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Description
The purpose of this research is to explore the complexities of the work-life balance of tenured and tenure-track professors in the social and behavioral sciences. It is a comparative study between professors that teach in California Community Colleges (CCC) versus those that teach in public universities, such as the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC), focusing on the Southern California area. This research uses qualitative methods, by the use of in-depth interviews with faculty members from the various institutions. Surveys are also administered prior to the interviews, in which respondents filled out information on their background. This study allowed for the emergence of patterns in the profession, and the analysis of the existing work policies that may aid or inhibit work-life balance among our local faculty members. The frameworks of family life course theory and role conflict theory allowed for the examination of how factors such as gender, stage of career, institutional type and professional responsibilities impact overall faculty work-life balance. Of the three types of public institutions of higher education in California, faculty interviewees from the UCs reported having better, and more varied family-friendly policies than both CSUs and CCCs. On average, university faculty reported working 50-70 hours a week whereas community college faculty reported working 40-50 hours a week. In terms of overall satisfaction with their work-life balance, tenured and tenure-track faculty members at UCs report being most satisfied with their work-life balance, followed by faculty at CCCs, with CSU faculty reporting the lowest level of satisfaction, on average. The data also showed that not only did faculty experience role conflict between work and family, but also within the work role itself, more specifically the role conflict between the teacher role and the researcher role were quite prevalent, which have traditionally been thought of as complementary.
