The Modernisation Process Through the Perceptions of Work–Family in Spain and Great Britain

Abstract:

This paper explores the work–family conflict as perceived by working parents in two European countries, Spain and Great Britain (GB). Using data from the International Social Survey Programme, ISSP 2002, we examine the factors that explain the high level of conflict in the two countries, for both men and women. Whereas sex, age and having children at home impact the level of conflict in Spain, education level as a proxy for class is more relevant in the GB. The contrasting perceptions of the work–family conflict in the two countries may be taken as indicators of each country's stage in what has been called the ‘modernization process’. This study seeks to understand the relationship between the level of ‘modernization’ and the perception of a high level of conflict in the attempt to reconcile the work–family conflict, focusing on the process of ‘individualization’ on the one hand and measurement of ‘the perception of the level of conflict by sex’ on the other.

The study argues that the difference between these high levels of conflict is explained by variables that refer to ascribed status in Spain (a pro-traditional model) but to acquired status in GB (a non-interventionist model) indicated by the influence of education level as a variable resulting from a person's effort.