The ‘family-friendly’ small business?

Susan Baines, Jane Wheelock, and Ulrike Hohmann

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OUTLINE

Research on small businesses, work and family life

Earning a household income

A typology of working arrangements in business families

The experience of children

Flexibility or self-exploitation?

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Research

Study in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Work and family Life Programme. How far can small business promotion policies address social exclusion in a ‘family friendly’ way. Interviews in thirty business households located in areas of economic deprivation in the north east of England Narratives of business owners, their partners and children (45 adults and 22 children)

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Background

High profile of ‘Family friendliness’ in the workplace

Little research on the links between business ownership, parenting and family responsibilities

Focus on families whose livelihood was dependent (in whole or part) on a business owned within the family

Work life balance issues are relevant to mothers, fathers and children

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Underpinning Household livelihoods Government

policyenvironment

Labourmarket

environment

Householdenvironment

Households with sustainable income / livelihood packages

Households with

precarious livelihoods

Instability of business income

Business environment

Danger

factors

Support factors

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A typology of working arrangements in business

families

•Time greedy

•Rigidly scheduled

•Flexibly scheduled

•Work-family inclusive

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FLEXIBLY SCHEDULED

Working hours can be managed to fit needs of children and other family membersNot possible to work with children presentUse formal and informal childcareWholly or partially home-basedDownplay household context to clientsBoundaries constructed between family and work'Component' incomeTypes of business - therapies (aromatherapy, reflexology), ironing

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WORK-FAMILY INCLUSIVE

Home and family are physically and emotionally incorporated into the business

Business is in the home or close to it

The family environment is displayed to clients and potential clients as an asset

Business is conducted in the presence of young children - no formal childcare

At its most positive the whole family identify with the business

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RIGIDLY SCHEDULED

Working hours and practices are structured similarly to many jobs.There is a fixed working day – may include some evenings and / or Saturdays but these are regular and predictableNot home based.Childcare is needed – usually a mixture of family and formal.There may be some flexibility at the beginning and end of the working day.This group consists of hairdressers, cafes and a private nursery These businesses can form a component or a main income.

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TIME GREEDY

Working hours are long and include evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.

Most ‘time greedy businesses’ are owned by men

Working hours are unpredictable

Lack of time for partners and children

Family activities may be restricted.

Wives of male owners play a traditional role in childcare and domestic labour

Women owners have someone in the household to help.

Excessive hours may be associated with the start-up period – but not necessarily

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Leanne, aromatherapist, ‘flexibly scheduled’

Leanne lives with her partner Phil, a soldier and her children (8 and 9)The business is run from a specially converted downstairs room in the

home.Clients have to walk through the house and Leanne worries about it

being tidy.Business hours are 3.30 till 5.30 and 7 till 9 Monday to Friday.

Evenings are the busiest time. Childcare arrangements have changed -used after school childcare

and informal arrangements with friends – now only herself and Phil.Not ‘flexible’ for children – they resent having to go to bed early.

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John and Anna, village shop, 'work-family inclusive'

John and Anna are business partners. He is also a full time teacher.

The household includes the couple’s son aged 26, his girlfriend and their baby.

The family lives next door to the shop.The son used to work full-time in the shop but left - so it is

necessary to employ ‘strangers’. The shop is open 7 days per week. The couple never take

holidays because they can not trust staff to look after the shop.

The grandchildren come into the shop and it is possible to serve customers with them around.

The shop is part of the community – customers like to see the family there.

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Roy, Joiner, ‘time greedy business’

The household consists of Roy, his wife Liz and their 14 year old daughter Annie.

Liz has a part-time job as a receptionist. She does business paperwork and bookkeeping. He is the breadwinner.

Roy works 11 or 12 hours per day, 6 days per week. He ‘tries’ to avoid working on Sundays.

There is a workshop a quarter of a mile from home. An attic in the house is used for paperwork.

Annie is the only person in this household who is computer literate. Customers telephone Roy at home, sometimes at unsocial hours.Annie resents not seeing much of her father

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Alice, hairdressing salon owner, ‘rigidly scheduled’

Alice lives with her husband Jack and their three children (aged 17, 11, and 5). She is the main income earner.

The business started as mobile hairdressing. Then hours were long and unsocial.

The salon is open 9.00 am to 5.00 pm on 4 weekdays with two late nights (6.00pm and 7.00pm) plus Saturday morning.

Alice has a business partner and 4 employees.The youngest 2 children went to a childminder until they started school.

Now a friend collects the 5 year old from school. Jack is involved in childcare.

Alice says she has never been a ‘stay at home’ mother. Now she is older she thinks more about the need to spend time with her children.

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CHILDREN AND LIVELIHOODS

Children observed the financial decisions and registered change in living standards

Not all parents succeeded in protecting children from financial worries

Older children welcomed opportunities to earn money through parents’ businesses

Children in business families learned a lot about the workplace - they did wish for long term participation in the businesses

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CHILDREN AND LIVELIHOODS

Contribution of IT skills to the business

I am really good with the computer. None of them is really very good on the computer. They are not really patient with it and I get quite annoyed because. So I don’t really have a choice. I always have to scan forms for them because they don’t know how to use it. (Annie, 14)

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A BALANCE FOR CHILDREN?

I would probably change, like, the long hours they work. They don’t get like very much sleep. They feel like really tired the next day and everything. And it would be nice for them to having more time to sleep. Mum’s really tired all the time with working long hours. It would be nice if my mum and dad, well if my mum would have more time to come out to places. (Yvette, 11)

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CONCLUSIONSFew businesses in this study were ‘family’ businesses in a formal sense – but most of businesses made heavy demands on the owner’s spouse and children

‘Family friendliness’ varied but often negative eg long, unpredictable working hours and precarious incomes.

Typology using the language of work-family balance helps to capture the diversity of income earning and caring that support business households.