Role Strain as a Common Problem for Working Mothers in Singapore and the Impact Singapore’s Government Paid Pro-Family Leave Schemes has on the Sociological Phenomenon of Role Strain
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Role Strain as a Common Problem for Working Mothers in Singapore and the Impact Singapore’s Government Paid Pro-Family Leave Schemes has on the Sociological Phenomenon of Role Strain
Dictionary.com , which is based on the Random House Dictionary describes role strain as “the stress or strain” experienced by a person when “incompatible behavior, expectations, or obligations are associated with a single role” (n.d., par. 1). According to William J. Goode (1960), role strain is the sociological phenomenon where an individual experiences the “felt difficulty in fulfilling role obligations” (p. 483). In the context of the Singaporean society, where social planning plays an integral plan in the development of the country, the woman is expected to help in raising a family as well as work outside of the home. This is the case since the women in Singapore have access to educational opportunities and are encouraged to be active participants in the labour force. However, although women are expected to work outside of the home, there are important familial roles which they are mandated to maintain by their government. Indeed, it can be argued that although the role strain experienced by Singaporean mothers is alleviated by the various government pro-family leave schemes promoted by the government of Singapore, role strain is a phenomenon which is expected to be experienced by working mothers living in Singapore because Singaporean working mothers are expected to work so as to improve the material standard living of their family and, subsequently, their nation and have to cope with the societal pressures of inculcating traditional values in their children.
Eddie Kuo and Aline Wong (1979) explain that the government of Singapore places expectations on the family to inculcate traditional cultural values such as “discipline, diligence, and self reliance” (p. 11). Kuo and Wong (1979) describe Singapore as a “‘rugged society’”, and, hence, its government rejects the notion of creating a welfare state where its citizens are significantly dependent on the government for their sustenance (p. 11). Consequently, even females need to become active participants of the nation’s labour force. Kuo and Wong (1979) demonstrate in their study that over 30 percent of Singapore’s labour force is comprised of women. This is the case since women in Singapore are afforded easy access to educational opportunities (Kuo & Wong, 1979). Although playing a significant role in the labour force, Singaporean mothers are still expected to inculcate traditional cultural values within their children which complement the government of Singapore’s aim in creating a “‘rugged society’” for its citizens (Kuo & Wong, 1979, p. 11). The government of Singapore has, in the past, repeatedly urged its citizens against the “‘cultural and social pollution’” of “‘Western social values’”, which it claims accompanies modern economic development (Kuo & Wong, 1979, p. 11).
There is an additional dilemma which is experienced by the Singaporean working mother, in that, in addition to inculcating values which align themselves with the concept of the “‘rugged society’”, she is also expected to pool her resources along with the other members of her family which would then lead to an “improved material living standard” (Kuo & Wong, 1979, p. 11). Consequently, this will help to bolster the Singaporean government’s efforts to maintain a high standard of living for its citizens.
Reddy, Vranda, Ahmed, Nirmala and Siddaramu (2010) explain a similar situation experienced by working mothers in another country in Asia—India. Increasingly, women in India are beginning to play an active role in the labour force, as economic need for women to work outside of the home increases. Similar to the situation within Singapore, women in India enjoy increased educational opportunities compared to decades ago (Reddy, Vranda, Ahmed, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010, p. 112). The researchers note that although there were positive benefits to be gained from working outside of the home (such as improved physical stamina, improved self esteem, motivational stimulation and an increased feeling of control), there are some negative effects that are experienced by working Indian mothers (Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010). These include: insomnia, loss of appetite, back pains and overindulgence (Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010).
Furthermore, the authors of the research mentioned the phenomena of work-family conflict and family-work conflict, and explain how roles of motherhood and a working professional are, at times, in conflict with each other (Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010). Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu explain that working mothers are expected to seek personal fulfilment in “demanding careers” while simultaneously being self-sacrificial by providing “‘intensive parenting,’” which requires highly involved child-rearing and development (p. 113). Moreover, Goode (1960) explains in his research study that all individuals participate in many “different role relationships,” for each of which there will be different obligations which are required (p. 485). In addition, Goode (1960) mentions that the roles might involve demands related to executing contradictory performances, as is being experienced by working mothers in Singapore and India.
Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu (2010) describe work family conflict (WFC) as a type of inter-role conflict wherein certain responsibilities from the work and family domains are incompatible with and have a negative impact on a professional’s work situation. However, family work conflict (FWC) is a kind of inter-role conflict wherein family and work responsibilities are incompatible, and have a negative effect on the home environment (Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010). The authors of the research study posit that WFC and FWC represent the consequences of an individual attempt to fulfil the demands from multiple domains, which working mothers tend to operate in (Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010).
Nevertheless, it should be noted that multiple roles need not create a conflict for the individual as concluded by the researchers. Their findings concluded that it was easier for a woman to experience good mental health while experiencing multiple roles if she likes both her work and home environment (Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010). Additionally, the authors mentioned that research studies have proven that women who play multiple roles (such as wife, mother, and employee) have high self esteem and less likely to be depressed then women who had fewer roles or were unemployed, unmarried, and childless (Reddy, Vranda, Nirmala & Siddaramu, 2010).
Goode (1960) in his research study indicates several ego manipulations which an individual can use to manipulate his role structure, and to alleviate the stress related to role strain. For instance, he indicates that an individual can compartmentalize his roles depending on the “a) location and context” and the “situational urgency or crisis” (Goode, 1960, p. 486).
It should be noted that, in the case of the Singaporean government, there are some attempts being made to facilitate an individual’s compartmentalization process through its government paid pro-family leave schemes. These pro-family leave schemes were implemented with the intent of fostering an overall pro-family environment in Singapore. These pro-family leave schemes, promoted by the Singaporean government, provide Singaporean citizens the opportunity to get married and start families. These government paid pro-family leave schemes allow working mothers to focus on their familial roles, albeit for a short period of time, while being outside of the work environment. The working mother can focus within a short period of time on being a mother and a wife while being on the government-paid maternity leave (GPML), for instance. As explained on the Government of Singapore’s e-citizen website, on the GPML, the mother is mandated to start her maternity leave no earlier than four weeks before delivery and consists of one continuous eight week period. The other eight week period is flexibly structured. This means that this period can commence for one continuous eight week period immediately after her delivery or for multiple periods for twelve months after her delivery. The Singaporean government even facilitates and pays for this leave scheme if the working mother is self-employed. It can be argued that this maternity leave helps mothers to use their egos to manipulate their roles through the process of compartmentalization. These pro-family leave schemes permit working mothers to focus on the task of motherhood while not being distracted by the work environment. The working mothers will be able to focus on the “situational urgency or crisis” of being the mother of a new born (Goode, 1960, p. 486). Goode (1960) explains that mentally focusing on the “situational urgency or crisis” allows the person (or the working mother, in this instance) to meet the crisis on “its own terms”, setting aside for the moment demands which she was meeting “prior to the crisis” (p. 486).
Goode (1960) explains in his study that another way that an individual can use her ego to manipulate her is by using the delegation process. This process involves an individual delegating some aspect of his or her role. For instance, a wife may decide to delegate some of the housekeeping or nursing of a young child (Goode, 1960, p. 486).
It is important to mention that the Singaporean government allows a working mother on to delegate some of her roles to the father of the child while she is on maternity leave. The two government paid pro-family leave schemes which accommodate this are the government-paid shared parental leave (SPL) and government-paid paternity leave schemes. As mentioned by the Singaporean government’s e-citizen website, the father must either be lawfully married to the mother or have been married lawfully to the mother to participate in these leave schemes. The father during the sixteen weeks of the mother’s paid maternity leave is allowed to share one week of caring and nurturing the infant while on these leave schemes. It can be argued that these government-paid schemes, which facilitate the father’s involvement in the care of the child, allows the working mother to delegate some responsibilities related the nurturing, caring, and socialization of the child to the child’s father.
In conclusion, the working mothers of Singapore experience role strain and role conflict because they are required to improve the material standard of living of the family by working outside of the home while, at the same time, inculcating important values within their child which align themselves with the agenda of the Singaporean government. However, the recent implementation of the government pro-family leave schemes will ensure that working Singaporean mothers are able to effectively use their egos to manipulate their role structures by the use of processes such as compartmentalization and delegation.
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