who felt that they needed to work full time even if this was not their preference.

9.2.4 Factors for specific groups of people

Caring for a child with special needs or an adult with disabilities was an added stress in people's lives, but the type of caring responsibility did not, in itself, appear to drive their decisions about participation in paid work. People who cared for children with special needs or adults with disabilities made their decisions on similar grounds to those caring for children generally. Caring for older adults without disabilities did not influence people's decisions about participation in paid work, although it did affect the time they had for other activities.

Single people made decisions based on a similar range of factors as partnered parents. Some single people had high levels of family support, including from their ex partner and his or her family; others did not. Recent studies have found that the largest difference between single and partnered parents is the amount of money, and for some, the amount of time they have for themselves, rather than the factors that shape their decision to be in paid work (Ministry of Social Development, 2006; Families Commission, 2005).

A key finding from this and other recent research is that people are influenced in their choices by many factors, and that different situations suit different people.

9.2.5 Decision making processes

Most people felt they had choice and control over their decisions about paid work, although some felt obliged by circumstances such as a partner's inability to care for children, to be in their situation. This was particularly the case for men who were primary caregivers and not in any paid work. People discussed decisions with partners where they had them, and sometimes with immediate family. Other people were largely supportive of whatever decision people made. Negative attitudes had no material effect on decisions.

Most people found decision making straightforward. Decisions about participation in paid work evolved over time, and built on earlier decisions and experiences such as choice of occupation and where to live, experiences at school, and family patterns in childhood.

The study explored whether people sought information to help them make decisions. No participant looked for information about what support was available, or the longer term financial or career effects of not working or reducing hours in paid work. Participants were aware of debate around longer term effects of formal early childhood education or informal childcare, although they did not seek this information out to help them decide whether or not to participate in paid work.

Because no participant had robust, or in most cases, any external information about the implications of their choice, it was impossible to assess the impact of information on decision making. Research carried out by the Families Commission in 2005 found that few families made explicit links between decision making and successful outcomes. The findings of this study suggest that people are obliged to respond to their immediate and short term needs, and cannot always take into account long term effects even if aware of them. Given that people do not have difficulty making decisions, it may be that having information about long term financial and other impacts would make little difference to their decisions.

9.2.6 Effects of decisions

Another issue is whether time out of the workforce has adverse effects on future employment or promotion prospects.

In this study, caring responsibilities had positive and negative effects on people in all paid work categories. Some people not in paid work or working few hours felt they would not be able to return to highly paid and demanding jobs, and still fulfill their caring responsibilities. They chose to leave work or consider retraining for a position they could do part time. Others took the opportunity while away from full time work to study, aiming for a better paid and more satisfying job when they returned to work.

People working full time were unable to attend professional development and networking opportunities; others were reluctant to leave employers who offered flexible arrangements to pursue career development.

This study shows that it is not so much that people cannot progress in jobs or access training when they have caring responsibilities, but that some choose to prioritise their caring responsibilities while others find it too hard to combine work and caregiving. They include people who are single, have a partner with an inflexible job or one that requires travel, live rurally, have more than two children, and have children with special needs that require varying and/or unpredictable levels of extra care.

Another issue is the effect of parents' decisions about participation in paid work on children. Stephens and Callister (2006) summarise the literature in relation to pre-schoolers as follows:

On the one hand, additional income from employment reduces the impact that poverty has on child attainments... On the other hand, maternal employment increases stress and reduces the availability of time for child-rearing, both of which can adversely affect child outcomes. However, the trade-off between these two varies by age group, with a general impression that for the first year of life, the child is probably better at home with a parent, and between ages three and five some form of quality child interaction is desirable, with a grey area for children aged one and two.

This summary reflects the values and practice of almost all the people in this study.

Men and women in this study who had with school aged children and had reduced their hours of paid work felt this was positive for family relationships. They had more time with their children. People in full time work felt that, while they were role models for their children and the family had more money, they missed out on time with their children and participating in school activities. These findings are consistent with other research (Ministry of Social Development, 2006; Families Commission 2005). This study included only parents' views, but the Families Commission research included focus groups with children. Their views about parents working were similar to their parents: there was more financial freedom, but they spent less time together. For children, some of the additional benefits of parents working were more privacy to do what they wanted, having the house to themselves, and having more takeaway meals. Exploring optimal outcomes for children of all ages could feature more prominently in research into balancing work and caring responsibilities.

The study showed a relationship between being the primary caregiver and being responsible for all unpaid work in the household. The primary caregiver for the children did domestic work in the household regardless of whether they were in any paid work, and irrespective of gender. In households with two working parents, domestic work tended to be shared, although women took more responsibility for organising it. This finding diverges from other research showing that women do more domestic work than men, even when both partners in a household are in full time paid work (Ministry of Social Development, 2006). If there is interest in exploring the relationships between caring responsibilities, paid work and unpaid domestic work further, case study research gaining the views of different people in a household would be useful.

9.2.7 Satisfaction with decisions

Participants felt that society did not value their work as carers, even though they personally valued this role highly and were satisfied with their decisions. People not in paid work were most affected by this, as others derived social value from their paid work. All participants thought it was beneficial for parents to be with children, especially young children. Men in particular reflected on the value and importance of building strong relationships with their children.

While people in part time work found elements of both caring and working satisfying, they were not satisfied with having to juggle two roles and make compromises with both. People in full time paid work also had to juggle two roles and had less time for parenting and for themselves than they would like. This finding is supported by recent research, which shows that most people are satisfied with their work/home situation, even though it is not their ideal (Families Commission, 2005; Ministry of Social Development, 2006).

Most people found decision making straightforward. Their choices were clear cut and they could not identify ways to make decision making easier. However, they did discuss changes that might make their lives easier, for example, having more family close by who could provide support.

Participants who had high levels of flexibility within their employment were more satisfied, and found it easier to manage their caring and paid work responsibilities, than those who did not. Some participants in paid work felt their lives would be easier if employers took a more active and lateral approach to workplace flexibility.

On the whole, the study concurred with other recent research which shows that many people do have access to various types of flexible work options, but their ability to use them depends on a variety of factors, including workplace culture (Ministry of Social Development, 2006; Department of Labour, 2003, 2006). Some people in the study changed jobs to obtain flexible conditions.

This, and other recent research into work-life balance, suggests that individuals and families establish priorities, are able to arrange situations that more or less suit these priorities, and on the whole, are satisfied with their lives at work and home. In summary, this study is in accord with other research findings on:

• mothers' pattern of participation in paid work
• parents' extensive use of informal childcare, particularly for children under the age of two
• the influence of beliefs about traditional gender roles
• the importance of financial factors in making a decision about participating in paid work
• the importance of factors such as personal satisfaction, intellectual stimulation and feeling valued in making a decision
• the similarity of factors influencing single and partnered parents' decision making
• the lack of a longer term view in decision-making
• the benefits of flexible workplace conditions
• people's generally high levels of satisfaction with their decision.

This study showed that, when making a decision, participants did not actively seek information on services and financial benefits available to support them in their role as caregivers, nor did they specifically seek information on the long-term consequences of their decision.