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Review by Ann M. Shayne
"Leading one life and imagining another" is how she puts it. Once again Arlie Hochschild has cut to the quick of a modern dilemma and drawn blood.
Her provocative 1989 book The Second Shift explored the perils of the two-career marriage. Now, The Time Bind looks at another society-wide crisis: the trend of women who claim to want more time for home life but in fact spend more time at work than at home -- even when they work in a big company offering "family-friendly" work policies.
This sounds sensational, and it is. But Hochschild is a deliberate social scientist, and she presents her thesis in a measured way: "We know from previous research that many men have found a haven at work. This isn't news. The news of this book is that growing numbers of working women are leery of spending more time at home, as well. They feel torn, guilty, and stressed out by their long hours at work; but they are ambivalent about cutting back on those hours.
"Women fear losing their places at work, and having such a place has become a source of security, pride, and a powerful sense of being valued."
Hochschild arrived at her startling conclusion after spending three summers at a large midwestern company, one which prided itself on "family-friendly" personnel policies.
She tells a good story. She introduces us to the manager/mom who bribes her child with early morning fudge bars and who resists stepping off the company fast track; the factory worker who discovers that working overtime is the only way to force her boyfriend to spend time at home; and the comfortable executive who seems to have all the time in the world, because his wife doesn't work outside the home and his secretary manages his time for him.
There are no easy solutions to the time bind.
The answer, it seems, must ultimately come from the individual, and that's why this book is worthwhile. For every woman who has struggled with finding balance between work and home, The Time Bind is a useful catalyst for thought.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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