Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2000.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2008
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42820 |
| _version_ | 1811093624073486336 |
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| author | Eaton, Susan C |
| author2 | Lotte Bailyn and Thomas A. Kochan. |
| author_facet | Lotte Bailyn and Thomas A. Kochan. Eaton, Susan C |
| author_sort | Eaton, Susan C |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2000. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:48:03Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/42820 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:48:03Z |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/428202019-04-12T14:37:04Z Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees Eaton, Susan C Lotte Bailyn and Thomas A. Kochan. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. HD4904.25 .E38 2000 Work and family United States Work and family United States Case studies Work and family United States Psychological aspects Corporate culture United States Biotechnology industries Employees Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2000. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-288). This dissertation addresses the problems and synergies of integrating paid work with other meaningful parts of life, and avoiding pernicious choices between work and family. To do so, I examine the very structure of work organization for professional and technical employees in small and medium-sized companies in a new, knowledge-based sector of the US economy. The research questions are: What dynamics at work, related to time, boundaries, and control of schedules and work process, influence satisfaction at work and home, commitment to the work organization, well-being and gender equity? Under what conditions are supportive "work-family" practices by firms, as experienced in a day-to-day context, associated with positive outcomes at home and work? The dissertation builds on relevant aspects of industrial relations, human resources, and work process research, and scholarship concerning families, gender, and work-family boundaries. Work scholarship is incomplete without a lens that incorporates the holistic lives and concerns of the people doing the work, and family scholarship is incomplete without serious consideration of the work structures that shape family schedules, resources, conflicts, and availability for caregiving. This dissertation uses both qualitative data from 80 interviews to get an in-depth picture of respondents' lives, and a broader quantitative analysis based on an original survey with 463 professional scientists and managers. These were gathered from biopharmaceutical employees in Massachusetts during 1996-99. From the interviews I find that flexibility at work, support at home, and control at work are the key factors that contribute to satisfaction outcomes given similar levels of demands. But these are not distributed evenly by gender, company, or level of job. The survey data show that it is not only the presence of workplace policies on work-family, but the employee's day-to-day experience of whether she is free to use the policies, that contributes to positive outcomes. I introduce a concept o "perceived usability" and use multivariate regression analysis to show it is linked to control of time, pace, and place of work, to organizational commitment and "integrated satisfaction." I find that gender is the strongest stress predictor in this sample. I find that biotechnology offers unusual opportunities for gender equity at work, but a combination of traditional managerial attitudes and inequity at home erects barriers to realizing this potential. In conclusion, I argue that we cannot effectively understand organizational life and work design without considering mutually interactive effects of home and family concerns. by Susan Catherine Eaton. Ph.D. 2008-09-03T18:16:22Z 2008-09-03T18:16:22Z 2000 2000 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42820 44923328 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 306 leaves application/pdf n-us--- Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Sloan School of Management. HD4904.25 .E38 2000 Work and family United States Work and family United States Case studies Work and family United States Psychological aspects Corporate culture United States Biotechnology industries Employees Eaton, Susan C Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees |
| title | Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees |
| title_full | Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees |
| title_fullStr | Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees |
| title_full_unstemmed | Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees |
| title_short | Work-family integration in biotechnology : implications for firms and employees |
| title_sort | work family integration in biotechnology implications for firms and employees |
| topic | Sloan School of Management. HD4904.25 .E38 2000 Work and family United States Work and family United States Case studies Work and family United States Psychological aspects Corporate culture United States Biotechnology industries Employees |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42820 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT eatonsusanc workfamilyintegrationinbiotechnologyimplicationsforfirmsandemployees |