Family and Work: The Family's Perspective
Appendix A: Interview Schedules
Parent Interview
Children's Interview
Parent Interview
We are trying to explore the ways that families are affected by the interactions between the paid work that parents do and family responsibilities. I am going to ask you some questions, but really we will be having a conversation, so you can take the conversation anywhere you think is relevant. I have broad areas that I want to cover, but within those, we can talk about anything.
Firstly, could you describe your household in terms of who lives here, and how they are related to each other. (Partners, children, step-children, etc.)
The first questions are about whether you and your partner do paid work, and what working means to you.
Do you do paid work?
What are your reasons for working?
What hours do you work? Are they your preferred hours? Why/Why not?
For the most part would you say that you enjoy working?
Would you describe your paid work as a job or a career?
[Can skip this set if you are interviewing the partner I think]
Does your partner do paid work?
What are her/his reasons for working?
What hours does she/he work? Are they his/her preferred hours? Why/Why not?
For the most part would you say that she/he enjoys working?
Would she/he describe his/her paid work as a job or a career?
How did you decide who would do paid work in your family? (Explore issues of whether there was conscious thinking about how best to manage both roles, whether partners "take turns", whether it is a decision that is reviewed, etc.)
Have you (or your partner) changed the hours you work or the jobs you do since you've had children? (Explore reasons, effects of different patterns, etc.)
Has the way you think about your work changed since you had children?
How important to your sense of who you are is your paid work?
(maybe skip?) What other aspects of your life are important to your sense of who you are? (parenting/community/etc)
The next area I want to cover is how you go about the typical day when you or your partner or both of you are doing paid work.
[If respondent is doing paid work]
Could you describe a typical morning before you leave home for work?
(Explore how rushed the morning is, who does what tasks, etc.)
Could you describe a typical afternoon/evening after you have come home from work?
[If respondent is not doing paid work]
Could you describe a typical morning at home before your partner is going to work?
Could you describe a typical evening at home after your partner has come home from work?
Now I want to talk about where your children are while you are doing paid work.
Where do your children spend their time when you are at work? (If older and not in childcare or after-school care, ask about past, and then about illness.)
If childcare: How did you choose this kind of childcare? Do you like it? Does your child like it?
What do you do when your child/ren are sick? How do you manage school holidays?
What kinds of things do you look for in making childcare arrangements for your children?
Do you think your children would say the same things are important?
Now I want to talk about the time you spend with your children.
What kinds of everyday things do you do with a child in an average day? Do you eat meals together, read books, watch TV, play sport, do homework, etc.?
What things do you most like doing with your children?
How would you describe this time - is it hurried time or not?
Does this time ever get interrupted by work? (What happens then?)
Do you set aside special time to do things with your children? Do you spend time just "hanging around" together? Is there any difference in how much you or your children enjoy time that is arranged compared with time spent just "hanging around" together?
Does your partner enjoy doing similar things with the children, or different kinds of things? (If different: Why do you think this is?)
How much do you know about your child's daily life, such as who their friends are, what their weekly routine is, what their main interests are at the moment?
How easy or difficult do you find it to focus on your children when you are together?
Do you feel that you have enough time with your children?
Do you feel you have enough time for yourself and/or your partner?
Do you feel like you're doing a good job as a parent most of the time? When do you most feel like this?
Do you ever feel that you're not doing a very good job as a parent? When do you feel like this?
What kinds of things affect the way you feel about what kind of parent you are?
Does work have an impact on how you feel about the way you are parenting? Does it have a positive impact, a negative impact or both?
Now I want to talk about what your children know about your work.
Do you talk about your work with your children? (good and bad)
What do you think your children think you do at work? Is it important that your children know what you do? Why/Why not?
What reasons would your children give for your working?
Do you think that your children think that you like work? Does it matter that they think that?
What would you like them to know about your work and why you do it?
Do you bring work home with you? How often, and when do you do it?
Do your children ever say anything about you working at home? What kinds of things?
Do you have rules (either stated or unstated) for keeping work out of home hours or home out of work hours? What are they? How well do they work? What happens if you don't stick to
them?
Do you travel much because of work? What do you think your children think of this?
Do your children have to wait for you because of your work commitments? (What do you say to them? What do they say to you?)
Do you ever get distracted thinking about work while you're at home? How often does this happen? Does this ever happen when you are doing things with the children? Do you think they notice? Does it matter?
Do you think your children know when you have had a bad day at work? (If yes, What makes you think they know? If no, why wouldn't they know ?)
What do you do if you have had a bad day at work and come home grumpy?
Do you think your children know when you have had a good day at work?
Now I want to talk about the way that work and family affect each other.
In general, do you think parents' working has any impact on children?
What impact do you think your (or in the case of respondent not working for pay - partner's) working for pay has on your children?
What impact does being a parent have on your paid work? [more/less energy, good/bad mood, new perspective, etc. ]
Some people talk about "balancing" their work and family lives. What does this mean to you? Do you think of your work and family lives in this way, or do you think of the relationship between work and family roles in a different way? (If unsure of point of question prompt with other ways people have of representing work/family relationship - e.g."juggling".)
What aspects of your job make it easer or harder for you to manage the potential spillovers between work and family? (Note: spillovers can go both ways) What aspects of your family make it easier or harder to manage the potential spillovers between work and family? Do you have particular strategies that you use? What are they? Where did they come from?
Did your parents work for pay?
Do you remember how you felt about this at the time?
How do you feel about it in retrospect?
Have your own experiences influenced your decisions about working?
Do you feel that you are bringing up your children in the way that you would like to, or are there circumstances that restrict you?
Does working affect your capacity to be the kind of parent you would like to be?
Children often think in terms of their parents "being there" for them. What do you think this means to children? What does it mean to you? Do you think that being a working parent has an impact on "being there" for children? Does it for you?
Have your children gained or missed anything because of you working? (What have they gained/missed?)
Do you think that you miss/have missed anything in your children's lives because you work? What about your partner?
If your family had all the money it would ever need, would you want to change anything about your work? (For instance, stop working, or change your hours, change jobs/careers?)
What do you think your kids would say if asked this question?
(for parents of older children)
What do you think your children's fondest memories of this time of their lives will be when they are older and looking back?
If your children were granted one wish to change the way that your work affects their lives, what would that wish be?
What advice would you give to other parents doing paid work while bringing up children?
What do you wish someone had told you before you became a working parent?
Children's Interview
[N.B. Throughout the interview, try to differentiate between parents, particularly where one parent is working and one is not.]
We are interested in finding out what children think about their parents working and how it affects your family's life. I am going to ask you some questions, but you don't have to just answer the questions. The questions are a guide to the sorts of things I want to be sure we talk about, but we can talk about anything that comes to mind as we go along. If you don't understand anything I say, just tell me and I'll explain it a different way. Some of the things we are talking about might be things you've never thought about. You can tell me that you've haven't thought about something before, but you might like to think about it as we go along. Remember that if you don't want to answer a question, just tell me that you don't want to answer it and I'll go on to the next question. We can stop talking any time you want to. It's up to you.
To start, could you describe your family for me? Who lives with you in this house?
Now I'd like to talk about what you do most days.
What do you do most days?
Could you describe getting ready in the morning to go to school? Is it a very busy time? What do your parents do? What do you have to do yourself?
What about getting home? What do you after you get home from school?
What things do you do with your parents and/or brothers & sisters most days? For example, eating meals together, reading books, watching TV, discussing your day, etc.
How much responsibility do you have for taking care of yourself? Do you think you have too much, too little or the right amount of responsibility? What jobs do you do around the house? Do you think you would have more or less responsibility if your parents worked less?
Now I'd like to talk about your parents and whether they work
Do your parents have jobs they are paid to do? (What are they?) (Follow up references to other kinds of work and other work patterns. If the child is old enough ask for comparisons, etc.)
What do they actually do at work each day? (CiF)
Do they talk about their work? How much? What kinds of things do they tell you? (good and bad)
Do they like working?
Are there things that they don't like about working?
Have you ever been to your parents' workplaces? What did you think about it?
What do your parents do straight after they get home from work?
Do you think your mother/your father works too much, too little or about the right amount of time? What makes you think that?
Now I'd like to know about any times when someone other than your parents takes care of you.
Does someone other than one of your parents take care of you when your parents are working?
What do you think about it?
What is the person who cares for you like?
What should child care be like? What should people who take care of children be like?
Do you spend time alone at home when your parents are working? What do you think of this?
What happens when you are sick? What do you do in school holidays?
Now I'd like to talk about the times you spend with your parents.
What kinds of things do you usually do with you mum?
What is the time spent with your mum usually like? (prompt: rushed, relaxed?)
Do you think your mother spends enough time with you or do you wish she spent more time or less time with you? (CiF)
What kinds of things do you usually do with your dad?
What is the time spent with your dad usually like? (prompt: rushed, relaxed?)
Do you think your father spends enough time with you or do you wish he spent more time or less time with you? (CiF)
(If not enough time: Why doesn't she/he spend more time with you? If she/he did spend more time with you what would you like to do with her/him? CiF)
What are your favourite times spent with your family? (Are these planned times or do they just happen?)
Do you like just "hanging around" with your family? Do you do this often?
(for older children) Some kids talk about their parents "being there" for them. What does this mean to you? Do you think that whether your parent works or not makes a difference to whether they are "there for you"?
When you need to talk to your parents or want to tell them about something, is it easy to get their attention? Do they listen to you?
Do they talk to you much? (CiF)
Can you count on your parents for help when you need it? [for example when you're sick, or are worried about something.]
Do you ever spend time waiting for your parents? Why does this happen? [Follow up work if it is a reason.] How do you feel when this happens?
Is your mum/dad interested in the things you do? (CiF)
How much do your parents know about your life? What kinds of things do they know? (prompt with: do they know who your friends are, what you do each day at school, what your hobbies are, and things like that?) If they were not working, do you think it would change what they know about your life? How?
Do your parents help out at your school or help with your sports clubs or other hobbies?
Do you parents come to special events like sports days, parent-teacher interviews, school concerts, etc? Do you think that their work ever stops them from coming to these kinds of events? (Follow up: How do you feel about this?)
Thinking about your mum and all the things she does in her life, what do you think she is best at? (CiF) What is she not very good at?
Thinking about your dad and all the things he does in his life, what do you think he is best at? (CiF) What is he not very good at?
Now I'd like to talk about the ways that parents' work can sometimes affect children's lives, and hear about your experiences.
Can you tell what kind of day your parents have had at work when they get home? How can you tell?
What do you do if you think your parents have had a bad day?
What do you do if you think your parents have had a good day?
Do you do things differently depending on whether they have had a good or a bad day?
Do you think that your parents are tired by their work, or do you think it gives them lots of energy?
Do your parents bring their work home very often?
Do they often work at home when you are around? How do you feel when this happens? What do you do if you need them while they're working?
Do you parents think about work at home? How can you tell? How often do they do this? What is it like when they do this? What do you do?
Do your parents have to travel away from home because of their work? How do you feel about this?
What kinds of things happen in your life because your parents work? Have you learned or gained anything from having parents who work? Is there anything you haven't got or can't do because your parents work?
[for younger children maybe] What is the best thing/worst thing about having a working mother/father?
Do you think your parents miss/have missed out on things in your life because they are working?
Do you have friends whose parents do/don't [opposite of own circumstances] work? What is it like for them? Are things very different for them?
Do you think it's good or bad for kids that their parents work?
Lastly, I'd like you to use your imagination and think of the ways that things could be different, and also think about being an adult.
If your family had all the money it would ever need, would you want to change anything about how your parents work? (For instance, they could stop working, or work more or less hours, or change jobs/careers?)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Do you think you'll have a family one day?
Do you think you will work when you have children?
[older children?]What do you remember most about your life at the moment when you look back to when you were younger?
Go to Appendix B
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