The occupational and familial systems are viewed as two different spheres in which sex roles are clearly distinguished.  Men are tasked with responsibilities requiring more physical strength, skill, and initiative which carry risks to some extent. Women, on the other hand, are expected to devote themselves to housekeeping, nurturing, and caring. Thus, men’s commitment to work is seen as central to their lives, while that of women as secondary to (and limited by) their commitment to the family.

The onset of industrialization brings about changes in the paradigm. Women have joined men in the world of work; thus, widening their horizon beyond the confines of the household to exercise their skills and intellectual prowess. Men help with the household task and both partners enjoy equal opportunity to participate in activities outside the confines of their homes.  As couples are gainfully employed, the financial burdens, income, and decision-making are now shared by husbands and wives.

While industrialization brings about the new family, it, likewise, begets the so-called “double load,” causing difficulties linked between the occupational and familial systems. These felt difficulties revolve around stress at work, lack of quality time to devote to family interaction, and fatigue in performing domestic chores.

It is observed that the increasing number of women joining the labor market have brought fatigue and stress, due in large part to juggling work and family demands. Women are beginning to seek a better balance between their economic and private lives, while men feel a need to develop closer relationships with their children, and more egalitarian partnerships with their companions (World Labor Report, 1994).

The Monograph, therefore, aims to provide possible mechanisms to better harmonize work and family responsibilities in the Philippines. It partly presents the effects of “double-load” on the family life, and discusses International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 156 on workers with family responsibilities. It also enumerates the efforts being done in the Philippines to better harmonize the two spheres.

This was presented by Ma. Theresa M. Soriano, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute for Labor Studies, during the “Forum on Better Harmonization of Work and Family Responsibilities for Men and Women,” held at the ILS Hall. Intramuros, Manila on 4 June 1996.