Work-Family Balance

Patricia M. Raskin

Balancing the demands and domains of work and family life presents major challenges for individuals, couples, and families. Career counselors and all counseling professionals must be able to comprehend and assist people to deal with issues of work-family balance. This entry considers work-family balance from the perspectives of history and career intervention. The relationship between the domains of work and family has undergone many shifts in the United States. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, families tended to work together, usually where they lived (farms, small businesses), in sustainable ways. Although men's and women's roles within those families differed (men engaged in manual labor and trade; women were in charge of sustenance, family needs, and domestic tasks), all of the duties were seen as of equal necessity and importance. Further, the education and care of children was equally divided, as children accompanied their same-sex parent in the performance of work. At ...

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