Contents Page: NZJER, 2017, 42(3)
Name

Title

Page
Numbers

Katherine
Ravenswood, Candice
Harris, and Wendy
Wrapson

Editorial: Gender and Wellbeing at
Work

1-6

Barbara Myers andJulie Douglas

Older women: Employment & wellbeing
in later life

7-28

Judith K Pringle,
Sharyn Davies, Lynne
Giddings and Judy
McGregor

Gender pay equity and wellbeing: anintersectional study of engineering andcaring occupations

Lara Corr, Jane Dixon
and John Burgess

ECEC Workers and the Health Risk of aContinuous Caring Regime

Shalene Werth

The personal and the professional:
betwixt and between the paid and unpaid
responsibilities of working women withchronic illness

Edwina Pio and Smita Untangling paradoxes in wellbeing workSinghwith women victims of violence: A
developing world perspective

29-45

46-62

63-74

75-88

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 1-6

Editorial: Gender & Wellbeing at WorkKATHERINEWRAPSONRAVENSWOOD,CANDICE

HARRISandWENDY

AUT University
Wellbeing at work is a changeable and contested term (Hone, Schofield, Jarden, 2015).
However, it has often focussed on attributes of individuals at work rather than incorporating
the work environment, the role of the regulatory environment or other external influences
affecting employee wellbeing (Ravenswood, 2011). The focus of individual wellbeing andmental health has identified factors such as positive work relationships (Roche, Haar, &Luthans, 2014), meaning in life and social relationships (Diener et al., 2010) and trust in
leadership (Roche et al., 2014) as well as individuals’ ‘resilience’. Measures of employee
wellbeing have included fatigue, job-induced stress, job satisfaction and work-life balance(Macky & Boxall, 2008).
Fewer studies have connected individual attributes with the context within which employee
wellbeing takes place (Baptiste, 2008). However, some have included aspects of the work
environment, such as supportive management (Gilbreath, & Benson, 2004; Hone et al., 2015;
Wood & de Menezes, 2011), and supportive colleagues (Hone et al., 2015) and physical factors
such as green spaces (Lottrup, Grahn, & Stigsdotter, 2013). The organisation of work can also
be crucial with workload and deadlines impacting on people’s wellbeing and ability to gain
adequate sleep (Moen, Kelly, Tranby, & Huang, 2011), and their ability to detach from work.
The wellbeing literature has focussed more on individual traits and abilities than onorganisational context, yet it could be said for the purpose of improved performance, rather
than with the aim of improving employee wellbeing (Guest, 2017). What Guest’s assertion
implies is that the wellbeing research, based in HRM and psychology fields, has lacked acritical approach that incorporates not only individual traits but the socio-political andorganisational context of their wellbeing.
Guest (2017) proposes a new analytical framework, drawing on the quality of work life
literature in employment relations that includes consideration of engaging work, organisational
support and employee voice, and a good work environment. Of significance to this special
issue, Guest (2017) includes equal opportunities as a key aspect of a good work environment.
Such a framework may appear surprising or challenging to a body of literature that has had anindividual and/or performance focus, however, the context of the workplace and employment
relationship is a foundation of employment relations scholarship. Employment relations
wellbeing research has often focussed on employee control (or lack of it) and voice in theworkplace. Control over work and its flexibility has indeed been found to be key in employee
wellbeing (Wood & de Menezes, 2011). This voice or control extends to organisational
policies, for example, how patterns of work are decided, the predictability or unpredictabilityof work commitments, and the timing of work (Wooden, Warren, & Drago, 2009). It is often
1New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 1-6
the collective process in which these decisions are made that makes the difference in how
employees view the policies (Bailyn, 2011).
Overall, this research (and a large component of ER research in general) often fails to take agendered analysis of employee wellbeing at work. The one key area that broadly relates togender and wellbeing has centred upon work-life balance (Gröpel & Kuhl, 2009) and theburden of care work that women still carry: women spend more time on domestic work andchildcare tasks than men (Walsh, 2013). Attempts to reconcile domestic and care work withpaid work can backfire for women who may ‘choose’ occupations that are more flexible (suchas within the medical professions – Walsh, 2013), and women may be judged more harshly
than their male counterparts and seen as less committed to their jobs when they ask for flexible
work (Allen, 2005). Recent work emphasises the concept of wellbeing in relation to family
demands and their impact on work, with manager support directly influencing the otherwise
negative impact (Achour, Ahmad, Nor, & Yusoff, 2017). Some attention has been given to thecontext within which we consider wellbeing, for example, amongst North American Indian
women which finds that the rural context and its attendant socioeconomic factors, as well as
community and organisational support are crucial for the experience of work-life balance(Christiansen, Gadhoke, Pardilla & Gittelsohn, 2017). Further ‘non-Western’ perspectives of
employee wellbeing in relation to work-life balance are also emerging, providing welcome
critiques of the models used by Western researchers (e.g. Ahour et al., 2017).
However, while this research is essential, conflating women’s work roles with care for children,risks perpetuating gender stereotypes of women as successful workers, and women’s role insociety. Research has only just begun to recognise, for example, the role of wages in women’swellbeing in relation to work-life balance and the work environment (Lips, 2016; Ravenswood& Harris, 2016). Research needs to move beyond what is essentially surface level analysis of
the issues for wellbeing at work in relation to gender, and to consider why women might havelower wellbeing in relation not only to their family demands, but also in relation to how weorganise work in our societies and their experience at work. A notable contribution in this area
is Sojo, Wood and Genat’s (2016) study on women’s negative experiences (sexual violence,harassment and discrimination) at the workplace and its effect on women, specificallyinvestigating the power relationships that are behind these experiences.
This Special Issue highlights research in New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia.
Comparable with our call for papers for this issue, narrow definitions of wellbeing have been
shattered, and the interactions between individuals, work and society are investigated in moredetail in each article. The issue begins with an article that challenges our concept of careers,
older workers and wellbeing. The first article by Myers and Douglas examines older women’s
re-entry into work in New Zealand after having spent time on a self-initiated expatriation
travelling and working overseas. Although these women returned energised and enthusiastic
for new work and career opportunities, they faced discrimination and disadvantage based on
their age. While highlighting negative stereotypes and the reality of discrimination against
older women in New Zealand, this article argues for a more holistic view of wellbeing at work
which includes not only meaningful work, but also a consideration of the role of career paths
and earnings in reckonings of wellbeing. It urges both academics and practitioners to consider
the reciprocal nature between employee and organisational wellbeing.
2New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 1-6

Pringle, Davies, Giddings and McGregor also consider the role of earnings in wellbeing for
women in engineering and care occupations. Continuing a more complex view of wellbeing,
the authors connect the individual (micro), organisational (meso) and social/economic (macro)levels of wellbeing and show how the relationships between these levels impact on women.
This article situates itself within the context of the gender pay gap in New Zealand, andchallenges the positivistic, quantitative views of wellbeing that have persisted in psychology
and industrial relations based research, with a call to contest a recent shift in IR research tomore managerial perspectives, rather than exploring underlying power relationships.
From here, we move to Australia where Corr, Dixon and Burgess discuss wellbeing ofmanagers, business owners and providers in the low-paid, high pressure industry of earlychildhood education. This provides a different perspective by focussing on the competing timepressures of women between their managerial responsibilities and their own personal childcarecommitments. Part of the Work, Time, and Health project, this highlights how the complexityof regulatory requirements in early childhood education, as well as increasing skills shortages,
adds to the demands on managers. It seems that managers prioritise the needs of others, in theirprofessional and personal lives, over their own health. The flexibility afforded these managers
and business owners because of their positions did not always have a positive effect on theirhealth behaviours because of the long and varied hours in the industry.
Still located in Australia, Werth, then, examines the nexus between paid and unpaid work in
her study of women working with chronic illness. In particular, in a context in which‘wellbeing’ is an assumed prerequisite for work and deviance from that expectation is viewed
negatively, Werth examines the influence of support in the personal environment upon
women’s opportunity to succeed in the labour market. For those suffering chronic illness, paid
work also involves the emotional work of ‘passing’, covering up the effect of the illness, andthe emotional work of disclosure of chronic illness. This is especially so for diseases that are
misunderstood to be ‘fixed’ if an individual makes the appropriate lifestyle choices, such as
auto-immune diseases. Because of the expectations of wellbeing, there is a dearth of researchon workers with chronic illness. Werth argues that within an increasing focus on individual
resilience, the definition of wellbeing should include ‘understanding and accommodations insocial and work environments’.
Incorporating the social and work environments in our considerations of wellbeing is also
argued by Pio and Singh in their study and article of acid abuse victims in South Asia. This
research brings and introduces a different perspective to the Western/developed country
concepts of wellbeing to this Issue, by examining wellbeing through the context of social
enterprises that aim to improve the wellbeing of acid violence survivors. The employer in thisenterprise and their survivor-volunteer employee had contrasting views, with the survivor’s
views of wellbeing being tainted by social stigma surrounding acid attacks and disability –similar in some ways to Werth’s argument that ‘wellbeing’ or its presumption can be negative
for women with chronic illness. This tension between perceptions of wellbeing resulted in anegative impact on both employer and employee. Pio and Singh argue that wellbeing can beachieved in similar circumstances through the organisation of structures that acknowledge allperspectives, encouraging mutual respect despite differing status and positions.
3New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 1-6

One aspect of gender and wellbeing at work that still requires considerable research, especiallygiven indicative mental health statistics, is that of the wellbeing of gender diverse people(Thoroughgood, Sawyer, & Webster, in press). Although this Special Issue does not address
that, it is a subject that we would like to see given greater attention from employment relationsand HRM academics. Notwithstanding this gap, this Special Issue does provide a much neededfocus on the multi-faceted experience and concept of wellbeing for women. In doing so, ithighlights the importance of in-depth critical qualitative research to reveal the socio-political
relationships that influence and affect the wellbeing of women at work across three regions. In
contrast to much of the previous work in wellbeing, this Special Issue strengthens the call fora more comprehensive definition of wellbeing that considers, not only the individual, but also
their identity or position within their career, profession and society. It brings to our attention
the complex relationship between how women are treated at work, including theirremuneration, the social status of their work and their wellbeing. As editors of this Special
Issue, we would propose a new definition of employee wellbeing: “employee wellbeing is theholistic outcome of individual identity, the work environment and the socio-political context
that constrains and informs an individual’s opportunity to thrive at their workplace and in thecommunity”.

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Professor Jarrod Haar (Auckland University of Technology) for peer
reviewing our editorial.

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Management and supervisory support as a moderator of work-family demands and women’swell-being: A case study of Muslim female academicians in Malaysia. Humanomics, 33(3):doi 10.1108/H-02-2017-0024
Allen, I. (2005). Women doctors and their careers: what now? British Medical Journal,
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Bailyn, L. (2011). Redesigning work for gender equity and work–personal life
integration. Community, Work & Family, 14(1): 97-112.
Baptiste, N.R. (2008). Tightening the link between employee wellbeing at work andperformance. A new dimension for HRM. Management Decision, 46(2): 284-309.
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Christiansen, K. Gadhoke, P., Pardilla, M. & Gittelshohn, J. (2017). Work, worksites, andwellbeing among North American Indian women: a qualitative study. Ethnicity & Health, doi:
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Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D.W., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R.
(2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative
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Guest, D.E. (2017). Human resource management and employee well-being: towards a new
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Hone, L.C., Schofield, G., & Jarden, A. (2015). Conceptualizations of wellbeing: Insights froma prototype analysis on New Zealand Workers. New Zealand Journal of Human Resources
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Lips, H. (2016). The Gender pay gap and the wellbeing of women. In M.L. Connerley & J.
Wu (eds.). Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women (pp.141-157). International
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Lottrup, L., Grahn, P., & Stigsdotter, U.K. (2013). Workplace greenery and perceived level ofstress: Benefits of access to a green outdoor environment at the workplace. Landscape and
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Macky, K., & Boxall, P. (2008). High-involvement work processes, Work intensification andemployee well-being: A study of New Zealand worker experiences. Asia Pacific Journal of
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Moen, P., Kelly, E.L., Tranby, E., & Huang, Q. (2011). Changing work, changing health canreal work-time flexibility promote health behaviors and well-being? Journal of Health andSocial Behavior, 52(4): 404-429.
Ravenswood, K. (2011). Productivity, Participation and Employee Wellbeing in the
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Roche, M., Haar, J. M., & Luthans, F. (2014). The role of mindfulness and psychologicalcapital on the well-being of leaders. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(4): 476489

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Sojo, V.E., Wood, R.E., Genat, A.E. (2016). Harmful workplace experiences and women’soccupational wellbeing: meta-analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40(1): 10-40, doi:
10.1177/0361684315599346
Thouroughgood, C., Sawyer, K.B., & Webster, J.R. (in press). What lies beneath: How
paranoid cognition explains the relations between transgender employees’ perceptions of
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Walsh, J. (2013). Gender, the work-life interface and wellbeing: A study of hospital doctors.
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Wooden, M., Warren, D., & Drago, R. (2009). Working time mismatch and subjective well‐being. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 47(1): 147-179.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28

Older women: employment and wellbeing in later life
“Age is opportunity no less,Than youth itself in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.”(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

BARBARA MYERS* and JULIE DOUGLAS**
Abstract
This article explores the older worker discourse on wellbeing and work by highlighting thelabour market re-entry and work experiences of a small group of older women who returned to
New Zealand ‘rejuvenated’ after completing self-initiated expatriation (SIE), a period ofextended travel and work overseas. The women explored a diverse range of organisational
employment options and despite their intention to engage in appropriate and meaningful work
pathways, their experiences were marred by discrimination, disadvantage and disappointment.
However the participants, buoyed by the freedom, challenges and learnings derived from theirrecent SIE, were no longer prepared to compromise their personal wellbeing by engaging in
unsatisfactory work roles and looked to alternative avenues, outside formal organisational work
to preserve their sense of wellbeing. This research contributes to the older worker andwellbeing discourses by encouraging employers and other stakeholders to embrace a broad
range of ‘older’ employee pathways, in a spirit of employer–employee reciprocity that supportand enhance individual and organisational wellbeing.
Key words: age, diversity, discrimination, gender, older women workers, positive ageing, SIE,
wellbeing

Introduction
Older women are confronted on a daily basis with mixed messages around success andwellbeing. Women are exhorted to be sassy at 60 (Street-Porter, 2008) and to age with attitude
and elegance (Clifton, 2008). Elsewhere in the media, older women are depicted in more
traditional caring roles “The Club Sandwich Generation. In their 60s, they’re winding down at
work. At home, they’re taking care of their parents – and their grandchildren” (Hannan, 2011:12). Allied to this manifold ageing discourse, is the public discussion around older workers
from an economic perspective. Older workers, labelled variously as the “grey-haired
workforce” and “grey matters at work” (Charman, 2015), are seen as carrying responsibility
for future national economic success. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) (2011)
suggested that boomers
need to work longer and spend their full potential for the Government to afford theirsupport payments. It predicts boomers could contribute billions to the economy – wejust have to take advantage of its potential (p. 13).
*

Department of Management, Auckland University of Technology, New ZealandDepartment of Management, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand**7

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28

Although labour market participation rates for older women in New Zealand are increasing(Callister, 2014), there is limited knowledge on their later life employment experiences (Myers,2011). Do these protracted years of work enable women to develop, consolidate and enhancetheir individual sense of wellbeing and purpose, or do they reaffirm and extend a gendered lifecourse of workplace discrimination and social and economic disadvantage? (Loretto &Vickerstaff, 2015).
This article explores the labour market re-entry and employment experiences of a small groupof older women (50 plus) (MSD, 2013; OCG, 2013), who had left their established careers andlives for an extended period of time to undertake self-initiated expatriation (SIE). For a morein-depth discussion of the older worker age threshold please refer to Myers (2016). Firstly, we
explore the demographic and labour market trends in the New Zealand workplace. This
discussion is followed by a literature review that considers issues relevant to the employment
and wellbeing of some older woman who have returned to New Zealand after an SIE. Next, themethodology is outlined, the research questions are clarified and the role of narrative in theprocess of data gathering, analysis and presentation of findings is discussed. Significant
background information is presented and describes how the participants returned from SIE
having experienced considerable career and personal development. This gives context to thefollowing section which outlines the participants’ unexpected and challenging labour market
re-entry and work experiences. The paper concludes firstly with a discussion on how theparticipants responded to their post-SIE employment experiences and challenges while
retaining their sense of purpose and general wellbeing; and secondly outlines implications forfour key stakeholder groups: academics and researchers, older workers, employers, andindustry and policy makers.
Older Women and Labour Market Participation: the New Zealand Context.
Population ageing has become the global term used to denote significant demographictransition issues (Dunstan & Thomson, 2006; EEO Trust, 2012a). In New Zealand, population
ageing is occurring at a slightly slower rate than in Europe. Between 2004 and 2051, New
Zealand’s population is predicted to increase by one million people, and by 2051, 50 per centof the population will be 46 years plus (Alpass & Mortimer, 2007) and 1.37 million will beclassified as older (MSD, 2013). By 2061, it is predicted that the New Zealand female
population will comprise three similarly sized groups: 15 to 39, 40 to 64 and 65 years plus
(Callister, 2014).
Labour market participation rates for older women have increased from two per cent in the
mid-1990s to 15 per cent in 2014, while older men’s have increased from eight per cent toapproximately 25 per cent (Callister, 2014). Using a threshold of 50 years for defining an older
worker (McGregor, 2007; OCG, 2013), it is expected that older women’s participation rates
will continue to increase at a greater rate than older men’s, partly due to women’s longer life
expectancy. Of note, though, is that while female participation rates have incrementally risen,
especially in the older (50 plus years) age cohort, they still remain lower than older maleparticipation rates, but are at the upper end of the OECD countries (Dunstan & Thomson, 2006;
MSD, 2013; OECD, 2011).
There are also some factors unique to New Zealand that impact on these patterns. New
Zealand’s slower growing but rapidly ageing population raises issues, such as predictions of alabour shortage and a shortage of skilled labour, particularly in some of the industries and8New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
professions where there is a high median age (EEO Trust, 2008a). Additional contextual factors
go some way to explaining the higher New Zealand labour market participation rates of older
men and women when compared with other OECD nations. Public policy changes insuperannuation increasing eligibility to 65 years (and recently 67 years) (Small, 2017), theremoval of compulsory retirement and changes to the Human Rights Act 1993 outlawing agebased discrimination have encouraged continued workforce participation.
The decisions of women (and men) to continue to engage in paid work or not may, for some,be a function of financial necessity. Those in low paid work throughout their employment havenot necessarily been able to save enough for retirement. Financial disadvantage is a significant
aspect of what Loretto and Vickerstaff (2013; 2015) identify as a gendered life-course. The
intractable gender pay gap, currently 12 per cent (Ministry for Women, 2016), means thatwomen earn less than men, both on a weekly basis and also as an accumulation over theworking life span (Harris, 2017). Child rearing and other caring roles are also significant careerinterrupters for women. The Kiwisaver scheme, a voluntary work-based retirement savings
scheme introduced in 2009, should benefit those entering into the scheme as new entrants tothe workforce, but for those aged 50 and over, it is likely the rewards of the Kiwisaver scheme
may fall short of the necessary funds needed to secure a comfortable retirement. This isparticularly relevant given that women save, on average, 71 per cent of what men save forretirement (ANZ, 2015). For women, retirement has the prospect of being longer than that formen, as they retire younger on average and also live longer.
There are many factors that influence extended labour market participation or withdrawal,
including various stereotypes, discriminatory practices and financial circumstances (EEO
Trust, 2006; 2008b) that impact on the decisions of older persons to continue to work or leave
the workforce (Mountford, 2013). The current dominant discourse on the older worker is that
employers will increasingly seek to employ older workers to address labour and skill shortages(CIPD, 2012). Yet in a joint EEO Trust and New Zealand Work Research Institute study on
the ageing workforce, it is suggested that government policy makers are driving this discourse
to a greater extent than business leaders and employers (McCleod & Bentley, 2015). In fact,
employers often perceive the older worker in a negative light, thus reinforcing stereotypes ofolder workers as less productive and more expensive than younger workers (Taylor & Walker,
2003). In a New Zealand EEO report on older worker myths and realities (2012b), the author
calls on employers and government to work together on this issue, pointing to thefalse assumptions and stereotypes about their performance…the most pernicious ofthese is that older workers cost more, are more prone to health problems, can’t adapt toworkplace changes and new technology, perform more poorly than younger workers,
and represent a poor investment in training (p. 6).
Although there are arguments identifying older workers as valuable employees, it seems that,even when stereotypes are challenged (Maurer, Barbeite, Weiss & Lippstreu, 2008), some
employers continue to have a negative view of older workers overall. Older workers are often
the first to be targeted in organisation downsizing (Dorn & Souza-Posa, 2010), sometimes with
the implicit approval of unions. In response to these discriminatory practices, the older worker
may prefer to withdraw or retire rather than be made redundant (Loretto & White, 2006).
McGregor and Gray (2001) suggest that the true extent of discriminatory employment practices
against older workers remains under-researched and not understood. Others go as far as to say
that, when faced with the imperative of drawing on older workers, employers will not consider
9New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
them (Henkens, Remery & Schippers, 2008). In New Zealand, it has been suggested that
increased labour market participation levels for older workers reflect employer expediency ina strong pre-GFC labour market rather than a fundamental change in employer attitude (Davy& Glasgow, 2006).

LiteratureThis section begins with an examination of literature on self-initiated expatriation (SIE) andthen moves on to a brief review of the positive ageing and wellbeing literatures. This discussion
provides a more positive counterpoint to the age and work discourse of the previous section
which suggests that women experience considerable economic disadvantage over the lifecourse.
Self-initiated expatriation (SIE)
Overseas experience (OE) is a term unique to New Zealand. It is a period of self-driven andself-managed work and travel overseas during which younger people autonomously explore
other cultures and countries (Inkson & Myers, 2003; Jokinen, Brewster & Suutari, 2008).
Individuals who self-manage their expatriation as per OE have become an international fieldof research, with SIE being adopted as the most appropriate term for this phenomena byresearchers (Inkson & Richardson, 2010).
Assigned expatriates (AE), employees of Multi National Enterprises (MNEs) who are sent
abroad, have long been the focus of researchers in the field of International Careers andInternational Human Resource Management. This type of international work experience differsfrom the SIE experience and there is a growing body of literature focussing on the
differentiation of these terms (Dorsch, Suutari & Brewster, 2013). However, expatriates who
initiate their own international experience, (SIE) are still less understood (Andresen &Gustschin, 2013).
The extant literature on SIE draws on diverse populations but most research has centred on
younger and midlife age groups, focussing on their SIE motivations and career outcomes.
While the AE literature suggests that individuals are primarily driven by career motivations
and achieve significant career development as an outcome of expatriation, the SIE literaturepoints to significant personal drivers and high levels of personal and career development
resulting from self-initiated expatriation.
Despite the increasing numbers of published articles on self-initiated expatriates (Doherty &Thorn, 2014), the field remains under-theorised, especially regarding intersections of age andgender (McNulty, Fisher & Vance, 2017; Myers, Inkson & Pringle, 2017).
Positive and successful ageing
The concept of productive or active ageing, that is, continued activity contributing to positive
outcomes (Everard, Lach, Fisher & Baum, 2000), has become a significant discourse within
the context of an ageing population. Positive ageing is grounded in social and economic policy
literature (ibid), and although individual activity and productivity is part of this discourse,
positive ageing denotes a macro policy perspective whereby government social and economic
policy delivers successful outcomes at a societal as well as an individual level.

10New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
Productive ageing literature argues that social, economic and employment policy must provide
a more inclusive framework (Sonnet, Olsen, & Manfredi, 2014) that supports the wellbeing of
the older citizen or older worker (Davy & Glasgow, 2006). While the discourse of positive
ageing argues that older people may choose the way in which they contribute, the positive
ageing strategy has been critiqued in that it overemphasises work, extended careers andeconomic growth at the expense of other lifestyles in later life. Positive ageing has also beenquestioned in that much of the emphasis has been on reforming or delaying pension ages,
therefore, delaying retirement (Phillipson, 2013). There has been limited policy action in otherareas, especially at employer and organisational levels to improve the quality of work (Bentley
et al., 2014). These areas were identified as important to encourage older workers to stay orreturn to the workforce (Sonnet et al., 2014).
Wellbeing
The literature of personal meaning is underpinned by a general acceptance that achieving
wellbeing is more than just striving to achieve contentment or happiness. The literature on
human potential and wellbeing encompasses two main streams. The hedonic approachconsiders happiness as an outcome of the pursuit of pleasure while the eudaimonic approachconsiders wellbeing in terms of the degrees of self-realisation and meaning that one derives
from life (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Ryff & Singer, 2006). In the latter approach, self-fulfilment isperceived as leading to authentic happiness, which in turn enables one to grow and flourish(Haybron, 2008; Laceulle & Baars, 2014).
Understanding what people feel is most meaningful in their lives has been conceptualised in arange of wellbeing studies. For example, Mackay, Prendergast, Jarden and Schofield (2015)
draw on a scale of 10 items to assess individual levels of wellbeing. In a paper on younger men
and their wellbeing, Rasmussen and Hannam (2013) point to young men’s inadequate
educational experiences and their high levels of suicide, incarceration, workplace accidents andsickness as markers of low levels of wellbeing. Thus defining or identifying the features ofwellbeing is a broad church with researchers focussing on a range of concepts includingbalance (Dodge, Daly, Huyton & Sanders, 2012), resilience (McCann et al., 2013) and trust(Baptiste, 2008).
Other models of individual wellbeing consider the relevance of the experiences and challenges
associated with life transitions. DeVogler and Ebersole (1980) theorise eight sources ofmeaning, Fiske and Chiriboga’s research (1991) identifies seven life goals and a range ofstudies suggest that there are several levels of meaning, the highest of which is abstract andtranscending self-interest (Brandstätter, Baumann, Borisio, & Fegg, 2012). Studies on
wellbeing (Kim & Moen, 2002) explore the values and sources of meaning in life for older
people and suggest that older women (and men) have a strong need to search for independence,
strength and autonomy.
Further to the interest in wellbeing at the individual level, there is an increasing interest in
wellbeing in an organisational setting, where the notion of wellbeing is captured within
performance models and often linked to an individual’s performance measures, such as
productivity, retention and satisfaction (Baptiste, 2008) and organisational factors, such as
management support, workload, flexibility and physical environmental factors (Ravenswood,
Harris & Wrapson, 2017). Recent research on wellbeing and work (Mackay et al., 2015)
suggests that workers over 60 experience greater levels of wellbeing than those under 30 and
attribute this to higher income levels, home ownership and job security. However, theincreasing prevalence of insecure and precarious work as well as underemployment across all
11New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
age groups may well undermine the conditions that foster the wellbeing of employees
ultimately leading to employees being less engaged and productive in their organisational roles.
A Gendered Perspective
It is argued that gender has been neglected in wellbeing, employment and retirement studies
for older people (Ravenswood et al., 2016; Loretto & Vickerstaff, 2013; Schultz & Wang,2011), and what research there is, is compromised by benchmarking women’s employment andretirement patterns to those of men (Myers, 2016; Wong & Hardy, 2009) and privileging labour
market participation over other ways of being in later life. Post, Schneer, Reitman and Ogilvie,(2013) suggest that there are three theoretical frameworks to consider when examining older
women’s decision to continue or leave paid work “the relational emphasis in women’s careers,
women’s caregiving roles, and structural and economic constraints that diminish women’s
earnings” (p. 92).
Loretto and Vickerstaff (2013) posit that in later life “retirement may mean very different
things for women and for men” (p. 65), and in their most recent article they continue toemphasise that gender and age are “underexplored” and “under-theorized” (Loretto &Vickerstaff, 2015: 14; Harris, 2017). As increasing numbers of older women delay retirement
due to low rates of savings and continue labour market participation as well as working in theirdomestic roles and other unpaid work, they are likely to experience greater work–life
imbalance, disadvantage and diminished levels of wellbeing (Moen, 1996).

Methodology
Narrative
The increase in narrative over the past 30 years is extensively documented in social science
literature (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011a) as well as across many other disciplines (Cole &Knowles, 2001). Narrative researchers have focussed on varied methodological approaches andthe terms they attribute to these studies of people’s lives are wide ranging. The life story is oneof these approaches and the process of gathering life stories in this research was based on thefollowing understanding. The life story empowers the teller. It is not intended to be a precise
account of a life and to document historical truth, but to establish the teller’s own ‘story’, andin this sense, the life story is considered ‘trustworthy’ rather than ‘truthful’ and ‘transferable
in some respects’ but not ‘generalisable’ (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011b) As a researchmethodology, the life story, sometimes referred to as ‘big’ stories, is respectful of the viewpointof the participant and gives visibility to stories and insights often not previously understood.
The concept of ‘small’ stories is also relevant in this article. Researchers using the small story
method believe it captures unprompted instances and happenings as individuals live out theirlives (Bamberg, 2006). The small story (Potter & Hepburn, 2005) draws on both spoken andwritten language and it is argued that small stories enable the everyday social interactions andexperiences to be explored, resulting in a closer and better understanding of how individuals
make meaning of their lives (Georgakopoulou, 2006).
As a research methodology, the life story creates a link across the continua of narrative
methodologies. In the context of this article, we acknowledge the life story as the methodology
adopted to gather the data, but also point to the small story as a way of exploring specific issues
and experiences within the ‘big’ life story. Our position on big and small stories in this research
12New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
article is that both are relevant and complementary (Freeman, 2006) as they involve varying
degrees of reflection to elicit narrative meaning (Andrews, Squire & Tamboukou, 2008). Thus,
we draw on big stories as an overarching framework, and focus on small stories as a way to
explore specific issues and incidents and also to illustrate these findings.
Sample and research process
The ages of the participants ranged from 50 to 62 at the time of their SIE departure. Time spentaway on SIE ranged from three months to 10 years and just over half the participants were
domiciled in English-speaking countries.
Before SIE, participants were employed in a range of professional and non-professional
occupations (see Table 1 below).
Table 1. Participant Occupations Before and During Self-Initiated Expatriation (Australian and
New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations – ANZSCO)Managers
Professionals
Technicians and trades workers
Community and personal service workers
Clerical and administration workers
Sales workers
Machine operators and drivers
Labourers
Residual workers
Other (one unemployed, one student)

Before SIE
4
8
2
2
3
2
–
–
–

During SIE
3
5
2
8½
½
–
–
–
–
2

Eighteen out of 21 participants elected to work in a different role while on SIE. Seven out of
the 21 participants found employment during their SIE that was in the same classification as
their pre-SIE ANZSCO category. Only three of these seven stayed within their existing
occupations of teaching, nursing and legal services.
On their return to New Zealand (post-SIE): three participants did not seek work in New Zealand due to illness, age (72 on return)or returning overseas to live on a long term basis
 eighteen participants sought appropriate or meaningful paid organisational employment
Participants in this research related their life stories via a semi-structured in-depth interview
with open-ended questions. Data gathering involved a pilot of five interviews and a full study
involving 21 participants. To recruit participants for the full study, selection and snowballing
processes (Biernacki & Waldorf, 1981) were used. The interviews were held in New Zealandlocations where the participants lived and were generally one to two hours long.
Limitations
Findings and insights gleaned from this exploratory research are the result of an interpretive
research process and as such contribute to theory building and are not generalisable across the
SIE population or across the older worker population (Crotty, 1998; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011b).
It is also noteworthy that this interpretive study was on older women, so insights cannot
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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
necessarily be applied to the labour market re-entry experiences of older men and also younger
men and women who return to New Zealand after completing SIE.
While the sampling process drew on selection and snowballing, there were some limitations inthat a snowball sample is potentially limited to established groups and networks of friends andcolleagues, with the likely result of a pool of participants with similar backgrounds andexperiences (Inkson & Myers, 2003). The researcher sought to address this by mostly selecting
individuals without drawing on their extended networks.

Findings and Discussion
Background and context of the study
This article considers the experiences of a small group of women who sought employment in
New Zealand after completing self-initiated expatriation (SIE). While the full study explores
the personal and professional motivations, experiences and impact of SIE on 21 older women(50 plus), this article explores some issues within the larger study i.e. the experiences of 18 of
the participants who intended to re-engage in work post-SIE and how they navigated andnegotiated notions of work and wellbeing. More specifically, the research areas identified forfurther exploration in this article are:

What are the experiences of participants who seek organisational employment
back in New Zealand?
How do these participants interpret and enact ‘wellbeing’ in this later stage oflife?
What are the implications for stakeholder groups i.e. employers, thegovernment, older women workers and researchers?

Disenchantment with work before departing for SIE was an issue for most of the participants.
They wanted to make some career and life changes, but there was a dearth of challenging,interesting or different work opportunities. One negative aspect of work that several
participants mentioned was the continual organisational restructuring that went on in bothprivate and government organisations. This was a significant demotivator, and each time it
happened, the participants felt less engaged in the workplace and their work became
increasingly meaningless.
I’d gone into Human Resources thinking it was actually a people-focussed industry
but in the corporate and government departments I found it was extremely processfocussed and the people actually didn’t count very much. And I ended up being insituations that I disliked around restructuring and having empathy with the people…I
had a reputation for being very good at doing it, but it was way outside my value
systems (Cassie).
During their SIE, all the participants unexpectedly developed new employment skills andcareer capital. They also experienced significant personal development and clarified corevalues and priorities to shape and drive their later life paths. This finding is in line withprevious research, see Dickmann and Harris (2005), and Myers and Pringle (2005). Thus, theparticipants returned to New Zealand rejuvenated with a much greater sense of purpose andwellbeing than when they left New Zealand to undertake SIE. On their return to New Zealand,
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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
some participants wished to work fulltime in a career position; others wanted part-time and lesschallenging work. All participants were confident that their qualifications, skills andexperiences would earn them suitable employment.
Recruitment experiences
Participants spoke of the frustrations they experienced during the recruitment process. In
particular, they found pre-SIE employment experiences and skills, as well as the additional
career capital they accrued while on SIE were often dismissed or not seen as relevant andtransferable. Participants were disturbed by the lack of respect for what they had achieved intheir careers and the inability of some employers to take them seriously and retain professionalboundaries in the interview process.
I found it very difficult to find a job, very difficult to try and communicate what had
happened during that time and I tried very hard, which really was a bit of a waste oftime actually and I learnt the next time, don’t bother. Employers weren’t interested. Infact I went to more than one interview where it was very clear within the first five/ten
minutes that I really wasn’t going to get the job, and both interviews became, ‘wellthat’s not really relevant…now tell me about Cambodia, it’s a very interesting country,
isn’t it?’ and ‘you know we were thinking of going there for our holiday’ as one of themsaid, and I ended up doing a sort of travelogue (Sharon).
Under-employment
Many participants seeking employment struggled to secure a position and eventually opted tosettle for anything in order to bring some money in. Under-employment was a major issue forthese participants who were forced to take roles that did not build on their previous experienceand were lacking challenge or interest. The lack of choice and autonomy in the pursuit of
employment was a major concern to participants who were forced to ‘fit in’ with whatever wason offer (Loretto and Vickerstaff, 2015).
The first six months, I was out of work, and I started to get a bit desperate and I just
took the first contract job after that that I could….and I was basically a PA, just making
sure that we had paper clips in the right place and, you know, that the diary of theperson I was working for was printed out…so that she could write on them…. So, but
it brought in some money, at that particular point that was the key thing (Sue).
Another participant found work in a government ministry. She had worked there before her
SIE and while she loved the job she found the demands totally unrealistic in terms of highworkload and expectations. Ironically this time around the situation was the opposite.
The job has been a complete disaster. I’ve done nothing even that would – that I could
put on my career, on my CV. I’ve done nothing of value. I’ve just – there hasn’t beenenough work and I’ve found that extremely difficult. I’ve been totally under-utilised
and under-employed (Gill).
Several participants returned to professional teaching, nursing, legal and administration roles
where they were well established pre-SIE. Ironically, they were not challenged in these postSIE roles to the extent that they were while on their SIE. Post-SIE, they also experienced
contractual issues, a lack of interesting work when compared to SIE employment experiences,15

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
and considerable frustration with the increased levels of performance measurement andmonitoring.
Casual and precarious work
Some participants were able to find employment but only on a short-term basis. This was a
new experience for participants who were mostly employed in tenured positions before SIE.
The precarious nature of post-SIE employment initially had an adverse impact on individuals’
wellbeing. One participant, Connie, had worked in Asia for several years in a responsible andchallenging educational role. Coming from Asian society, Connie found that working in New
Zealand education as an older woman was very difficult.
My experiences haven’t counted for anything. I’m the most qualified and mostexperienced teacher in my department…there are people who are sitting there for 20
or 30 years…doing the same thing…and if I say…could we do this another way…they
say no…we’ve always done it this way. So I want to punch a hole in the wall, actually(Connie).
It is ironic that Connie was able to achieve her professional goals when in Asia. Now back in
New Zealand, she brings her ‘outsider’s eyes’, which give her a wider and different perspective.
She believes that her post-SIE teaching life in New Zealand has curtailed her creativity andenergy.
Unemployment
Several participants were unable to find work for several months and became very concernedthat they were using up their limited financial resources, set aside for their later years. Some
continued in their search until they found something or anything, while others decided that thecost of searching and constant rejection was too much and discontinued their job seeking
initiatives, preferring the label of ‘retired’ to ‘unemployed’ (Loretto & White, 2006).
Because what had happened – my job overseas, I built myself up to being very
successful in this situation… and then I come back and present my CV to agents, andthey do this rah, rah stuff and I believed them. Wow – you’ve got so much – wow –you’ll be snapped up. And I wasn’t snapped up. Well, that’s pretty gut-wrenching,actually.
My future, I just don’t know what I’m doing… it’s really interesting. I’ve always beena very strong character, I’ve never been an anxious character –but I am very anxious
now and I’m fearful. So, it’s good to recognise…I’m fearful of managing financially
and…but I haven’t been able to get any job, so I’m fearful of all that. I just want a nicelittle admin role somewhere. I don’t want high stress. I’m 62, I certainly don’t want ahigh-powered role (Janine).
AgeismAgeism was mentioned by many participants as a possible reason for their failure to secure
appropriate and meaningful work. Not only were they worried about their financial future but
most participants held responsible positions before they went on their SIE, so on their return
they felt diminished and rendered invisible by the employment search process. Given the
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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
paucity of research around gender, work and age (Loretto & Vickerstaff, 2013; 2015; Schultz& Wang, 2011), the participants’ experiences suggest that they are increasingly marginalisedin the labour market as they age and while older women (and men) may be retained in thelabour market, the participants in this study found the recruitment process a very challenging
issue (Conen, Henkens & Schippers, 2012).
Connie felt very angry about how she was treated by interval panels and employers. She
believed her extensive international experience was dismissed at the interviews as irrelevant
and when she did find some short-term contract work, her suggestions and new ideas wereignored.
Age is respected in China. You are wise when you’re old. Here, you’re just old andwhatever negative connotation that goes with that. My experience out of New Zealandas a teacher, I don’t think is validated in New Zealand at all (Connie).
Cassie also felt that her considerable New Zealand and international work experiences counted
for nothing during selection processes. The job search experience as an older women left her
feeling vulnerable and worthless.
I’m 62, only when I look in the mirror. I don’t actually see myself ever as not working– I don’t know. So what I do from here, I have no idea but society tells me that at 62
there is no job for you in New Zealand. So that’s my perception, anyway (Cassie).
Wellbeing, older women and the life-course
Within the life-course literature it is recognised that individuals follow diverse pathways
throughout their lives, although within each generation there are also numerous pathways thatare similar. However, when an individual is ‘older’, the research on individual pathways
suggests that individuals and groups within the ‘older’ cohort have more complex and diverse
pathways than their younger counterparts (van der Heijden, Schalk, & van Veldhoven, 2008).
The participants in this research undertook an SIE when they were older. They were motivatedby a range of factors but the issue of timing was significant. For the first time in over 30 years,
the women were mostly freed up from primary domestic duties, thus allowing them to choose
to do something else and follow another path. SIE is just one of the many pathways the older
women could have chosen to follow (Han & Moen, 1999; Walker, 2006).
All the participants returned from SIE re-energised and rejuvenated, yet most of the 18
participants who are the focus of this study faced significant challenges during the return towork process. The women were in different personal and financial circumstances from eachother post-SIE and they also wanted very different things within their organisational
employment i.e. part-time, full time, flexible hours, career challenge, meaningful work, lowstress work, to be valued, acknowledged, respected and so on. Yet participants were
overwhelmingly despondent about their employment experiences and responded in various
ways. Some decided to leave their employment and head back overseas for another SIE. For
example at the time of the interview Gill was planning to leave her ministry role and embark
on another SIE where she believed she would have more choice, challenge and autonomy overthe nature and timing of work projects. After three years working on monthly and very shortterm contracts, Connie was unable to find a tenured position and felt very under-valued. She
was planning to leave her precarious work to become a volunteer overseas in order to regain
the sense of empowerment and achievement she felt after her SIE.
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Others decided to permanently exit from paid employment and undertake different activities
outsides the bounds of organisational life. Cassie decided to stop looking for work and enrol ina university course.
Where to from here? It’s very difficult. I feel personally, I’m unemployable in New
Zealand…so I have decided to enrol in a Development Studies Degree (Cassie).
Meg had very little money but came to the conclusion that organisational work was justunrealistic for her whereas volunteer work gave her a feeling of contributing to society as wellas having some control over the hours that she volunteers.
After SIE I went to the hospital as a volunteer…but not paid work, no. I do sell books
as well, so that’s just a little part-time thing I do. But no, I had given up full paid work.
Granted, I am using my savings and it is whittling down, but it is going surprisingly along way. I do feel very valued at the hospital… (Meg).
The findings from this research are consistent with those of the EEO Trust Report (2006;
2012b) which identified a range of organisational wellbeing factors (Baptiste, 2008) as asignificant reason for staying or leaving the workforce. Inflexible work situations and lack of
job opportunities were key influencers causing older women to leave the workforce. In contrast,
opportunities to work part-time and have flexible hours were important influencers to stay.
Extended leave, higher pay, working from home, the opportunity to have interesting andchallenging work, job redesign, being needed, respected and valued (Vasconcelos, 2015), andexperiencing reduced stress were identified as the significant factors that would encourageolder women to continue workforce participation (EEO, 2008b).
Faced with the perceived shortcomings of organisational employment it seems thatparticipants, having restored their individual sense of purpose and wellbeing as an outcome of
SIE, were no longer prepared to compromise this in the longer term. When organisations did
not meet their expectations, participants would not engage or commit to them any longer thannecessary. In fact, they preferred to do other activities like undertaking another SIE, engaging
in unpaid voluntary work, or enrolling in university study programmes as these activities“allow me to avoid having to go to the workplace here, because at my age I find it deeply
unsatisfactory” (Cassie).
After their later life SIE, these older women returned to New Zealand with a wider perspective
and a renewed sense of confidence and future possibilities (Ibarra, 2005). The struggle to findemployment was a surprise to the participants and took its toll on their sense of wellbeing.
Nevertheless, their resilience and self-worth meant that while some work had to be undertakenin the short term, in the longer term they were intent on following the ‘path with a heart’ (Hall& Mirvis, 1996) outside the bounds of formal labour market participation.
Now I always follow my heart. I only do what I really want to do, what excites me andif it excites me to say no to a job – I do… Oh, the age and stage I’m at is just so satisfying
and wonderful. It’s full of surprises. Age does not affect me in any way. I can see it in
the mirror, I know I am 72 this year. I can’t feel it. This is the last stage of your life,
you save the last for best. So it doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got…I live
entirely within my pension income and I can’t think of anything I need (Willa).

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
In a world where paid employment is privileged within the positive ageing discourse (Sonnet
et al., 2014), the reality of the workplace was such that the participants, determined not tocompromise their individual values and sense of wellbeing, did not wish to remain inorganisational employment for the longer term. The lack of appropriate age diversity practices
in the various organisations meant that potentially valuable older workers exited the labour
market, ostensibly into forced retirement, but rather to explore other opportunities that enabled
them to engage in more appropriate, flexible and meaningful endeavours.
The experiences of these participants raise a number of issues pertinent to the management ofolder workers and their potential participation in the labour market. The traditional notion ofretirement is an outdated concept, especially for women who, through their gendered life
course, often have not accumulated enough resources to stop work (Harris, 2017).
Although individuals follow diverse pathways throughout their lives, within each generation
there are also similar pathways shaped by a common social and economic context. However,
it is also suggested that the ‘older’ cohort, no longer primarily driven by family responsibilities,
are less constrained and more able to follow a wider range of life and career pathways thantheir younger counterparts (van der heijden et al., 2008). Thus, as individuals age, theirpathways are potentially more diverse. As increasing numbers of older women and men
consider ‘remaining’, ‘re-entering’ or ‘rejecting’ labour market participation, organisational
diversity policies and practices need to be cognisant of age, gender and wellbeing to a greater
extent.

Implications
Within the labour market literature the central discourse on the older worker is that of managing
and retaining older workers in a context of demographic change and extended years of
employment. The literature on positive ageing paints a glowing picture of these extended years
as a time of freedom and ‘golden’ opportunity for both employers and individuals to embrace(Everard et al., 2000; Sonnet et al., 2014). The older worker literature offers a less propitious
perspective, framing the issue as a problem to be addressed by organisations, employers,
managers and the government. The labour market re-entry and return to work experiences ofthe participants outlined above suggests that, for many of these women, the continuation of agendered life-course, where social and economic disadvantage prevails, is a reality (Loretto
and Vickerstaff, 2013; 2015).
This paper contributes to the literature across a range of disciplines and key stakeholder groups,
including academics and researchers, older workers, employers and industry and policy
makers.
Academics and researchers
For researchers in industrial relations, the experiences of older workers is not an area wellunderstood or explored. Workers are now more commonly remaining in the workforce past thetraditional time when retirement is taken. This may be due to economic or job satisfaction
motivations. This paper offers a contribution to the literature in the industrial relations
discipline on older women workers and the significance of individual and organisational
wellbeing considerations for this group. As an exploratory piece, this paper also identifies

19

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28
areas of future research needed to address current gaps in the work and wellbeing literatures(Mackay et al,. 2015).
Older workers
As a group, older workers are not well represented in the work and wellbeing literatures, andthis paper provides a glimpse of the labour market reality for a group of older women workers.
The paper presents not just role models for other older women contemplating later career
breaks and their re-connection with the labour market, but also gives voice to these women’s
experiences and their search for meaningful and flexible work and the importance they place
on notions of wellbeing. As older women re-entering the labour market, they are beset withhurdles and discrimination relating to perceived diminished performance of those in the agegroup.
Employers
In a highly competitive free market economy, many employers struggle to attract and retain amotivated and engaged workforce. They can ill afford to overlook the potential that older
workers can bring to their enterprises. Nevertheless, currently many employers are not taking
advantage of the full potential of the labour market. This is in spite of government efforts toencourage firms to utilise the skills and experience older workers bring to the workplace. This
paper hopes to offer some insight to employers that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to theemployment of older women workers is not appropriate, not just for older women but also forany age cohort.
The paper identifies wellbeing as a very important priority for this group of women and, while
they are willing to re-enter the labour market and offer their enhanced skills and experience,
this cannot be at the expense of other equally important considerations that go to the heart oftheir personal wellbeing. As employers better understand older workers’ diverse motivations
and attitudes towards paid work, they will be able to offer more beneficial opportunities forolder workers and bring into their firms much needed skills and experience in a win-win
arrangement.
Industry and Policy Makers
The state has a clear position on the need for workers to remain longer in employment to meetskill shortages (Bentley et al., 2014; McCleod & Bentley, 2015; OECD, 2006). The Ministryof Social Development’s Positive Aging Strategy recognises the increasing good health andwellbeing of older workers and the continuing contribution they are potentially able to maketo the economy. This research signals to the government that the experiences of older workers
in re-entering the labour market have been challenging in many respects. The research is also
timely, given recent comments from the Retirement Commissioner (Parker, 2017) that it is therole of employers to employ, retain and retrain workers, and in spite of government aspirations
for older workers, as yet employers are not performing well in this area.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 7-28

Future researchThis research study identified a number of challenging factors that these older women
confronted when re-entering the labour market after a career break which gave them an
opportunity to re-calibrate their priorities in life. Given the findings in this article, we suggest
further exploratory research into gender and wellbeing factors that pressure older people out ofwork or encourage them to stay. We also encourage research that adopts a life-course and crossdisciplinary approach to explore the ebbs and flows of the complex pathways and contexts ofindividuals and groups as they age (Han & Moen, 1999; Walker, 2006).
The incidence of older people undertaking unpaid work in New Zealand is acknowledged in
the literature (Callister, 2014), but there is a more limited understanding of the relationships
between participation in paid work vis-à-vis unpaid work (Davy & Glasgow, 2006). Given theunpaid work that participants in this research study engaged in after exiting paid employment,
further research into the role, reasons and nature of unpaid work in older age is suggested.

Conclusion
In a world where paid employment is privileged within the positive ageing discourse (Sonnet
et al., 2014), the workplace experiences were such that the participants, determined not tocompromise their individual values and sense of wellbeing, did not wish to remain inorganisational employment for the longer term. The lack of appropriate age diversity practices
in the various organisations meant that potentially valuable older workers exited the labour
market, ostensibly into forced retirement but, in fact, to explore other opportunities that enabled
them to engage in more appropriate, flexible and meaningful endeavours.
The experiences of these participants raise a number of issues pertinent to the management ofolder workers and their potential participation in the labour market. The traditional notion ofretirement is an outdated concept especially for women who, through their gendered lifecourse, often have not accumulated enough resources to stop work. As individuals age, theirpathways are more diverse and organisational diversity policies and practices need to be morecognisant of age.
On their return to New Zealand after completing SIE, these participants explored a diverse
range of organisational employment options. The findings suggest that, despite their wish toengage in appropriate and meaningful work pathways in later life, their experiences were often
marred by discrimination, disadvantage and disappointment. However, the participants,
buoyed by the freedom, challenges and learnings derived from their recent SIE, were no longer
prepared to compromise their personal wellbeing by engaging in unsatisfactory work roles andlooked to alternative avenues, outside formal organisational work to preserve their sense of
personal wellbeing.
The experiences recounted by participants are a timely reminder to employers that beneath theveneer of ‘collective, older worker HR and Management practices’, all is not well and there
appears to be limited cognisance of the fact that, as individuals age, their individual pathways
are more diverse and may mean very different things for women and for men (Loretto &Vickerstaff, 2013; van der Heijden, et al, 2008).

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This research confirms that the participants value their post SIE sense of purpose and general
wellbeing and contributes to the older worker discourse by encouraging organisations toembrace a myriad of individual older employee pathways, in a spirit of employer–employee
reciprocity that supports and enhances individual and organisational wellbeing.
Participants may be in the twilight of their working lives, but their potential to make ameaningful and significant contribution to the workplace is considerable. These participants
wish to be valued and respected in any work context; they seek flexibility and autonomy andhave diverse individual work goals. They will not return to the workplace to be merely
measured and managed, but they are much more likely to return if they are respected andengaged.

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Gender pay equity and wellbeing: an intersectional study ofengineering and caring occupations
JUDITH K PRINGLE*, SHARYN DAVIES**, LYNNE GIDDINGS*** andJUDY McGREGOR****
Abstract
This article discusses the complexity of gender pay within the occupations of engineering andcaring. Applying an intersectional framework, we examine the role the gender pay gap playsin the perceived wellbeing of women engineers and care workers. The salient identities (microlevel) for the two groups were identified through analysis of the professional context (meso)
and the socio-political environment (macro). The two participant groups were situated indifferent class positions. The intersections of identities revealed unexpected advantages anddisadvantages for women seeking fair and decent pay, with various implications for perceived
wellbeing.
Key Words
Pay gap, women engineers, care workers, intersectionality, wellbeing

Introduction
The call for ‘equal pay for equal work’ has rung out for decades, yet the gender pay gap
remains. Along with early motivational theorists (Herzberg, Mausner & Snyderman, 1959;
2010), we argue that fair pay is foundational for wellbeing at work. While much of the previous
wellbeing research have used survey responses, we explore this topic by probing deeper into
participants’ experiences by using qualitative methodology. Through two linked case studies,
we discuss perceptions of women professional engineers and women care workers in aged carefacilities, in terms of equal pay and pay equity, respectively. While the two cases are not strictly
comparable in sectoral terms, each afforded valuable information on the difficulties ofachieving equal pay (engineers) and pay equity (care workers). Equal pay refers to the samepay for the same work. Pay equity refers to equal pay for work of similar value.
Intersectionality theory (Cho, Crenshaw, & McCall, 2013; Rodriguez, Holvino, Fletcher, &Nkomo, 2016; Weber, 2010) is used to interpret participants’ responses by moving between
the micro level of identities and the macro socio-political contexts of each occupation. This
intersectional study revealed surprising advantages and disadvantages for women in the two
occupations. To understand women engineers’ apparent lack of agency, we draw on
discussions of sex differences and the apparent acceptance of a ‘motherhood penalty’ (Statistics
New Zealand and Ministry for Women, 2017). The socio-political context for care workers*

Judith K Pringle, Dept of Management/Gender & Diversity Research Group, AUT University
Sharyn Davies, School of Social Sciences and Public Policy/ Gender & Diversity Research Group, AUT
University***
Lynne Giddings, Faculty of Health & Environmental Sciences/ Gender & Diversity Research Group, AUT
University****
Judy McGregor, School of Social Sciences and Public Policy, AUT University**

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differs and while they earn less than engineers, they have become increasingly unionised since2012 and involved in collective legal actions for a fair wage.

Literature Review
Under the New Zealand (NZ) Human Rights Act 1993, it is unlawful to discriminate inemployment on specific grounds such as race, sex, or disability. However, if a complainant isdiscriminated on several grounds, such as sex, ethnicity and age, they must choose just one(McGregor, Bell, & Wilson, 2016a). Critical of this approach, we bring an intersectional
analysis to examine a core feature of workplace inequality – pay. We argue that gender alone
is insufficient for analysis, theory building and, ultimately, fighting for justice and improved
workplace wellbeing. We, thus, focus on the ways that gender and class, in particular, combine
to impact the gender pay gap and perceived wellbeing on women in the workplace. In ourstudy, we are interested in aspects of wellbeing that are directly connected to women’s
perceptions of both equitable pay and characteristics of their work that bring dis/satisfaction.
Wellbeing
Two major streams are identifiable in existing wellbeing research, both using positivist
methodologies based on analyses of large data sets (Brown, Gardner, Oswald, & Qian, 2008).
One stream comes from industrial relations and economist scholars (ibid) while the other major
stream emerged as part of positive psychology. Both streams show a movement away from a
direct engagement with power and conflict as central to research.
While power and inequality between employers and employees lies at the heart of the industrial
relations research, its study has diminished. Recent employer surveys demonstrate a clear
preference for direct discussion with individual employees coupled with a belief that mostemployees have no interest in collective bargaining (Foster, Rasmussen, & Coetzee, 2012). As
Thompson and Smith (2009) note, a relocation in labour process research from sociology tobusiness schools has brought a concomitant change in the nature of that research. What isevident is an “an unshakeable optimism with respect to trends in work and employment….
[with an] optimistic message about a move from command and control to collaborative hightrust” (p.919). The power pendulum has moved towards a management view of workplace
wellbeing.
Within the second stream of applied psychology, wellbeing is understood as a “combination oflife satisfaction and emotional balance” (Hone, 2015: 7). Such wellbeing research involves
responses to survey items analysed within higher level constructs, such as engagement,
achievement, optimism and psychological flourishing (Hone, 2015; Diener et al., 2010).
Satisfaction with pay does not feature. Wellbeing research has also extended into humanresource management and performance, where it is associated with common employee
measures ,such as job satisfaction, employee voice, enriched jobs (Wood & de Menezes, 2011),
and work-life balance (e.g. Macky & Boxall, 2008; Hone, 2015). Missing from this research
are gendered analyses and accounts of people’s experiences before being transformed into
academic constructs.
Research on New Zealand (NZ) workers revealed that wellbeing is associated with concerns
around physicality (regular physical exercise, healthy eating), feeling valued, and work-lifebalance (Hone, Schofield, & Jarden, 2015). Financial security was less frequently mentioned
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and pay equity did not arise from open-ended questions (Hone, 2015). Overall, the inductive(not using pre-existing scales) NZ research illustrated “a lack of alignment between workers’
and academics’ perspectives” (Hone, 2015: 64). In our study, we move closer to participants’experiences, using material from face-to-face interviews and focus groups enquiring about
perceptions of pay and work conditions.
A consistent finding in workplace wellbeing research is the importance of the employee’s
relationship with their supervisor (Gilbreath & Benson, 2004). Increased demands fromsupervisors result in dissatisfaction (Macky & Boxall, 2008). Very few organisational
researchers consider power relationships in the workplace beyond the supervisor and also failto include the broader socio-political economic context (an exception being Ravenswood &Harris, 2016).
In our research, we were concerned to take a multi-level view of power by using
intersectionality theory to frame our design and the interpretation of research findings.
Intersectionality
The concept of intersectionality arose from Crenshaw’s incisive critiques of the US legal
system in the late 1980s, analysing how Black female claimants were unsuccessful in attempts
to articulate discrimination “both as women who are Black and as Black [people] who are
women” (Cho et al., 2013: 790). Intersectionality “captured the inadequacy of legal
frameworks to address inequality and discrimination resulting from the ways in which bothrace and gender intersected” (Rodriquez et al., 2016: 201). This flaw in anti-discrimination
legislation provided an impetus for this NZ study.
Intersectionality theory provides a powerful analytic framework to understand inequality andthe “vexed dynamics of difference and sameness in the context of antidiscrimination” (Cho etal., 2013: 787). The first emphasis was Black (African American) women (Collins, 1998), but
this rich scholarship spread from critical legal studies and race studies to feminist studies,sociology, geography and more recently organisation studies (Cho et al., 2013).
Intersectionality combines identities and structural social systems to analyse exploitive power
relations (Weber, 2010). Rodriguez et al. (2016) discuss what it means to bring an intersectionallens to the study of power, privilege and subordination at work. They categorise the prolificscholarship into four areas: conceptual meanings of intersectionality, operationalisingintersectionality, application into practice, and mapping intersectionality transnationally. The
first two areas are of concern to this study.
Theorisation of intersectionality evolved from static representations of dominance andoppression to include the interplay of advantage and disadvantage. There has been a tendency
to privilege individual subjectivities and identities (Atewologun, Sealy & Vinnicombe, 2016)
over systemic processes and structures, rather than explicitly linking agency with structure.
Three themes are germane to our study: discussions around the analytical level at which theconcept operates; the choice of the key identities to be investigated; and the place where
disadvantage occurs when theorising intersectionality.
Aligned with the early exponents of intersectionality, McCall (2005) focused her enquiry into
methodological issues. While she defined intersectionality in similar ways to her predecessors– the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relations and subject
formations – she was more concerned with the challenges of actually carrying out research, as
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she states in her classic article, “what is restricting … research on intersectionality comes down
primarily to methods” (2005: 1772). She classified methodological approaches tointersectionality in terms of anti-categorical, intra-categorical and inter-categorical aspects ofidentity, but operationalisation was difficult. We used the inter-categorical approach as an
epistemological basis for our research design which requires that existing analytical categories
are adopted, provisionally, “to document relationships of inequality among socialgroups…along multiple and conflicting dimensions” (McCall, 2005: 1773).
In operationalising intersectionality, Rodriguez et al. (2016) note the use of qualitative
methodologies to focus on identity and subjectivity. They advocate a methodologicalpluralism, not excluding quantitative analysis of large data sets (Woodhams & Lupton, 2014).
Some researchers argue that intersectionality needs to be a deliberate research strategy, rather
than appearing as ad hoc explanations at the analysis phase (Mooney, 2016). Rodriquez et al.
(2016: 205) also expound the “need for more explicit deliberation about the interrelationshipbetween epistemological/philosophical assumptions and methodological choices”. We tookthese suggestions into account in our research design and choice of social categories. Some
categories were pre-determined by our research design (e.g. occupation, gender, ethnicity),
while others arose out of the interpretive analysis (e.g. education, immigrant status).
Participants were able to clearly identify their gender, age, ethnicity, and immigrant andmotherhood status. However in this study, we also gave a central place to class, partly because
class is not a justiciable inequality in NZ, nor in similar jurisdictions (Australia, United
Kingdom, the European Union). Theories of class are acknowledged to be ‘fuzzy’ (Anthias,2013), although most denote differential access to resources (Acker, 2006). In the United
Kingdom, class is theorised as historically generated, unconsciously using patriarchal andheteronormative benchmarks (Fredman, 2010; Iqbal, 2011). Class has been conceptualised
variously as pertaining to occupational levels (Acker, 2006) and also choice of ‘style’ such as
dress, manners, and speech (Scully & Blake-Beard, 2006). Although largely disavowed in NZ
European society, class status provides a foundation for social structure in Māori and PacificIsland cultures. Given the overall reticence about class in NZ, we deliberately chose two cases
from contrasting class positions and included questions on participants’ beliefs around class.
Following Ravenswood and Harris (2016), we define class in terms of professional status,
wages, work conditions and educational attainment.
A strong theme in the research literature connects intersectionality with disadvantage, but thismay obscure the role of the powerful within sets of unequal social relations (Walby, Armstrong,& Strid, 2012). Our research is not confined to a discourse of oppression (Collins, 1998), nor
is it specific to an ethnic minority (Nash, 2008). We align with theorists who argue that we all
have multiple identities which interact in dynamic ways “to construct multiple and unevensocio-economic patterns of domination and subordination” (Anthias, 2013: 131). Accordingly,intersectional identities may derive from positions of privilege as much as from oppression.
We follow Walby and colleagues (2012) in our analysis as we consider the privilege anddisadvantage that women engineers and women care workers embody through theirintersecting identities and how this impacts on their perceived wellbeing.

Contexts
The three broad contexts germane to this study are: the NZ gender pay gap, the professional
environment for women engineers, and women care workers’ campaign for pay equity.
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Equal Pay
Equal pay in NZ has been part of legislation since 1960 for government organisations and from1972 for the private sector. The Equal Pay Act 1972 requires employers to pay women andmen the same when they have the same or substantially similar qualifications and are employedin the same or substantially similar work. In spite of legislation, the gender pay gap has beenstatic for more than a decade, hovering around 12 per cent (Ministry of Women, 2015). Thisgap is relatively modest in comparison to similar countries (e.g. Australia overall gender pay
gap 17.5 per cent 2015; private sector 21 per cent 2015; UK 19.7 per cent public sector 2013;16.6 per cent private sector 2016). The gender pay gap is a key reporting item to the Committee
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and other international
human rights treaty bodies (McGregor, Davis, Giddings, & Pringle, 2016b). The Committee
has admonished NZ in past reports (McGregor, 2013), urging the government to pass specificlegislation, develop policies and actively monitor the situation. When data from the major
ethnic groups (Māori, Pacific lsland, Asian, NZ European) are analysed, considerable
variability is revealed (Hyman, 2011). European (White) women have a smaller gender pay
gap (11 per cent) than ‘all’ men, compared to Māori women (22 per cent), Pacific Island women(27 per cent), and Asian women (18 per cent). When ethnicity is included with gender, a morenuanced understanding of the gender pay gap is revealed. Recent research also demonstrates
that the gender pay gap for parents was larger (17 per cent) than the gender pay gap for nonparents (five per cent) revealing that there is a ’motherhood penalty’ of just under 12 per cent
(Statistics New Zealand and Ministry for Women, 2017).
The National conservative government, in power since 2008, consistently reinforced a noninterventionist policy with respect to pay equity until 2016-2017. To avoid further court action
on pay equity, it engaged in tripartite negotiations around aged care, resulting in the agreementof a set of Joint Working Group Principles and settlement of the TerraNova case, involving
aged care workers. The 21 new principles include a new bargaining process, which allows
women to file equal pay claims with their employers rather than the courts. This final decisionoccurred after our study.
The Ministry for Women, a policy agency, advocates addressing the gender pay gap throughthree priorities: promoting trades and removing barriers for women in an effort to reduce
occupational segregation, the development of career pathways for women in low-paid
occupations, and emphasising the business case for more flexible work arrangements. The firsttwo priorities are relevant to our research: increasing and retaining women in the maledominated profession of engineering, and the career pathways for women in the low-paid
occupation of caring.
Engineering
The engineering profession in NZ is male-dominated, and has been slow to encourage women
into engineering degrees, and to keep them in the workforce. Research into the culture ofengineering firms internationally consistently report a ‘chilly climate’ for women (Bilimoria,
Lord, & Marinelli, 2014). In a NZ study (Ayre, 2011), women engineers reported workplacecultures that included: harassment, discrimination and disadvantage, a lack of management
support to balance family commitments, and too few networks or role models for women. Somemale colleagues and clients were also uncomfortable with women as professional engineersand perceived them as less capable (ibid).
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Women constitute approximately a quarter of graduating engineering students and 13 per centof professional engineers (IPENZ, 2013). These statistics are similar to many western countries
where women make up 15 per cent or less of professional engineers (Arye, Mills, & Gill, 2014).
In response to internal and external pressures, the professional association first reported agender breakdown in its 2010 annual salary survey. Subsequent reports demonstrate a disparityof up to 13 per cent between male and female salaries. The annual salary report has had apositive impact in raising awareness of gender pay inequality for women engineers, althoughawareness alone is insufficient for change.
Aged CareAn analysis of pay rates of aged care workers revealed they are one of the lowest paid groups
in NZ, near to minimum wage ($14.75 per hour) and significantly below the average wage forwomen ($22.15 per hour) (New Zealand Human Rights Commission, 2012). A national humanrights inquiry into the aged care workforce identified three aspects of pay discrimination:
absence of pay for travel time between clients; unequal pay between residential care workers
and care-workers doing comparable jobs in hospitals, both paid by public health funds; andthe gross under-valuation of the work (ibid). This report described NZ’s reliance on low paidcare work as a form of modern day slavery.
The report was followed, in 2012, by the Service and Food Workers Union (now E tū) making
a claim on behalf of Kristine Bartlett, a long term residential aged care worker at TerraNova,and others. This TerraNova case was novel in that it addressed pay equity, not equal pay, andthat Kristine Bartlett claimed the company underpaid her and other women because aged carework was mostly performed by women (Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Inc
v Terranova Homes and Care Ltd [2013]). There were no gender differences involved because
the few men in aged care were also underpaid and undervalued. In brief, the case was twice
appealed (by the company TerraNova) with the Supreme Court declining the right of appeal
and upholding the claim (Terranova Homes and Care Ltd v Service and Food Workers Union
Nga Ringa Tota [2014]). Following the court cases, the government established a tripartite
Joint Working Group on Pay Equity Principles (employer, union, government) to provide
practical guidance to employers and employees. In May 2016, the report recommended
principles for pay negotiations based on the existing Employment Relations Act (2000). In
April 2017 (after our study), the Government announced a $2 billion pay equity settlement for
55,000 aged and disability residential care and home and community support services to takeeffect from July 1st (Coleman, 2017). For approximately 20,000 workers on the minimum
wage, it will mean a 21 per cent pay rise to $19 an hour.
In relating these sectoral cases to the broader socio-legal context, our research into the gender
pay gap was conceptualised in two different but related ways: pay equality for engineers andgender pay equity for care workers. These two ways of measuring the gender pay gap provide
comparisons between men and women and also among women. Both measures are fundamental
to women’s pay and underpin women’s economic participation and wellbeing.

Research Design
In Mooney’s (2016) discussion of what it takes to be a ‘nimble’ intersectionality researcher,she stresses the need to “make early decisions about the theoretical framing” rather than34

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 29-45
limiting intersectionality to the analysis stage (2016: 716). We proposed an intersectional study
at the outset, choosing ascribed class position as a key dimension. We argue for the importanceof context for the research question, and for context to include the macro (societal), meso(organisational), and micro (personal) levels (Pringle & Ryan, 2015).
The two occupational groups formed separate cases (Yin, 2014). We argue that the use of
linked case studies directed towards a single research question has the potential to enhance theinformation gathered. As a result, the consistency of the methods was less of a driver than
exploring the research question. The analysis was qualitative descriptive (Smythe, 2012) as wesought to describe the main features of our participants’ experiences. The second part of theanalysis moved to interpretive description (Thorne, 2016) where we were guided byintersectional theory.
Methods
The case studies were situated in two different occupational groups: one male-dominated andthe other female-dominated. The call for volunteers was made for each sample through theirrespective associations, the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ), andthe Service & Food Workers’ Union for the care workers.
Engineering participants were recruited through the IPENZ newsletter. Women in Auckland
were also invited to be part of an initial focus group; nine women attended, five of whom werelater interviewed individually. A further 16 women volunteered from other areas of the country
and were also interviewed. A total of 21 individual interviews were carried out.
The 34 care workers were interviewed in four focus groups, varying between eight and 11
participants. Each group discussion was facilitated by two researchers. We asked about work
roles, work experiences, and perceptions of pay. As pay rates were well discussed in the media,
we asked the women care workers directly about their hourly rate. These questions evoked
lively and forthright discussion. This direct approach was not replicated with engineers where
we anticipated that such questions would not be well received. In the engineers’ interviews,
their pay rate was addressed through comparison with male colleagues with commensurate
education and work experience. In the case of care workers, there were very few men to offer
a point of comparison. As a result we asked them for their aspirational pay rates.
Analysis
All interviews were digitally recorded and professionally transcribed. Two levels of analysis
were carried out. First, a set of interview questions guided a descriptive content analysis. Codes
were developed to create categories of shared meaning from the data. Second, an intersectionalframework was applied to interpret the salient identities of participants within occupational
contexts. In our intersectional analysis, we were guided by McCall’s inter-categorical analysisof the “relationships of inequality among already constituted social groups” (2005: 1785). She
used a Table format (see Table 1, McCall, 2005: 1790) to show class/race/gender inequality infour different US geographic locations. Based on our philosophic and theoretical underpinningfor the research, we describe both positive and negative contributions to the class position of
our two occupations using a Figure (see Figure 1). In the following section, we describe ourfindings. These include the broad demographics of our two cases, the responses of engineers
and care workers to questions on pay equity, discussions around change, things they liked about

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their job, and their main sources of dissatisfaction. We then link our findings with the wellbeing
literature.

Case of Women Engineers
Women in our study came from a variety of engineering disciplines. Of the 21 womeninterviewed, approximately half (11) graduated in civil engineering, with three graduating inenvironmental engineering and two in process engineering. All women obtained their Bachelor
of Engineering between 1974 and 2012; nine had completed or were currently undertaking
postgraduate study. Most of the women (90 per cent) identified as European New Zealanders
while two women were immigrants from non-western backgrounds. Women’s ages ranged
from late 20s to early 60s, with two-thirds between 25 and 39. Fourteen women were married
or in a civil union, five were in a relationship and three were single. Ten women had nochildren.
Perceptions of Pay
Engineers were asked about annual salary in bands as part of a demographic questionnairecompleted in advance of the interview. Two-thirds (14) earned an annual income of between
NZ$50,000 and NZ$99,999, with only two women earning less. (The full-time workers averagerate was approximately equivalent to $36 per hour.) Half (11) of the women stated they worked
between 40 and 50 hours per week, with a quarter working part-time (fewer than 25 hours perweek).
To explore perceptions of equal pay, engineers were asked, “Do you think you get paid thesame as men in your position?” There were a variety of responses and many of these could begrouped into three categories: Yes I assume I am; I have no idea; I know I am not paid thesame (McGregor et al., 2016b). However, women also talked about their belief that they werebeing paid what they were worth, putting trust in their employers to pay them equitably:
So yeah, I do think I have been treated fairly. I do wonder about salary, but like I said,
I do think that’s because I’m a very – I’m more of a passive person when it comes tomoney. I’ve always said --- Well, you pay me what you think I’m worth because you
know what everyone else gets paid (Grace).
The IPENZ annual survey enabled women to find out they were being paid less in a national
sense: “Recently the IPENZ remuneration survey came out and I started up a full conversation
with my manager about it” (Sarah). However, to find out pay relativities they needed open
disclosure from a colleague, or male engineer partner. Within the sample there were three
women whose male partner was also an engineer. One participant noted that she and herhusband both graduated with the same degree from the same university and subsequently
worked at the same firm. They had both worked part-time as they had two children:
So it’s quite a neat comparison as to how our careers have progressed because westarted off on the same pay rate…. There’s definitely been a divergence, and that’s evenwith my husband going down to part time for the in-between years. He’s ahead inseniority and in pay as well (Brenda).
Reponses to Pay Inequity
36New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 29-45

When women found out they were being paid less than male colleagues, a common response
was acceptance. When we asked why woman accepted pay inequity, the women gave
justifications invoking a feminine stereotype of naturalised sex differences (Davies, McGregor,
Pringle, Giddings, 2017). Women responded that they were prepared to receive lower pay inorder to be considered a ‘good girl’. They also said they were happy with lower remunerationin return for flexible and fewer hours.
Because when you go and have children and come back part time, you can’t expect tohave the same pay jumps as someone who is working full time. You aren’t working as
hard as the others, you are not bringing in as much work because you are simply
working less (Roslyn).
Women also said that they were high paid professionals and did not need extra money. Indeed,
the women tended to compare themselves with other women generally, rather than maleequivalents. They made comments such as “Women don’t put themselves out there as much.
That’s something that we’re fundamentally not good at” (Jean). This sentiment is encapsulated
in the following illustrative quote:…women are very bad at negotiating pay packages when they take a new job… we tend
to be more accepting of what is offered. …and you don’t question, are you worth more.
…And that’s something I’ve seen a lot across the women – especially the younger
women – that I work with. They’re just not very interested in discussing pay or trying
to have any conflict with their bosses about money…..I think generally men are a lot
better at asking, just naturally (Diane).
Only two women, in the face of evidence of inequitable pay, reported taking action.
After the interview, one woman raised the issue of unequal pay with her boss: “I asked
the question, and found that my colleagues earn more than me. I was outraged! I asked
for a salary review, but it hasn’t happened yet” (Sybil). The other woman asked humanresources for information to clarify how much less she was being paid: “I don’t knowwhat other people are earning…We asked our HR people if they could provide us pay
equity data and they didn’t, they couldn’t, they didn’t want to” (Isabel).
Likes and Dislikes about WorkNear the end of the interview, we asked the women engineers what they liked about their job.
The prevalent responses were around the positive nature of the work, the challenge of the job,variety, and the opportunities to work outside. Flexible hours for child care was also seen as apositive factor, when they were able to get it. Some participants mentioned the relatively ‘highsalary’. The lack of transparency around pay rates (McGregor et al., 2016) and probable pay
inequality were not important factors in job dissatisfaction. Rather, sources of dissatisfaction
were mostly examples of sexism, such as ‘the blokey environment’ and instances such as ‘notgetting contracts because they were women’. Often the ability to bring in work was affected
more subtlety, for example, by being excluded from golfing with potential clients. Subtle
sexism also occurred through informal employment conditions.
Christine: They said…Well, we’ll put you on trial. So it was a bit weird.
Interviewer: And I guess you were the only one on trial, were you?

37New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 29-45
Christine: Oh yeah. Because the other guys who came in, they went straight into a job.
So yeah, and it was almost like a sense of relief or surprise or something, I don’t know,
but then they go --- Oh, wow, yeah actually you’re alright. You actually know what
you’re doing.

Case of Women Care Workers
All care workers in the study worked in residential homes for older citizens. They worked avariety of hours, generally around 35 hours per week, with shifts decided and allocated bymanagement. The number of allocated shifts often varied from week to week.
Most of the 34 care workers were immigrants (27) encompassing 17 different ethnicities. For
all but one of these women, English was a second language. A fifth of the women were fromNew Zealand (6 European/New Zealanders, 1 Māori). Over a third (13 per cent) were from the
Pacific Islands: Tonga, (5), Samoa (3), Fiji (2), Cook Islands (1), Tuvalu (1), and Tokalau (1).
A fifth were from Asia (India 2, Philippines 2, Nepal 2), and two were from European countries(Scotland, Poland). The remaining six were from the Statistics (NZ) category of MELAA:
Middle East, Latin America and Africa. The discussion elicited by the question of ‘where they
were from’, demonstrated intersections of immigration, English speaking fluency, andethnicity. The majority of care workers were over 50 years old, but the age range was wide;from 20s to the late 60s. Approximately half had financial dependents.
As noted earlier, samples were chosen on the basis of class differentiated occupational
contexts; engineers situated in the professional middle classes and the care workers in theworking class. One carer noted the gendered nature of class: Down the bottom…It’s a woman’sjob. While another reflected, and there’s the working class, and there is under the working
class, where we are. In contrast, class was invisible to the engineers, their response
encapsulated by one participant, I’d struggle to answer that one [question on class].
Perception around Pay
The care workers provided animated discussion about low and inequitable rates of pay, withhigh agreement that their pay rate was unfair. As a group, they received between $14.50 $19.50 per hour, which translated to an average rate of $16.24 per hour (median $15). As one
woman commented, I think we are taken for granted. When we asked for suggestions on what
they should be paid, requests were modest, ranging from $19 to $22 per hour. One participantsuggested, Oh...I think the starting rate should be at least $22 an hour, to be honest; $22 perhour being the average rate for NZ women workers. Yet, in one focus group discussion there
was grateful acknowledgement that at least they had a job.
Molly: I enjoy the wages that... when the money comes into my bank.
Sophia: Like what we do for everyone, even though they moan and groan about thewages, but at least we have money coming into the family to pay the rent and...
Jan: As long as you get a job.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 29-45
Strategies for Achieving Pay Equity
Low pay impacted directly on carers’ wellbeing and ability to care for families and dependents.
They were adamant that changes in pay would come from Union actions, although it isimportant to note that study participants were recruited through the Union.
Louise: you don’t get the pay rise until the Union fights for the rights.
Max: That’s right.
Cleo: So I was in direct orders as a new caregiver to come and join the Union. Only
the Union can give us a rise. We’re just waiting for the Union, yeah.
What they Love about the Job
The care workers were generally passionate and positive about caring for others. There were arange of values that emerged, including the Christian beliefs from some participants and how
others had been brought up to respect and care for elders:
I really love the work. And I work from the heart – with my heart. When I treated myresidents or patients, I say you need, well, my principle is what you give good things tothem, you’re going to harvest one day (Jessie).
Overall, women demonstrated a desire to contribute to the quality of community life:
Not because of the money, because I want to see our sector get more funding from thegovernment so that we can pay the people doing the hard work. And I’m doing it for
the families really because without us, they’d be in a worse situation and we’d have aworse society (Sue).
Working Conditions
Women did not necessarily work 40 hour weeks, partly by choice and partly as directed by the
management keeping a cap on costs. Management rapidly reduced shifts when there were fewer
residents (for example, three vacant beds out of 80), but that speed of action was not replicatedwhen there was increased demand:
They don’t do it quickly. They’re very slow to bring the staff numbers up when you get
more and more work, and you keep saying…We need another person. We need anotherperson. And they go…Well, we’ll just see how it goes for the next week, shall we? Andas soon as we lose a person…Oh well, that’s that slashed (Wendy).
Participants described the difficult and frustrating parts of the work: poor relations withmanagement, shifting rosters without consultation, and hard physical work without timely
access to hoists for heavy lifting. Over the years, time with patients, they said, had eroded andthe work intensified. As one woman reflected: “There’s nothing wrong with the job, justmanagement and money” (Lana).

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Interpretive Analysis
Drawing on the interpretive level of analysis, we developed the following map ofintersectionality. Using a font code we highlight disadvantage in capitals and lower case foradvantages for the multiple identities of engineers and care workers.

Figure 1: Descriptive map of intersectionality: Class differentiated occupational contexts

Women engineers working in a male-dominated occupation reported disadvantages which they
attribute to gender, working in a masculine culture, and being responsible for dependents. Their
education, non-immigrant status and being of the dominant ethnicity provided sources ofadvantage. In interviews, age did not arise as a discussion point. Conversely, care workers
working in a female-dominated occupation found that exhibiting aspects of feminine culture
were a benefit, especially if they were older. The women were disadvantaged by low
educational levels impacting on their ability to be assertive. In addition, having dependents
restricted their work availability. Immigrant status impacted on English speaking ability andthey also experienced racism, mainly from White clients.

Discussion
We argue that both equal pay and pay equity contribute to financial security, an identified
component of wellbeing (Hone, 2015). While pay is important to wellbeing, it impacts women
differently according to class position. Our study found that, for care workers, pay profoundly
impacts on their perceived wellbeing as it literally means having enough money to live. For
engineers, their pay shapes their self-worth but perceived wellbeing for engineers also revolves
around their ability to have flexible working hours.

40New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 29-45
Care workers are in a female-dominated occupation where feminine characteristics are an
integral part of emotional labour (Ravenswood & Harris, 2016). Salient social identities of care
workers are as gendered, ethnic minority, older, poorly paid workers struggling to achieve
working class status. They wanted equitable pay, respect for their work from their managers
and from their clients. The women perceived major issues to be low wages coupled with lackof power to negotiate conditions. They wished to be included in decisions made about work
shifts. A few spoke of trying to negotiate for better shifts directly with managers, but they were
aware of potential risks to job security. Their everyday job conditions and perceived wellbeing
were also affected by lack of job autonomy and participation in decision-making. It was the
combination of these factors, equitable pay, respect in the workforce and participation indecision-making that defined a sense of perceived wellbeing for the women care workers.
Women engineers, in contrast, were privileged by ethnicity, education, and middle class status.
Disadvantage arose from intersections of gender and motherhood. They wanted greater
flexibility to accommodate child caring responsibilities. Most women assumed they alreadyhad equal pay with male colleagues as they had equivalent education and technical expertise.
Wellbeing was directly affected by the masculine work environment, for example, women’slack of access to client networks. While subtle, these exclusions impacted on promotion
prospects and remuneration. What we found was that for engineers their sense of perceived
wellbeing was defined by work-life balance and access to flexibility for childcare
The women’s ability to negotiate for what they thought they were worth was curtailed bybeliefs in feminine stereotypes from a position of ‘naturalised’ sex differences (England, 2010).
While feminists are rarely satisfied with pay inequality, the ‘good woman’ may be mostaccepting of the ‘motherhood penalty’. The women engineers have been socialised into theprofession and have constructed an individual professional identity that overshadowed theirgender identity until they had children. Concerns about gender inequality were not focused onunequal pay (even compared with their engineer husbands), but on their ability to negotiate
more flexibility in their working hours to accommodate childcare responsibilities (Davies etal., 2017).

Contributions and Implications
Our research demonstrates that using gender as the key dimension for understanding women’s
perceptions of pay equity is insufficient. While pay is a common analytic for workplace
equality, it is also insufficient on its own for understanding wellbeing. Intersectional analysesof identities are essential to understand the often contradictory experiences of women working
in different occupations. Using intersectionality becomes even more fruitful if links are madeto the macro (socio-political) and meso (professional) levels. For instance, while care workers
had an important sense of purpose, and satisfying relations with residents, the fact that theyreceived low and inequitable rates of pay impacted negatively on their perceived wellbeing.
An intersectional analysis can reveal the experiences of the “sometimes marginalised and thesometimes privileged” (Mooney, 2016: 716). Intersectionality is notoriously difficult to
operationalise (Rodrigues et al., 2016; Mooney, 2016); our research into the gender pay gap,
provides a start. Understanding the specific context is crucial for an intersectional researcher
to analyse the societal power positioning of participants.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 29-45
Professionals in society are perceived as occupying positions of high status where they havethe educational credentials and confidence to argue for good pay and conditions throughindividual contracts. In addition, a government strategy aims to encourage more women into
the higher paid male-dominated professions and trades, to reduce the gender pay gap. Fromthese combined macro influences, we expected a more pro-active approach to pay equality inthe engineering profession. Instead, we found a reluctance amongst women engineers to act
and change their working conditions which held gender pay inequalities.
Care workers, in contrast, have been part of a poorly paid workforce for many years and denied
remuneration commensurate with the rhetorical value given to caring for needy members ofsociety. They have been perceived as being of lower social status and relatively powerlesscompared with other occupational groups. Yet at a personal level, care workers held animmediate awareness of the need for equitable compensation based on hours, skills andunacknowledged emotional labour. A unionised campaign, based on women’s rights principles
and involving litigation, has profoundly altered the politics of caring. The pay equity settlement
for aged care workers also poses questions for future research. As the pay rises are phased inover the next five years as planned, will the symbolic, implicit and explicit acknowledgementof the ‘value’ of their work that accompanied the settlement and the wider public reaction see
an improvement in care workers’ wellbeing?
Our intersectional analysis has been useful in revealing complexity within and between the twocases. Participants shared the experience of gender discrimination. However, the intersectional
analysis revealed unexpected advantages and disadvantages for women seeking fair and decent
pay in the two occupations. While the wellbeing literature has expanded greatly over the past
decade, much of the development has been at the conceptual level and has largely ignored
gender issues. In this qualitative study, we have identified that fair pay is foundational for
women’s perceived wellbeing at work, with its impact affected by class. Perhaps more
importantly, by using intersectional analysis we have demonstrated that perceived wellbeing
differs between the two groups of women by their class position.

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Yin., R. K. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62

Early Childhood Education and Care Workers and Wellbeing in aContinuous Caring Regime
LARA CORR*, JANE DIXON** and JOHN BURGESS***
Abstract
The childcare sector in Australia is large and growing, and is an important institutional support for
women to participate in the workforce. The sector is highly feminised, professionalised andaccredited, and low paid. This article reports on the time pressures, that is the pressure ofcompeting demands on the time of workers, and how these link to the wellbeing of workers in the
sector. The study interviewed business owners, child care service managers and child care service
providers to highlight management of the squeeze on time through continuous caring. It theninvestigates the implications for health and eating behaviours that are associated with the squeeze
on time.
Keywords: childcare sector; care workers; Australia; work intensity; employee well being

Introduction
The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services sector in Australia is large, diverse andgrowing. There are over 150,000 workers in the sector, 90 per cent of whom are female. Nearly
three-quarters are on casual and/or part-time contracts (Productivity Commission (PC), 2013). The
Productivity Commission (PC) Issues Paper (2013) on the sector reported that the workforce has
two groups of workers — directors, teachers or group leaders (30 per cent), and ECEC educators(70 per cent). ECEC educators are commonly paid at rates around minimum wage, while directors,
teachers and group leaders receive higher wages, have more advanced qualifications and are likely
to work full-time (ibid). Apart from being highly feminised, the sector is dominated by younger
workers, with half of the workforce being under 35 years of age; this is in contrast to another highly
feminised sector, aged care, where the workforce profile is dominated by an older cohort(Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2011). In general, workers in ECEC the sector have formal*

School of Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn Victoria, 3122
lcorr@swin.edu.au**
National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, ANU College ofMedicine,
Biology andEnvironment,
The
Australian
National
University
62 Mills Road, Acton ACT 2601 Australia
Jane.dixon@anu.edu.au***
School of Management, RMIT University, Melbourne 3000
john.burgess@rmit.edu.au (corresponding author)
Funding
This research was part of The Work, Time and Health Study funded by the Australian Research Council
DP140102856; lead researcher Associate Professor Jane Dixon.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
tertiary qualifications with over 80 per cent possessing ECEC-related qualification and with close
to 20 per cent having Bachelor degrees (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015).
Childcare work is onerous and carries with it a large number of responsibilities and pressures
towards compliance with many regulations linked to safety and health. For example, compliancewith excessive regulations and reporting was presented as one of the factors contributing to staff
turnover in the sector (PC, 2013). Workers in the sector are exposed to a range of physical andmental health risks, including infectious disease and stress (Bright & Cavallo, 1999; Corr, 2015).
The pressures on the workforce also include providing regular reports to a range of authorities
from the local to federal government level; the pressures and expectations of parents; and meetingthe care and welfare needs of the children (ibid).
This paper reports on the time pressures, that is the pressure of competing demands on the time ofworkers, and how these link to the wellbeing of workers in the ECEC sector. The study interviewed
four female business owners (licensed to manage and oversee childcare service providers), fourchildcare service managers and five childcare service providers (known as ‘educators’) to highlightthe accommodation of the time and caring squeeze. The women interviewed had dual caring andmanagerial functions; they were in a time squeeze, managing competing work and family
responsibilities. The article reports on how they managed the time and functional squeeze; that isaccommodating all the demands on their time and accommodating the time demands of work andcare responsibilities. The remainder of this article outlines the childcare sector in Australia;
discusses the nature of the industry and work, explains the research approach of the study, finishingwith the discussion and findings.

The ECEC Sector in Australia
There are a number of different sources of public funding of childcare services in Australia andthese are detailed in Chapter 1 of the PC Report (2014). The main funding programs are the Child
Care Benefit (a means tested benefit with weekly hours of care supported); a child care rebate (nonmeans tested, linked to approved care): and a jobs and training rebate that is paid to eligible parents
for the full rebate of childcare costs and are in employment, training or education. Government
expenditure on childcare support is around $7 billion. The rationale for public funding can belinked to three broad objectives: an investment in human capital with the expectation that privateand social returns from the investment are positive; as a means of supporting greater labour force
participation by women; and as a means of supporting equity goals in terms of providing lower
income groups improved access to paid employment (through public provision of childcare) andopportunities for their children (Queisser, 2013; Thevenon, 2013). There is recognition thataffordable, accessible and flexible childcare is important in terms of increasing labour force
participation of women and, in turn, addressing skill gaps associated with population andworkforce ageing (AWCCI, 2013). There are calls for childcare services to be provided for longer
hours across the week and in more locations, especially at home care services in order to support
more women to access employment (ibid).
The Australian ECEC sector is diverse in terms of organisational ownership, size and structure.
There are different segments to the market, including family day care, long day care, outside schoolcare, vacation care and informal care arrangements. Approximately 90 per cent of children are informal ‘approved care’, which includes regulated “services approved by the Australian47

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
Government for Child Care Benefit purposes in accordance with the Government’s standards andrequirements” (PC, 2014: 80). While ‘registered care’ is informal, unregulated “child careprovided by grandparents or other relatives, friends, neighbours, nannies or babysitters who are
registered as carers with the Department of Human Services” (ibid: 80). There were more than
35,000 registered care providers in Australia in 2013. The informal sector is defined as careprovided by relatives, friends, neighbours, nannies, au pairs and babysitters, which may be on apaid or unpaid basis (PC, 2014).
Around half of children aged 0 to 12 years regularly use formal or informal care services. Around
one million use formal care services and 1.4 million are in informal care, which is about 70 per
cent of cases is provided by family members (ABS, 2015). The average amount of time spent inchildcare is 18 hours per week (ibid). Approved services are provided by community groups, local
governments, large corporate entities operating multiple services as well as sole operators
providing family day care services in their own home (PC, 2014). The Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare (2015) reported that, of the 153,200 staff employed in the ECEC sector, thelargest proportion of these staff were employed in long day care services (50 per cent). Preschools
accounted for 18 per cent, before and/or after school care 12 per cent, vacation care 10 per cent,and family day care, nine per cent. Over half of all providers supply a single service and nearly athird provide between two to four services. Less than one per cent of all providers have more than
20 services (PC, 2014). The PC (2014: 81) indicated that “around 50 per cent of approved services
are provided on a for profit basis”. Listed companies account for around 30 per cent of the industry,
with the main providers being Goodstart, Folkestone Education Trust and G8 Education (Mastrullo& McInally, , 2016).The factors that determine the level, composition and growth in the demandfor care services (and hence the demand for the workforce) include population demographics;
workforce participation patterns; government assistance and government regulations (ibid). The
ageing population has, in general, reduced the demand for services, while increasing female labour
force participation rates have boosted the demand for services. The ABS (2010) reported that 70
per cent of formal care services was driven by workforce demands; hence the critical importanceof affordable and flexible care services to supporting female labour force participation. The
National Quality Framework governing licensing and accreditation has driven the demand for
qualified ECEC workers as licensing is dependent on having accredited staff. The ECEC industry
is expected to continue growing steadily from 2015-16 to 2020-21 at an average rate of 6.1 per
cent, and there will be an increase in government funding by 18.5 per cent through to 2017-18(Connect. Insights for Business, 2015).
In general, the workplace sites are small, each providing a limited number of services. What isnotable in this sector is not only the dominance of female workers but, unlike nearly all othersectors, the dominance of female managers and female business owners (PC, 2014). While the
ACCWI (2015) report on childcare stressed the importance of accessible, affordable and flexible
childcare services in order to support increasing female labour force participation, the irony is thatthe sector is not only a major site for female employment, it is a major site for female managers
and female owned small businesses who may also require childcare. Addressing projected future
labour supply shortages for the sector is linked to not only attracting qualified workers to the sector
but retaining those qualified and experienced workers, and small family businesses, who are
already in the sector.
The Productivity Commission Report (2014) outlined details of a sector that had grownconsiderably and was subject to a complex myriad of rules and regulations linked to funding and48

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
standards of care and care workers. The brief of the report was to examine links between childcare
and female workforce participation rates, and child learning/development; the future needs ofchildcare; the affordability of services; accessibility and flexibility of services; and the regulatory
system around the sector (PC, 2014).The PC report (2014) indicated that workers in the sector
were low paid relative to other sectors, that career progression was limited, turnover was high,workers felt undervalued and workforce stress and pressure was extensive. The Australian Bureauof Statistics (ABS, 2011) has also reported that full-time ECEC workers receive around two thirdsof the average full time weekly wage. A number of reports on the sector (PC, 2014; Connect.
Insights for Business, 2015) highlighted a number of issues that affect staffing, recruitment andturnover in the sector. Apart from relatively low wages other issues identified included thecomplex and extensive administrative burden; unpaid hours of work linked to preparation, parent
meetings and attending training programs; and under training in terms of the demands andexpectations of the job.

Time Pressures, Balancing Work and Family, and Wellbeing
Long working hours and the associated time pressures are often (but not always) accompanied byhigher job stress and also compromise basic positive health behaviours concerning healthy eating,adequate sleeping, social connection and physical activity as they limit the opportunity to take partin these crucial activities (Cleland, Tully, Kee, & Cupple, 2012). It is acknowledged that scarcetime for social connection and community participation has negative implications for mental
wellbeing and community/social cohesion (Masterman-Smith & Pocock, 2008; Masterman-Smith,2009). Not only do individuals risk poorer health, but it is recognised that productivity costs arise
from long hours due to problems with fatigue, mistakes, focus and poor mental health, as well as
costs due to absenteeism, rehiring and retraining, should workers opt out of the long hours work
lifestyle and leave their position. Timing of work, in terms of the start and finish times, plus theduration of work, matters for health as it affects individual as well as social routines – the time we
spend with others – which can positively or negatively impact on health (Kamp, Lambrecht Lund,& Søndergaard Hvid, 2011).
The intensity of working time also impacts health – especially through chronic tiredness and poor
mental health due to job strain (Strazdins, Welsh, Korda, Broom, & Paolucci, 2016). Furthermore,work boundaries often blur with home-life with the help of technology, such as mobile phones andcomputers (Green & Macintosh, 2001). An additional pressure is created by expectations ofongoing education and development as roles change rapidly in response to developments inbusiness models and technology. Employees can be contactable at all hours and all days of theweek via mobile phones and email and, in turn, there are pressures to train for and apply softwaresystems linked to employment. Hence working time intensity has increased both through timesqueeze (less time to do more) and through the reach of working time into private time, withconsequences for health and wellbeing (Kalenkowski & Hamrick, 2013).
Despite these insights into the temporal (time-related) features of health behaviour, little is known
about the connection between how working time arrangements exert an influence over healthbehaviours, both during working hours and the hours which sit outside work. The Australian Workand Life Index (AWALI) (Pocock et al., 2012; Skinner & Pocock, 2014) highlights that manyfamilies are time constrained with major challenges in meeting work and non-work pressures. The
greatest pressure is on women in employment, the majority of whom are part-time because, despite49

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
their relatively short hours of paid work, they have long hours of unpaid work in carrying out
family and community activities. Skinner and Pocock (2014) found that time pressures (feelingrushed and pressed for time) were much higher for women in employment (full and part-time)compared to males in employment, and these pressures intensified if there were children requiring
care.
Skinner and Pocock, (2014) found that professionals, and community and personal service workers
rated high among the occupational groups at risk. The AWALI findings add resonance to this study
in that it examines personal care service work by women who were also mothers. In addition,
caring work embodies emotional labour and meeting the demands of children, parents and an arrayof regulators. This is in keeping with prior research on care activities performed by female nurses,
where there is an expectation that they will perform a service beyond that which is set down in
workplace agreements and also provide “emotional” support to patients and to their families(Smith & Cowie, 2010). This type of work is high pressure to the extent that there are bothcompeting demands, for example from children and parents, and extensive and enforced
responsibilities linked to safety, protection and satisfying reporting regulations (Corr, Davis, Cook,
Waters, & LaMontagne, 2015). The employment generates continuous time pressure linked tocaring at work and at home for those workers with children (PC, 2013, Kamp et al., 2013). Yet,despite these pressures and demands, the pay rates in the sector lag behind those in other sectors
and for workers who also are employed under high pressure conditions, such as nurses and teachers(ABS, 2011). For female care centre managers and owners, there are added responsibilities linked
to satisfying federal, state and local government regulations on top of managing staff and meetingthe demands of children and parents.

The Study
This paper is part of a larger study that examines the relationship between working time and healthacross a number of selected sectors in Australia. The Work, Time and Health (WTH) Project
investigates employee experiences of the perceived impact of their working timescapes on ‘healthtime economies’ (Dixon et al., 2014). The WTH Project aimed to recruit a diversity of employees(women and men, representation across the workplace hierarchy, different worker skill types –manual work, service/care work, management) with a variety of working time arrangements (longhours, part-time workers, shift workers) and employment types (employed, self-employed). It
sought participation from organisations working across five sectors with different industrial
awards: Insurance, Logistics, Building Materials, Child Care and Community Care. Within eachof the organisations, employers or those with contractual arrangements with self-employedworkers recruited workers to participate in the study. Full consent was checked prior to eachinterview and confidentiality assured. Ethics approval was granted by the Australian National
University (#2014/285). This study only reports on the childcare workers and their time use
patterns and health behaviours.
Two waves of data collection occurred. Potential participants were given a package, which
included a study information and consent form and two time diaries. The information presented
explained that the study sought to understand how participants’ working time influenced theireating, sleeping and physical activity. Participants were first asked to complete a 48-hour time
diary over a week day of their choice and a Sunday. The simple diary was used to record the time50

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
they spent on a range of activities, including working, eating, physical activity, sleep and leisure.
The time diaries were adapted from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children ‘lite’ time use
diary (Baxter, 2007). Participants brought with them the completed paper time diary to an in-depth
interview. The diary, as well as purpose-designed ‘time tools’, were used as prompts during theinterview to elicit deeper and more accurate responses to questioning on time use and control overtime use. Semi-structured interviews lasted between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours. Four researchers
from the WTH Study conducted interviews from February to August 2015. All interviews wererecorded verbatim and transcribed, additional notes and information about the organisations
ascertained in informal conversations, documents shared by the organisation or retrieved online,
were also included in data collection.
Transcripts were coded and sorted thematically using Atlas TI software. Atlas TI was used as anorganisational tool to hold the codes attached to quotes and ‘chunks’ of data, as well as to searchfor particular codes and combinations of codes during analysis. Coding categories were determined
by WTH researchers based on 1) relevant literature in working time, labour market, food, exercise,sleep and social connection, 2) previous research and, 3) iterations of reading and immersion in
the transcripts.
Thirteen workers in the family day care sector were interviewed. The sample was divided into
three components:
1) Family day care service licensees (“services”) (n=4): Government licenced owner
operator of a family day care service. May or may not have staff and may be run for profit
or not-for-profit. The licensee must ensure that family day care educators (frontline
workers with children) contracted or employed by their service meet all regulations andprovide satisfactory early education and care to children. All owners in this study were forprofit, independent companies, not linked to other services, such as a council or not-forprofit.
2) Family day care service supervisors (“supervisors”) (n=4), also known as coordination
staff or support officers. These workers are employed by a family day care service licensee
to carry out monitoring and support of the family day care educators. Supervisors were
employed by for-profit and not-for-profit services.
3) Family day care educators (“educators”) (n=5) are sole owner/operators of a family day
care service in their own homes. While educators can be self-employed contractors or
employed by a family day care service licensee, all educators in this study were selfemployed contractors. ‘Educators’ are early education and care providers for children aged
six weeks to school age. Children are cared for in mixed-age group sessions during the day,overnight and on weekends, as decided by the educator.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
Table 1. Demographic characteristics of family day care sector workers interviewed (n=13)
Demographics
Age: mean ± st dev(range)
Female n (%)
Born in Australia n (%)
Partnered n (%)
Children n (%)
Highest education≤ Yr 12
TAFE certificate/diploma etc
Tertiary
ANZSCO code (range)
Years in job: mean ± st dev(range)
Overnight or weekend work n (%)
Self-rated health
Poor/Fair
Good
Very Good/Excellent

48.3 ±9.3 (36-66)
13 (100.0)
6 (46.1)
12 (92.0)
11 (84.6)0 (0)8 (61.5)
7 (53.8)
Educators 6, supervisors 5, owners 2 (2-6)
6.9 ± 6.7 (>1-18)
9 (70)
1 (0.7)5 (38.5)
7 (46.7)

The details of the demographics and health status of the interviewees are set out in Table 1. The
sample of interviewees were all women, they all had tertiary education qualifications, and nearly
all were in relationships and had children. This accords with the broad features of the sector as
outlined above. In terms of functional responsibilities, there was an even split between educatorsand managerial functions. Participants from the family day care sector worked in two different
patterns: Supervisors worked set office hours generally being paid overtime rates for working outof standard hours or given time in lieu for night/weekend requirements (e.g. meetings, workshops).
On the other hand, family day care service owners and family day care educators worked fairly set
contact hours plus regular, fragmented non-contact hours at night and on weekends.

Findings
The views of their job and working environment are presented in Table 2. Workers reported highjob satisfaction and many felt that they had input into decisions and actions that impacted on their
daily working lives. On average, participants felt rushed or pressed for time frequently. Thisfinding speaks to the time pressures involved in each of the three roles: service owner, supervisorand educator. Half of the participants felt that their workload was reasonable, yet it was largely
service supervisors who could complete their workload in regular hours. In contrast, service
owners and family day care educators experienced heavy workloads that required additional work
hours at night or on weekends. While less than half of those sampled reported receiving enoughrecognition for their work from supervisors, both service directors and family day care educators
are self-employed; therefore the opportunity for recognition from supervisors is limited. Given thenature of work and the sector, it was not surprising that a strong occupational health and safety
awareness at the workplace was reported for just over half of participants.
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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62

Table 2. Workers’ perceptions of their job and work environment (n=13)
Working time variables
Score or (%)
Job satisfaction: Average (1 (extremely 5.7
dissatisfied) -7 extremely satisfied))
Feels rushed or pressed for time: Average (1 2.6(always) - 5 (never))(53.8)
Feels the workload is reasonable(30.8)Can complete workload in regular hours(23.1)
Works to very tight deadlines(69.2)
Has input into decision and actions(46.2)
Has adequate recognition from supervisor(53.8)
Strong OH&S in the company
Importance of work promoting/maintaining 6.3
health (10 is most important)
In terms of working time flexibility (Table 3), the majority of workers interviewed felt that they
could vary their start or finish times should they need to. Whilst, in theory, time flexibility was
possible for all educators and service owners, in practice, they responded to the needs and wishesof parents, therefore they could only change hours in ways and for timeframes that were acceptableto parents. The decisions concerning hours were based on negotiation between their own needs
and those of their clients, who were, in turn, were influenced and constrained by the needs of theiremployers
Table 3. Workers’ perceived flexibility in their time at work (n=13).
Flexibility variables
Number (%)
9 (69.2)
Can vary start and finish times
7 (53.8)
Can vary work days
8 (61.5)
Can work less hours
Can leave work to manage unexpected 8 (61.5)
needs (e.g. family emergencies)
Can take extended leave (maternity 5 (38.5)
leave, study leave etc)
3 (23.1)
Can reduce responsibilities
6 (46.2)
Work off-site
1 (7.7)
Vary contract type
1 (7.7)
Can adjust benefits
Around a third of workers could take extended leave and two thirds could work fewer hours orleave work to attend unexpected needs/emergencies. However, almost 40 per cent of the sample –especially the educators – felt that they could not take time off in case of personal/family needs or
emergencies. Few workers in the sample could reduce their responsibilities at work should theywish to/need to and being able to vary contracts or adjusting benefits was uncommon.

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Home location
All educators and one service owner worked from home. The benefit of working from home wasthat no time was spent commuting to an external work place, however, the downside was theblurring of home/work boundaries and the ease of working outside of set hours, which could (anddid) add up to very long working days. With daycare, the times of care could often change, making
it difficult to establish a routine or make commitments outside of work:…sometimes they [parent clients] will keep on changing the hours, I will be flexible,
okay this week they are having a – well the shift-work people, and then this week they
will be saying, my hours will be six to four, and then next week it will be nine to five,something like that; so we need to – there is a flexibility I have to have that, okay, this is
our permanent children, so we need to be flexible with. I can’t say no, I have to work
only six till four, or six till five; so we need to be flexible for their hours (Educator).
Service owners worked from home on evenings and weekends, even if their office was locatedelsewhere, which allowed them the flexibility to spend meal times and after school hours withfamily. One supervisor also reported working from home at night due to a heavy workload.
Commuting times for some supervisors were substantial (for one it was an average three hours perday), creating longer days and eating into time that could be used for other activities that support
health and wellbeing, including spending time with significant others.
Workplace culture
The workplace culture of family day care appears to revolve around the needs of parents and ofchildren. The commitment to children’s safety and wellbeing is evident in the strong regulations
around child wellbeing, yet the occupational health and safety of workers was not a key priority.
Actually I should really think about [OH&S for me] because my knees and like you know,
back and all, because like physical work all the time, lifting children… (Educator).
Subsequent to this interview, the educator was unable to work for some time due to serious backproblems.
High workloads and work intensity
Challenging, rewarding work has benefits to mental wellbeing and brings a sense ofaccomplishment and satisfaction to work (LaMontagne & Keegel, 2009). However, combinationsof high demands and low control (little influence in decision-making), insufficient resources(personal and organisational) and insufficient rewards in exchange for high efforts (low pay forhigh effort) has been found to harm mental and physical health and even to predict the developmentof common mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression (Stansfeld & Candy 2006;
LaMontagne & Keegel, 2009). In family daycare, not having sufficient emotional and financial
rewards for their challenging work undermines educators’ mental health, which has knock on
effects for children’s care quality and outcomes (Corr et al., 2015). Only four participants – threeof whom were supervisors – could complete their workload in their specified hours.

54New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
Owner: I can get text messages at midnight asking, people asking me for childcare. Yeah, I
get emails, like even, like I had a ten-thirty one last night from one of the educators asking
me a question…there’s constantly things coming through.
Educator: There’s always stuff at the end of the day and if it’s not paperwork, as soon as thechildren leave, you’ve got to clean up; you’ve got to mop floors. Today [her day ‘off’] I’ve
done two loads of washing already and that’s all family day care washing.
Most family daycare sector workers described intense working conditions and reported feelingtime pressure or rushed. Increased work intensity (having to do more in less time) raises the riskof anxiety and depression among women workers in particular (Benach, Muntaner, &Santana,2007). Educators and owners in particular were conscious that their work would not or
could not be completed by others, but would pile up if they reduced their work intensity. One
educator took time out for several evenings to do an activity with her daughter and there weresignificant repercussions for managing her workload:…she [my daughter] said “but you did if for those couple of weeks” and I said “Yes, andwhile I did that there was all these tasks that I didn’t do back home”… now I’m franticallytrying to get those bits of stuff done (Educator).
Long hours and ‘work-life bleed’
Unpaid hours were the norm for many educators and owners interviewed and working evenings
and weekends and was a regular experience:
A …I’m doing it [working] during [the evening] and I’ll have my dessert at my desk
because my desk is in the family area. The TV room, so I’m still working there, but I’m
still with them and there’s still interactions between us.
Q So, you’ll do your four hours or so?
A Yes. Sometimes I’m there until 12am. As soon as I’m tired, I close down [the computer].
(Owner).
Managing workloads outside of standard working hours meant that work-life bleed occurred on
week nights and often on weekends, which are critical times for social connection, ‘switching off’
from work, and being involved in activities that support good physical and mental health (Cleland
et al., 2012).
The importance of home life
The dual caring process was apparent for many participants: caring for children and caring forfamily, including their own children. Most participants structured their days around being present
for family members and caring for them in practical and emotional ways. All participants spoke a
lot about their partners and/or children, no matter the age of the children (up to 40 years old) andcared deeply about spending time with them and being there for them, even when working hours
were long and other important tasks fell by the wayside.
As this educator described, she was working very long hours and could not cook for the family(which she valued), but “I was trying to at least keep family time going… even though we were55

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
eating take away food half the time, we were at least still sitting down and enjoying each other’scompany”.
Having a supportive partner was important to many participants and meant that work-life bleed
was often tolerated and other duties were sometimes picked up, such as starting to prepare dinnerof an evening before they arrived home or helping with work tasks. In most cases the routines were
established and there were shared responsibilities – for example, one educator had a partner who
was a truck driver and his hours allowed him to return home early to prepare meals:[My husband] is fantastic. He gets most of the meals done most of the time because he gets homeearlier (Educator).
Working time flexibility
The experience of flexibility with working time in the family daycare sector differed for the three
populations: educators, supervisors and owners. For educators, negotiation and notice were
important to ensuring they could take leave when they wished. One educator described giving herparents a year and a half’s notice for a holiday. The ease of taking leave varied from the sense of
it being impossible, to highly possible, but given enough notice.
“my [child] is [graduating next week] … he said that he want me there and I said ‘I’m sorry
I can’t’. It’s a Tuesday afternoon and I cannot afford to create all this mess with the parents
saying find someone to look after your children before I won’t be there” (Owner).
When an educator wished to take leave, there was a chain of negotiation that occurred, with eachfamily having to seek permission from their workplaces for time off or friends/relatives to covercare. This means that a one-week holiday may involve more than 14 different employers andfamily time rearrangements. Leave is also complicated due to the risk to a business of being closed
for a period of time, as parents may move their children due to children being unhappy with
substitute educators.
Interestingly, educators regularly reported only their contact hours with children as their working
hours and then would add the unpaid hours they work in later discussions. Educators also reported
having control over their working hours, yet often revised the answer when they realised that theirworking hours were, to a large extent, dictated by parents’ needs. That said, educators with highdemand (due to location and reputation) had more chance of negotiating and maintaining shorter
contact hours. Whilst the flexibility of family daycare is promoted as positive for families, thehealth and wellbeing consequences for educators are also very important. There is an absence ofanalysis on how the length and regularity of working hours impacts on educators’ ability to takecare of themselves and their families, including social connection and engage in exercise(Breedvelt, 1998).
Business owners had the most flexibility, however, in common with small business operators inother sectors, had little capacity to take a total break from work. This meant that many worked
long hours that encroached on holidays, of an evening and on weekends.
Q:
Could you tell me how long you were – you spent doing that processing before andafter [visitors on Sunday]?
A:
There was a couple of issues with them, wasn’t there? So it was about, yeah, close
to three hours” (owner).
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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62

Service supervisors had to negotiate their working time flexibility with their employer. Access toflexible arrangements depended on manager discretion, i.e. working relationships in place, thework culture, and/or enterprise agreements.
RoutinePredictable hours allow routines to be established around eating, exercise, social connection andsleep. Routine at work enables routine outside of work – critical to individual health behaviours
and to family wellbeing and relationship quality. Most educators had routine contact hours withchildren. However, parents’ routines often changed and some educators afforded parents a lot offlexibility, which meant that they had short-term notice for having children attend family daycare
for longer hours, on weekends or out of normal hours. Supervisors benefit strongly from having
routine working hours, allowing them (in theory, at least) to create health promoting time foreating, social connection, sleep and physical activity. Lastly, all owners reported routine set hours
around which they could establish routines, however, their work often continued later at night,
early in the morning and on weekends, limiting their time to undertake health promotion
behaviours such as physical activity and sufficient sleep.
Worker health
Physical activity
Family daycare educators have very physically demanding jobs, both due to their care of children
and also because of the considerable housework required. Few educators carried out formal
exercise outside of work; but those who did noted the benefits in terms of stress release. For those
who did exercise outside of contact hours with children, routine was essential. They walked orworked out at the same time every week and often with someone else, which increases thelikelihood of exercising and the enjoyment. One educator, who had a treadmill at home, was able
to synchronise her exercise with children’s sleep times, which allowed her to spend 30 minutes
walking during workdays.
“… when they’re sleeping – my children always go to sleep at once – so then I go on thetreadmill” (Educator ).
Owners and supervisors were generally not undertaking physical activity outside of housework.
For several owners and service supervisors, this was an element that they wished to change in theirlives as they had previously had exercise routines e.g. yoga each week. Reasons for cutting down
exercise or for not exercising included time poverty due to long working hours, family
commitments and study. Others were not interested in including physical activity in their lives.
EatingAlmost all the workers interviewed were the primary cooks in their households and ensured thatthey and their families were well fed at dinnertime. Many adjusted their routines and working
hours to ensure that they could cook dinner for their families.
“… I cook early in the morning [5.30am], or the night before so that’s how I do it [provide
a cooked meal for my family’s dinner]” (Educator).
All but one participant ate dinner at night and most workers interviewed often did not eat a fullmeal at breakfast or lunch. The aim was to find something quick and easy.
57

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62“…I get my lunch when I can, because sometimes I have to put something to eat on the bench
and then I have to be eating while I’m doing this [feeding a child] with another spoon. Thenit’s too cold and then I don’t eat it” (Educator).
Breakfast and lunch was often eaten on the run, or grazed over a few hours, while work (and theneeds of others) was prioritised.
Sleep
Poor sleep quality was commonly reported in this sample, with workers finding it hard to go tosleep or stay asleep. For some participants, sleep quality was irregular:“I do sleep at night but I have some really bad nights…” (Educator).
Sometimes sleep quality was directly linked to stress or a busy mind.
“I had a problem with an educator the other day and I couldn’t sleep, I just kept thinking
about her, to the point where my husband [stayed up with me trying to problem solve]”“I toss and turn and think and [do] not sleep” (Owner).
The participants recognised the need for regular sleep and built this into their routines. However,for business owners there were often after hours activities linked to talking to parents, organisingpromotional material and attending to business and regulatory issues. As one business ownerstated,“There is no room for sleep” (Owner).
Although participants generally rated their own health as good, many workers seem to be runningon the minimum amount of sleep required and have irregular eating habits, which may increase
their risk of developing health problems down the track.

Discussion and Conclusions
The Australian ECEC is a growing sector dominated by female employment and female managers
and business owners. It is also a sector that has extensive regulations and complex funding
arrangements. The PC (2014) highlighted the likely skills shortages facing the sector, especiallyin regional and rural areas. This is a sector with a workforce requiring qualifications for entry, forworkplace accreditation and where wages do not match qualifications or responsibilities ofworkers. Many workers can enter into primary education that offers both higher wages andimproved employment conditions as compared to the childcare sector (PC, 2014). The sector has
been subject to a past successful equal wage claim and has another claim pending before Fair Work
Australia on the basis of the undervaluation of work (ibid). Workers in the family daycare sector
are located in an industry and workplace regime where educators structure their working daysaround the time needs of parents and children, as well as the body times of all the children in theircare which means that their time management must be incredibly sophisticated to balance theinevitable competitions on how time is used and on whose terms. This group of workers(educators, supervisors and owners) regularly prioritise the needs of others over their own needs
and allocate their time accordingly. Hence, care of others is prioritised over personal needs (eating,exercise, sleep, social connection), whether that concerns their own family or the children andfamilies in care.
58

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
Working days have become more intense in their demands for educators, supervisors and owners
with an increasingly complex regulatory environment to work within and a National Quality
Standard against which to be assessed (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality
Authority, 2011). Increased work intensity is linked to a higher incidence of anxiety and depression
amongst women workers in general (Benach et al., 2007). The pace of work, and expected outputs,
has spillover effects for health and wellbeing quality of work. Educators and service owners work
long and fragmented hours over days, nights and weekends. Long hours of work is associatedwith mental and physical health problems when work is also intense (Strazdins et al., 2016). At
the same time, the perceived control (autonomy) that owners and educators have over their time
may be health promoting: they can choose when to get the work done in the day, even if that is not
the ideal (i.e. having a lighter workload).
Flexibility is a fraught issue in working populations (MacEachen et al., 2008)and family daycare
is no exception. Service owners have the greatest control over their time, yet their work spills into
evenings and weekends. Educators have some control over their time, however, it is heavily reliant
on successful negotiation with parents and children in care. It is concerning that many educatorsin the sample did not feel that they could not take time off in case of personal/family needs or
emergencies.
Routine is important for health behaviours and ‘synchronising’ with significant others for social
connection. Therefore predictable hours are important to health and wellbeing, such as having
similar hours every day and knowing hours well in advance. Supervisors benefit strongly fromhaving routine hours, owners have routine set hours but educators are most prone to unpredictable
hours due to parents changing timetables.
This is a high pressure and high stress industry. The workers had dual caring responsibilities toperform and to balance. In effect, they had to negotiate a continuous care regime between home(family) and work. This accords with the findings of the AWALI study (Skinner & Pocock, 2014)
and with other time use studies that examined activities (work, care and leisure) through time andby other characteristics, such as gender, age and occupation (Davaki,2016). For care activities inand outside of the home, the dominant responsibility falls on women. For childcare workers, thechallenges are acute since, in this sample, all but one was married with children and all worked
full time; in addition, several also managed a business from the home. While the reported healthof the workers was good there was ongoing stress, and pressures suggesting potential burn-out.
The study is limited in terms of its small size and its sample, however, it does highlight a number
of issues that resonate with the literature. High pressure jobs and long hours intensify work life
balance pressures (Pocock, Skinner, & Hutchinson,, 2012). While the sample had adequate selfreported health, there were pressures on mental health (stress), physical health (no time forexercise) and eating (skipping meals) that suggested the potential for future health problems. Thisis an industry with a young age workforce cohort. An obvious question is what happens to workers
after they reach 35 years; do they succumb to the pressures of the industry, to health problems or
do they find better paid or less stressful and demanding jobs elsewhere? The PC Report (2014)
cited evidence that indicated that the main reasons for leaving the ECEC sector were to seek work
elsewhere, dissatisfaction with pay and conditions, family/study reasons or stress. This issue ofworker retention deserves analysis if the gender-based devaluing of this highly feminised
workforce is to be dismantled as well as to address skills shortages and to protect and improve
quality in ECEC (children’s experiences and outcomes) (Moore, 2014). There is a public policy
59

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 46-62
imperative to attract and retain workers into this growing sector, especially in terms of lifting
female labour force participation rates to address workforce shortages associated with population
ageing.

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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 63-74

The personal and the professional: betwixt and between the paid
and unpaid responsibilities of working women with chronic illness
SHALENE WERTH*
Abstract
The labour market outcomes experienced by women with chronic illness are subject to anumber of influences. These influences have been recently expanded to include the normative
expectations of wellbeing as a prerequisite for productivity in their various social and working
roles. Discussion of these factors is often situated within the bounds of the workplace. One
area, external to the workplace, which needs greater attention is the role of family and friends
as part of the support network for these women. The personal environment has the potential toallow women with chronic illness to excel in their work and careers, however, it may also resultin less positive outcomes. This paper examines the workforce experiences of women withchronic illness and role that personal and professional influences play in their workplaceoutcomes.
Keywords: chronic illness, labour market outcomes, personal support, workplace, gender,
careers

Introduction
Women with chronic illness, which might include a variety of diseases, such as diabetes,
rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, mental illness or multiple sclerosis, may face difficulties withmanaging the expectations of others in any social interaction. The World Health Organisation(WHO) states that “disability [which includes health and health related states] is a complex
phenomena that is both a problem at the level of the person’s body, and a complex primarilysocial phenomena” (2002: 9). Society often holds the bearer of the disability or chronic illness
responsible for their condition/impairment, however, WHO (2002: 9) also comments:
disability is always an interaction between features of the person and features of theoverall context in which the person lives, but some aspects of disability are almost
entirely internal to the person, while another aspect is almost entirely external”.
Work and family relationships can be sources of disabling attitudes which influence theoutcomes of women with chronic illness at home and at work.
Individuals are willing to stigmatise individuals with chronic illness, even when a legitimate
explanation is given regarding the extent of their disability (Werth, 2013). Perhaps, we might
generally expect that women with chronic illness would, could or should receive a greater
degree of consideration from within their family or home life, however, there is a small but
growing body of research that suggests that this may not be the case (Thomeer, Reczek, &Umbersonm, 2015). Various sources suggest that the divorce rate for women with chronic*

Senior lecturer, School of Management and Enterprise, University of Southern Queensland, Australia

Thanks go to David Peetz for his assistance with this article.

63New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 63-74
illness is higher than the divorce rate for men with chronic illness and that the divorce rate
generally for individuals with chronic illness is higher than that of the general population(Karraker & Latham, 2015)
This paper will explore the outcomes for women with chronic illness, paying particularattention to aspects of their personal and professional lives. The qualitative data gathered inthis study examined the support that women with chronic illness experienced in their personal
circumstances, generally, this support is provided by immediate and extended family members
and sometimes by friends. Supportive family and friends play an important role in the successof these women in the labour market. This paper will explore the literature relating to thevarious influences that working women with chronic illness need to manage, subsequently, themethodology for this extended project will be outlined and discussion and conclusions will be
put forward.

Women managing chronic illness: at work and at home
A variety of concepts have been explored in literature in relation to managing the way an
individual with a chronic illness copes. These have come from the fields of gerontology(Thomeer et al., 2015); chronic illness (Bury, 1982; Werth, 2011); sociology of work and work
roles (Bury, 1982; Corbin & Strauss, 1985; DeJordy, 2008); and, cancer research (Yoo, Aviv,
Levine, Ewing, & Au, 2010). Much of this research reflected on the personal performancerequired of individuals with differing forms of chronic illness to show capability despite their
impairment in various social and work settings. Bury (1982) reflected on the biographicaldisruption created by chronic illness and the adaptations required of the bearer and those withwhom they live and work. He also pointed out that “disruptions in biography are, at one andthe same time, disruptions of social relationships and the ability to mobilise material resources”(ibid: 180). Corbin and Strauss (1985) identified three concepts including illness work (selfcare), everyday work (occupational work or work done in the family environment) andbiographical work – “necessitated by the continual or occasional reconstruction of his or her
life [relating to illness]” (ibid: 230) – undertaken by individuals with chronic illness. Illness
trajectory was the concept used by Corbin and Strauss, to refer to “the course of an illness, therelated work as well as the impact on both the workers and their relationships that then further
affect the management of that course of illness” (ibid: 225).
These early studies identified that individuals with chronic illness were required to undertake
various types of “work”, in order to achieve particular health and social outcomes. Subsequent
research has identified other types of work that describe the means by which individuals withstigmatised identities might attempt to manage the way they appear to others. Goffman (1986)
highlighted the role played by stigma in the effort to “pass” as normal, or where the stigma is
obvious, or “cover” the degree to which an apparent disablement could cause social nonconformity. Other authors have pointed to behaviours which might include deliberateconcealment (Myers, 2004) or the misrepresentation of the self to project conformity (DeJordy,2008). Passing and covering may be deployed along with emotion work and aesthetic labour
to project social conformity in social and work spaces.
More recent research in the field, which covers differing forms of disability and chronic illness,has started to move towards the roles that aesthetic labour and emotion work play in the livesof those with chronic illness, particularly women, in their place of employment and at home.
Yoo et al. (2010) discussed the way that emotion work was deployed by women diagnosed
with breast cancer when they undertook disclosure in different settings. They noted that64

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 63-74“disclosure has emotional consequences such as strained relationships…” (ibid: 206). Yoo etal., also pointed out that:
Emotional work between women and their families has often been overlooked in the
midst of a healthcare crisis because emotional involvement is regularly assumed to bea gendered duty, automatically fulfilled as part of being a daughter, sister or mother(2010: 206).
In a similar type of circumstance, men with prostate cancer did not choose to do the emotion
work of disclosing as this was left to their female partners to undertake (Yoo et al., 2010).
Thomeer et al., added:
The provision of “natural” emotion work by women regardless of women’s own healthstatus, coupled with the relative lack of men’s corresponding emotion work helps us
better understand the mental, emotional and physical consequences of having a healthimpaired spouse are more detrimental to the health and well-being of women comparedwith men (2015: 16).
Women who are employees with chronic illness have particular characteristics which
differentiate them from other groups within organisations. These characteristics include thetypes of illnesses with which they have been diagnosed. Fairweather, Fisancho-Kiss, & Rose(2008) point out that 78 per cent of those with autoimmune disease (ie rheumatoid arthritis,
Crohn’s disease or lupus) are women. Autoimmune diseases have no cure and are notinfluenced by lifestyle factors, however, expectations in social and work settings are thatwomen should be able to do “something” to improve their own health outcomes (Myers, 2004).
Therefore, the responsibility or blame for the disease, and subsequent labour market outcomes,
are often attributed to the individual (Vickers, 2003). If, over time, they are unable to improve,
then the responsibility is theirs to find an appropriate social role to fulfil. This might mean
resignation from their job and exiting the labour market, however, there are few ways towithdraw from expected family responsibilities.
It has been shown that roles within families influence personal outcomes for women withchronic illness. “Gender norms regarding the role changes that frequently accompany illness
may yield gender differences in the relationship between illness and divorce” (Karraker &Latham, 2015: 432), also noting that it is only the wife’s illness that is associated with increased
incidence of divorce (ibid). Karraker and Latham go on to point out that:
Given the gendered nature of caregiving [to others] and care receiving [from others
toward the person with chronic illness] and caregiving’s frequent stressful nature, it isplausible that situations in which ill wives are dependent on husbands for care are morestressful than when wives are caring for ill husbands (2015: 423).
Vickers (2001) states that “the dynamics of male domination continue in many ways and atdifferent levels: at work [and] in the home…” (p. 63). Women with chronic illness are more
likely to be subjected to patriarchal attitudes in multiple settings, which might include the roleof the medical profession, managers, colleagues and family (Vickers, 2001).
The WHO (2016) listed gender specific risk factors for common mental health disorders which
include a number of issues which might influence women with chronic illness, such as low
income and the responsibility for the care of others. These are issues which have been shown
to impact on the lives of women with chronic illness (Werth, 2013). We also know that, “being
65New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 63-74
female increases the likelihood of co-occurrence of physical, mental, or physical and mental
long-term conditions” (Steadman, Sheldon, & Donnaloja, 2016: 5). The difficulties associatedwith chronic illness are not just that the individual has no chance of becoming well, but thatthey are more likely to eventually be diagnosed with more than one disease. Caring roles andspecific disease characteristics make it difficult to fit in with the concepts of an ideal worker
which is “essentially a worker with the male characteristic of freedom from domestic
responsibilities” (Whitehouse & Preston 2005: 271).

Methodology
The stories related by women with chronic illness and their experiences at work and home do
not always have happy endings, but qualitative research which investigates these stories isimportant because of the otherwise invisibility of the participants within society. Groups, suchas women with chronic illness, who are difficult to access because of the stigma associatedwith their condition (Vickers, 1997) can be accessed using a snowball sampling technique(Atkinson & Flint, 2001). This technique involves using known insiders, in this instance
women with chronic illness, to refer participants from within the group that is not readily
available to outsiders. Atkinson and Flint point out that:
this process is based on the assumption that a bond or link exists between the initialsample and the others in the same target population, allowing a series of referrals to bemade within circles of acquaintances” (2001: 1).
Participants were also sought through the newsletters of various chronic illness support groups
and networks.
The researcher was an insider in this population and thus had privileged status within this groupand some access to the population. Merton (1972) stated, with regard to insider research, that“you have to be one in order to understand one” (p. 15). Positioning myself as an insider
resulted in developing trust and credibility with participants that would otherwise not have beenpossible.
Thorne and Paterson (1998) refer to the dynamic between the researcher and insiders(participants) “It seems evident that both researchers and insiders operate within a sociallyconstructed reality that is dynamic and difficult to appreciate until the passage of time allows
social and historical analysis” (p. 174). The role of an insider researcher more readily allows
access to the socially constructed reality which may differ considerably for a researcher who is
not an insider. The passage of time provides a particular view of the way society is constructed
and perceived by both insiders and outsiders. These views may vary so considerably that it
influences “what gets studied, what research questions are posed, and what methods areused…” (ibid: 174). Insider research may be the only way to research some groups where being
an outsider equates to a lack of access to effective data. Merton (1972) points out that “onlythrough continued socialisation in the life of a group can one become fully aware of its
symbolisms and socially shared realities” (p. 15).
In 2009-2010, the first round of in-depth semi-structured interviews was undertaken with 24
women who had been diagnosed with a chronic illness and who were currently or previously
in paid employment. The project had the broad objective of developing a better understandingof the experiences of women with chronic illness in the workplace, these included: issues of
disclosure, stigma, performance of emotion work and other forms of presentational emotion
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New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 63-74
management, managerial attitudes, and power and disclosure (see Werth, 2015; Werth, Peetz,& Broadbent, 2018). Through the process of theming the data, we discovered an unexpected
theme relating to the personal outcomes of working with a chronic illness. This paper draws
on both the first (2009-10) and the second rounds of interviews (2016-17) wherever this theme
emerged. For some participants this allowed a longitudinal view of their outcomes, whereas
for other participants they were able to reflect on specific events in their life from a particularpoint in time (ie at the time of the interview). This paper draws on five participants from one
or both rounds of interviews as illustrative of the themes.
The ages of participants ranged from 29 years to 63 years, and they worked in a variety ofprofessional and non-professional roles. Pay ranged from less than $10 000 to over $100 000
per year. In 2016-17, as many participants as possible are being followed up with a subsequentinterview that is structured similarly to the initial interview. Data from the interviews carriedout so far has been analysed thematically and data relating to the “domestic influences”
experienced by these women is presented in this paper.

Domestic influences on work outcomes
Women with chronic illness engage in different ways with colleagues, friends and family inorder to present, as far as they are able, as a “well” person. This involves three layers ofmanagement, which are identified as negotiating the self, managing the self and managing theperceptions of others. These layers of management are particularly useful for examining theway women with chronic illness manage caring responsibilities and paid work in such a waythat they have the best chance of remaining employed, although this outcome is not assured.
Yoo (2010) noted that women are “trained to care and to be concerned about the feelings ofothers over and above their own feelings and concerns” (p. 213). Women with chronic illness
are particularly disadvantaged by this tendency to prioritise the needs of family above theirown. We see in the data that they try to find ways to manage personal situations to minimise
disadvantage.
Negotiating self
Negotiating self involves how women with illness see themselves. The perception of self as
one who is “sick but fit or fit but sick” (Pinder, 1996) provides a complex view of one’s own
disease, its impact on the individual and the environments in which it needs to be managed. An
understanding of the individual’s belief in self is also important in developing strategies fornegotiating the self.
Professional women were more likely to display the ability to adapt their careers to allow for
the difficulties of their disease. Lucy and Cheryl were also able to change the direction of theircareers after their diagnosis, with family support to do so. Interestingly, the support of extended
family is important here and assisted these women to undertake the adaptations that theyneeded to change the direction of their careers.
Lucy was a brand manager for a national company when diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, but
after experiencing disadvantage in her workplace she decided to study in order to work as alawyer in her mother’s law firm. She had the support of her extended family which enabled her
to do this. Lucy navigated the difficulties of the diagnosis by leveraging her family’s support
to find work that allowed her to balance her work and her illness, this work has also enabled
her to work from home to care for her young children.
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Cheryl, who was previously a nurse, undertook additional study in order to change her career
because of her diagnosis with arthritis. She studied and achieved a position as a manager, which
would ultimately enable her to transfer to be closer to family in another city. The support offamily was important for her and facilitated her change of career and also would provide
support with possible future difficulties related to working and her disease.
The support of family in both of these cases was instrumental in their success in changing theircareers despite their illness. Both Lucy and Cheryl appeared to derive self-belief from knowingthat they could perform in high level professional roles with the support of their extended
families. Support from family also allowed these women to explore opportunities to find workthat fitted the needs of their illness, however, outcomes are not always positive. There is an
assumption that “disability is everywhere constituted the same way,” (Pinder, 1996,: 150) but
the following sections will examine the circumstances of capable women who haveexperienced a variety of outcomes while attempting to navigate the difficulty that exists
between those with chronic illness and a non-disabled society (Pinder, 1996).
Managing self
Managing self is the next layer of management that women with chronic illness are required tonavigate in order to preserve their outcomes in the workplace. Managing self is a way thatwomen with chronic illness can project an image of capability in multiple spheres of life. They
might adopt strategies relating to working hours, medical and self-care, as well as managing
personal priorities.
Heather, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, worked as a high level senior public servant,she had a number of outside influences that affected her perceptions of what it meant to be sickand the importance of coping in each aspect of her life. Heather’s sister was diagnosed with achronic illness and Heather felt that it was important to support her through the process oflearning to deal with her diagnosis. Heather commented that: “Of course part of the problem,for both us, is that we’re both pretty independent women. We feel pretty miserable about things[due to illness] but we sure as hell don’t want people helping us all the time either.” Heather
also pointed out that she worried about being a “burden” for her husband because of her health,but while she had this concern, she was also supporting her sister so that “she [didn’t] feel likeshe’s isolated or “in this” by herself.”
Heather valued her independence. Her outcomes within her workplace indicated that she wasextremely capable. She admitted to working because:
I wanted the challenge not because I wanted to be anybody. Not because I wanted to be
the Prime Minister of Australia or anything like that, it was always about the challenge
for me. And so I guess for me now, I don’t feel like my body wants to keep doing it.
And so it’s that real conflict between what your mind or your heart might want to do
and what your body wants to do.
Through the various roles undertaken by women with chronic illness, normative role
expectations are brought into question and implicated in the wider social expectations of caring
and family responsibilities, while also caring for themselves (Pinder, 1996).

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Managing perceptions of others
The final layer of management relates to the way women with chronic illness manage theperceptions of others. Yoo et al. (2010) noted that “telling others about illness takes emotional
resources and opens one up to vulnerability, scrutiny and possible rejection” (p. 206). It’s
because of these risks that women with chronic illness undertake some form of presentationalemotional management (Bolton & Boyd, 2003) also known as emotion work (Hochschild,1983). Presentational emotional management can be defined as a way of presenting oneself toothers to produce particular outcomes. Chronic illness creates a disruption in life generally, butalso in social situations, these relationships influence a woman’s ability to mobilise resources(Bury, 1982).
Society generally expects that resources should be provided to individuals with chronic illness
through the medical system, and that people should take time away from social responsibilities,
seek appropriate medical assistance and return to their responsibilities when they are well(Parsons, 1970). Bury (1982) points out that:
Important though the place of medicine is in facilitating and constraining the adaptationof individuals (and those with whom they live and work) to the presence of chronic
illness, this is clearly not the only, or necessarily the most important, issue (p. 180).
Medicine has also been noted as forming part of an ambiguous relationship between individualwith chronic illness and their workplace (Pinder, 1996). Medical support for women withchronic illness rarely covers the “limits of tolerance” they will face within their families andwithin their workplace (Bury, 1982). Bury also notes the “disruption of reciprocity, theproblems in legitimating changed behaviour and the overall effects of stigma associated withchronic illness, all affect the individual’s ability to mobilise resources to advantage” (1982:
180). More recently, the research of Thomeer et al. (2015) and Karraker and Latham (2015)
has shown the detrimental impact that these problems create within the personal lives of womenwith chronic illness.
Heather, despite admitting to moments of doubt about her future at work, also made thiscomment: “I’m pretty assertive and if I’ve heard people [at work] have had something to say
about it [how she manages work and illness], I usually just go and confront them. That, ofcourse, makes me a bit scary.” So while at work she was in control and coped with her
managerial role; privately, she had to come to terms with her sister’s illness and also herfather’s degenerating illness, which required that her mother care for him until his passing. The
experiences within her family relating to health influenced her own approach to her ability tocontinue working in the longer term.
Heather’s attitude towards illness and coping was influenced by her family’s experiences of
illness and caring as well as her own desire for satisfying work. She had negotiated for theconditions at work that she needed while she also managed the needs of her extended family.
At the time, Heather felt that she might not continue to work because of the conflict that she
felt between what was important to her and what her illness allowed her to do. It appeared that
she may have been seriously considering, at some time in the future, cutting short her career toimprove the management of her illness and to avoid being a burden to her husband. After the
initial interview, Heather did leave her job, not because of her illness, but because herhusband’s job required that they move overseas. Heather’s experiences also appear to havegiven her confidence in undertaking presentational emotional management within her

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workplace to preserve her appearance as a capable manager, but also in her personal life whenproviding support to other family members.
Rhonda suffered from arthritis and her experience as a small business owner with a husband
and teenage children was quite different. Rhonda’s personal life influenced her ability tocontinue working because, not only did she have her own business to manage, but she also
played a role in her husband’s business. She said that her illness significantly changed the way
her family managed at home.
My husband, I think he kind of had a mid-life crisis at the same time [as my diagnosis]
because he would try and bully the kids into doing the chores and he would stand overthem like a sergeant major and I think they really resented that. They didn’t mind
helping but they thought he should help too. [Sometimes] I’d say I don’t feel likecooking dinner tonight and he’d say, “It doesn’t matter I had something while I was
down town.” And I’m thinking, “What about me?” [He] just shut down. Or, if I said, “I
can’t hang out the washing”, he’d say, “That’s ok, just do it tomorrow.” In the end, I
just used the dryer.
She went on to say that her diagnosis and the subsequent changes in her life had a significant
impact on her husband. “He didn’t know how to cope at all. And we’re separated now as aresult of this I think.” Rhonda’s illness resulted in the loss of her source of income and possibly
her marriage. Because of the lack of support she experienced at home, Rhonda was unable tocontinue attempting to work. Rhonda’s situation was different to other participants in this study
because she was self-employed. She had full responsibility for her income and would appear
to have a high level of control of her work context. However, her illness, the size of herenterprise and its reliance on her personal skills meant that her only source of support was her
family. Rhonda reported that her children were helpful but were in their late teens and in theprocess of leaving home for work and university. So the support role fell to her husband who
was unable to provide her with the assistance she needed. Rhonda was unable to undertake thepresentational emotional management needed in her caring and work roles, she also struggledwith the lack of reciprocity within her home relationships and she felt there were problems withlegitimating her behaviour which was caused by her arthritis. Rhonda was physicallyincapacitated and could not undertake some household tasks for lengthy periods of time, but
her husband seemed to have placed a limit on the support available for her, as if she had a shortterm illness. He would allow her time away from the responsibilities he perceived to be part ofher role, but he then expected that she would be able to provide assistance again in the shortterm. Rhonda reported “I was so tired and exhausted, I just lay on the bed for 18 months I didn’t
do anything. It wasn’t a good time.”
After losing her business because of illness and separating from her husband, Rhonda decided
to study for a change of career. She moved to be closer to her brother’s family in order to havethe support needed to undertake a university course. After the changes in her life, she started
on the first layer of management – negotiating self – in order have a life and career that she
enjoyed and could manage with arthritis.
Melanie worked in a public service role and experienced the unhelpful attitudes of her family
to her illness. These influenced the way she managed her work and juggled the sometimes
competing responsibilities of family and work. Melanie said, “Getting your head around
putting yourself first is quite a difficult thing, especially when you’re a mother and you haveto be available for the children and my husband and that sort of thing.” She explained, “Myhusband’s highly strung, so if I’m having a bad day sometimes he’s not understanding.” This70

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 63-74
affected her work as she needed to decrease her working hours by one day per week in order
to better manage her health. She said,
This position originally was five days, and I’ve already cut it back to four, and we’ve
got kids in private schools and that sort of thing. My husband wasn’t very impressedthat I was going to cut it back a day, so I can’t cut back any further,although she indicated that would be her preference. Melanie’s husband required reciprocity interms of meeting costs of their children’s schooling and may have prevented her from achieving
exactly the work-related outcomes that would best suit her illness. Even though Melanie had agood working environment that enabled her to cope quite well with her illness at work, it was
her lack of family support that proved to be the most negative influence on her outcomes atwork. It was not that her home influences prevented her from attaining particular levels in her
professional life, but that they kept her from working the hours which helped her to best manage
her illness.

Discussion and Conclusions
The Disability Movement advocates for the use of the ‘social model’ for providing a means forunderstanding disability and chronic illness. Oliver and Barnes (2010) state that, “while
impairment may impose personal restrictions, disability is created by hostile cultural, socialand environmental barriers” (p. 552). The attitudes of others may form part of the externalbarriers which influence disability or chronic illness. Over time, these attitudes have developedaround the personal characteristics and behaviours that are believed to constitute ‘normal’ inwork or social roles. The health and wellbeing movement has provided another form of‘normal’ which is unattainable by those who have a chronic illness. These programmes, forexample the Global Wellness Institute, might characterise ill health as costly and which causes
employees to become “unmotivated, disengaged and unproductive” (Yeung & Johnston, 2016:i), while conversely promoting health as bringing “energy, focus and motivation” to theworkplace (ibid). Other research has suggested that wellness programs are able to improveorganisational success (Hillier, Fewell, Cann, & Shephard, 2005) and enhance morale (Ngeno& Mauthe, 2014). The health and wellbeing movement has reintroduced, to workplaces andinto broader social thinking, the perception that chronic illness is a “negative label, rather thana political description of socially constructed barriers” (Foster, 2017: 8). This shows a marked
lack of understanding of the effects of long-term impairments that have no cure. Foster pointed
out that
A model is needed that is capable of challenging a range of value judgements based on
normative definitions of health, ability, appearance and behaviour (among otherthings), and which is concerned with the empirical reality of workers’ qualitative
experiences’ (2017: 9).
Social definitions of “normal” and the resulting expectations of women with chronic illness,have traditionally moved from society into the workplace (see Parsons, 1970), however, thedevelopment of negative perceptions relating to wellbeing in the workplace have the potential
to negatively influence the social expectations of women with chronic illness in other spheresof life. Fostering an inclusive culture which welcomes difference would be important toovercoming normative definitions of wellbeing.

71New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 63-74
The characteristics of women at work include various elements of disadvantage. Vickers (2001)
extended this discussion to include the difficulties of working with a chronic illness:
For these women, all the problems reported elsewhere concerning discrimination, glassceilings, “invisible” barriers, sexism and stereotyping still exist. However, in addition
to this, they live with the workplace marginalization and stigmatisation associated with
unseen chronic illness (p. 62-3).
Judgments made regarding their “resilience” can now be added to this list of the disadvantages.
“Resilience techniques [as part of wellbeing programs] normalise the idea that everyone could
potentially ‘cope’ and be ‘improved’ if only they were willing to learn them” (Foster, 2017: 7).
The difficulty with a wellbeing approach is that it focuses on improving health outcomes orwellness in order to reach particular organisational or role related objectives and that additional
normative expectations may be placed on individuals. These are individuals who are very often
able to function in a capable manner, but need to undertake tasks in a different way due to theirchronic illness.
The application of social stigmas to those who appear to be different in their social roles readily
occurs to those with chronic illness. Women who undertake paid work and caring roles are at
risk of marginalisation both at work and at home and these women might feel obliged to makepresentational choices in order to manage expectations in these spheres. Outside judgments
about what constitutes an “ideal” worker, or “ideal” mother or wife encourage women to
manage the difficulties of their illness in different ways in order be able to present in ways that“project conformity” with social expectations (DeJordy, 2008).
If we move outside the sphere of wellbeing initiatives, we could suggest that a working
definition of wellbeing for women with chronic illness would include understanding andaccommodations in social and work environments. Flexible hours and location of work would
also contribute to their wellbeing as a person with chronic illness, but the context would needto avoid “adapting work from an able-bodied ideal, so that variations to a job are viewed as
inferior or concessions to an ‘ideal’ norm” (Foster, 2017: 8).
Women with chronic illness in their personal and work environments are “doing it all.” They
negotiate self through building their self-perception and self-belief; they manage self byassessing priorities, navigating medical and self-care and choosing work and social
commitments carefully; and, they manage the perception of others through the use ofpresentational emotional management. Each of these strategies are specifically applied andmay have different outcomes, however, through the application of these actions, each of these
women have displayed agency and resilience in attempting to influence their own personal andlabour market outcomes. These are women who are the “glue holding everyone together”
despite, at times, being desperately ill themselves. The way these women manage theirwellbeing is through wielding what little power they have over their circumstances to manage
various personal and professional factors.

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Untangling paradoxes in wellbeing work with women victims ofviolence: A developing world perspective
EDWINA PIO* and SMITA SINGH**
Abstract
Through using the lens of paradox theory, we examine an exemplar case of a social enterpriseand highlight a developing world perspective on wellbeing of victims of acid violence. Acidattacks are one of the most gruesome forms of gendered violence. Although more common in
the developing world, globalisation has transported such gendered violence into theinternational arena. Through narratives of participants in this study, we present three paradoxes
that offer a rare glimpse into the emotionally laden and challenging nature of wellbeing workin addressing recovery and rehabilitation of women victims of acid violence in the developingworld.
Key words: violence, paradox, wellbeing, social enterprise, work, developing world

Introduction
Wellbeing comprises dimensions of happiness, self-worth, positive social relationships and thenecessities of food, shelter and clothing (Connerley & Wu, 2016; White, Fernandez & Jha,
2016). Our research context is the developing world, specifically a country in South Asia where
we encountered the vulnerability and struggle for wellbeing, with women victims of violence
and their work in a social enterprise. We explore how victims of violence enact wellbeing in adeveloping world and offer a developing world perspective through the lens of paradox theory.
As we explore the loci of paradoxes, we present a multi-vocality based on the agency of women
victims of violence and the agency of the organisation through its founder. In highlighting thephenomena of acid violence, we stress the vulnerability of victims of violence as they seek
wellbeing on their healing journey (Ormon & Horberg, 2016). Acid violence is one of the mostgruesome forms of gendered violence where mostly women are attacked through throwing ofacid, commonly on a woman’s face or body with the aim often to inflict lifelong punishment
through permanent scars and physical disfigurement (Pio & Singh, 2016). Although moreprevalent in the developing world, globalisation has carried such forms of gendered violence
to the international arena. Unfortunately, these attacks are now being reported by media in thedeveloped countries such as the UK, Germany and Italy. While the international community
acknowledges such violence as a human rights issue and pressurises governments to designinterventions, complex intersections of global, local, political and economic influences also
make women in particular social positions more vulnerable to such violence (Yousaf &Purkayastha, 2016). Survivors not only live with permanent damage and multiple
reconstructive surgeries to restore some sense of normal functioning, but also face enormous
financial burden for recovery, as they seek to reintegrate into mainstream society and findemployment for financial independence. In developing countries, this is an uphill battle with
* Department of Management, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand**Department of Management, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand75

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
policy gaps, inadequate compensation for survivors, delayed justice and negative societal
attitudes (Ahmad, 2011; Halim, 2007; Pio & Singh, 2016).
The ultimate purpose of social enterprise work is to improve the wellbeing of groups of people
who are severely disadvantaged or marginalised and require support because they do not havethe financial means or political influence to transform their lives on their own (Kroeger &Weber, 2014; Martin & Osberg, 2007). Inherent in paradox is contradiction and tension
between interdependent elements (Schad, Lewis, Raisch & Smith, 2016). This is exacerbatedby the nested and interwoven nature of paradox, as the tackling of one paradox may activate
another one that was in the background (Fairhurst et al. 2016), and wellbeing work triggers
paradox based on the requirements of the organisation and the clients, or in the context of acidviolence, that of the founder and survivors. Paradoxes can stimulate the development ofcreative solutions and can also trigger intractable conflicts or organisation demise (Tian &Smith, 2014). In the case of social enterprises, paradoxes may be between social mission andfinancial performance which need to be interwoven, while at the same time can present ascompeting demands (Schad, et al., 2016). Our contribution is to illuminate the situational
complexity of wellbeing work with acid violence survivors in a social enterprise situated in adeveloping country through the identification of three paradoxes which expand and incorporate
the paradox of social mission and commercial viability. In the context of the social enterprisewith a focus on acid violence victims, the three paradoxes are organisational legitimacy andpersonal healing space, organisational funding and survivor funding, entrepreneurial
aspirations and personal career aspirations. Hence, we respond to the call for more complexity
with emotion and irrationality in paradox studies (Fairhurst et al., 2016). The next section
weaves together a background on paradox and wellbeing, followed by the methods, findings,
discussion and conclusion.

Background literature
While social enterprises seem to be growing at an exponential rate (Battilana & Lee, 2014),
success can be quite challenging due to confrontation with unique, often oppositional
circumstances in contending with social, ethical and economic concerns linked to shiftingboundaries, identity issues, complex relationships and inconsistent demands (Tian & Smith,2014). Fairhurst et al. (2016), write that “as society grows more complex, paradox is and willcontinue to be a phenomenon that crosses all aspects of organizational life” (p. 180), andexamples include: being optimistic and realistic, adaptive and persistent, hiring the mostdisadvantaged people and hiring the best talent available (Miller & Sardais, 2015; Tian &Smith, 2014). Paradox is both embedded within social systems and structural elements as wellas in agency and sense-making practices (Fairhurst et al., 2016). Paradox defies logic and may
seem to have absurd interrelationships and conceptual confusion and is associated with words
such as dialectics, contradictions, tensions and dualities, yet paradox moves beyond tradeoffs,
dilemmas and conflicts which can be resolved by choosing or splitting (Fairhurst et al., 2016;
Smith, 2014). Paradoxes are often viewed as interdependent, inter-related, occurring
simultaneously and persisting over time (Guerci & Carollo, 2016; Smith & Lewis, 2011). Our
choice of the word paradox hinges on the need for engaging with both aspects of the persistentoppositional circumstances which demand ongoing responses. Several tensions may arise as
the trajectory towards achieving both poles of the paradox are difficult (Kark, Preser & ZionWaldoks, 2016; Jay, 2013) and, therefore, paradoxes are a defining force in an organisation’s
long-term survival.

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Successful entrepreneurs and managers tend to pursue various aspects of paradoxes and accept
the tensions inherent in them, rather than going through analysis paralysis (Guerci & Carollo,
2016; Jahanmir, 2016; Miller & Sardais, 2015). Kark et al. (2016) suggest that embracing
tensions and contradictions inherent in paradoxes can lead to transformational learning andfacilitate women’s leadership of social change enterprises. The paradoxical demands due tojuxtaposition of social mission and commercial viability are often evident in social enterprises(Tian & Smith, 2014) but three meta-skills can facilitate social entrepreneurs to manage thisparadox – acceptance or acknowledging competing demands, differentiation or recognising thecontribution of various alternatives, and thirdly, integration or seeking synergies between theparadoxical demands (Smith & Lewis, 2011). In the arena of interprofessional collaboration,
Huq, Reay & Chreim (2016) discuss virtuous cycles where conflict leads to positive tension
which they term protecting the paradox and this is supported by three strategies. Strategy one
is promoting equality between poles and may involving setting up structures to respect bothpoles of the paradox, developing a common vocabulary and shifting weight between the higher
and lower status pole. Strategy two is purposefully strengthening the weaker pole and thismeans that weaker voices are strengthened and after-meeting discussions are engaged with.
The third strategy is looking beyond the paradox and this translates as keeping the focus on
client outcomes, managing negative tensions and ensuring that collective decisions inform thecompletion of work. These three strategies may follow one other, or they may overlap andfunction in an iterative manner. It is noteworthy that how demands are comprehended willaffect how they are framed, approached and dealt with and when demands are framed asparadoxes, it might be easier to acknowledge that competing demands may co-exist and beinterdependent; and that innovation involves creating rather than choosing from a repertoire of
responses (Gaim & Wahlin, 2016). Overall, using the lens of paradox theory, an understanding
can be built of the nature of persistent and different types of tensions and contradictorydemands, how these manifest within a social enterprise and how these can be managed throughthe interplay of creative and novel strategies (Schad et al., 2016; Smith, Gonin & Besharov,2013).
A social enterprise, in its widest sense, is an organisational form that combines a businessmodel to generate economic benefit with a social mission to enhance wellbeing of groups ofpeople who are disadvantaged or marginalised (Munoz, Farmer, Winterton & Barraket, 2015).
Wellbeing comprises dimensions of happiness, self-worth, life-satisfaction and the perceived
quality of one’s life and is associated with physical and mental health (Connerley & Wu, 2016;
White et al., 2016). Contrary to a sense of wellbeing is that of vulnerability, manifested throughdefencelessness, sensitivity, insecurity, feeling unprotected and victimised (Briscoe, Lavender& McGowan, 2016). The UN’s World Happiness Report 2016 reinforces predictors of
wellbeing based on positive levels of healthy life expectancy, income, social connection, trust
and the ability to make life choices (Helliwell, Layard & Sachs, 2016). Wellbeing is facilitatedby the opportunity to engage in meaningful work, live with authenticity, believe in our own
internal locus of control, and experience social contact that fosters strong relationships withfamily, friends and the community (Biese and McKie, 2016; Connerley & Wu, 2016).
For most people, work makes up the largest part of adult lives. The ability to engage in workthat enables one to create, construct, invent and transform the world impacts heavily on thesense of life-satisfaction. Meaningful work, with reasonable working conditions, provides
dignity integral for wellbeing (Sachs, 2016 as cited in Helliwell et al., 2016). Stam, Sieben,
Verbakel & de Graaf (2016) concur that a difference in feelings of wellbeing exists between
those employed and those not employed, and note that an individual’s feelings of wellbeing
are connected to the relationship between employment status and the value that local society
77New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
places on work participation. Stigmatism, shame, disability and unemployment remove an
individual’s options to be actively, confidently and fully involved in society. Thus, theindividual is no longer able to realise the potential wellbeing benefits that come from status,
shared experience and a sense of shared purpose (Stam et al., 2016). Most acid attack victims
lack the financial means to receive treatment and rehabilitation, and confine themselves athome for years on end (Yousaf & Purkayastha, 2016). This isolation is further exacerbated forthe victims by a lack of demonstrated empathy and support from the community, often due tofear of intimidation and torment from the perpetrators (Haque & Ahsan, 2014). Perceived
discrimination is adversely correlated to wellbeing, and is particularly strong for people with aphysical disability or mental illness (Schmitt, Branscombe, Postmes, & Garcia, 2014). Sadly,
the failure to see justice meted out to perpetrators of acid violence leaves the survivors of acidattacks feeling hopeless; sometimes leading to such despair that they end their lives (Yousaf &Purkayastha, 2016). The Rejection Identification Model, born out of social identity theory,
proposes that feelings of prejudice are more detrimental to the wellbeing of disadvantaged
groups compared to advantaged groups; but that a greater sense of belonging within amarginalised group may lessen the detriment to wellbeing caused by discrimination (Schmitt,Branscombe, Kobrynowicz & Owen, 2002). There are numerous examples of self-help groups
in developing countries that foster women empowerment through support and a shared voice.
Women who become members of self-help groups have an improved sense of wellbeing
because of better workplace dynamics and job security (Combs & Milosevic, 2016).
A sense of wellbeing is supported by the opportunity and ability to make personal choices as
to what is best for the individual and their family (Biese & McKie, 2016). The inability to takecontrol of one’s own life can have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing, as
demonstrated by Schmitt et al. (2014), and ubiquitous discrimination that reaches across a
range of contexts leads to a general lack of control over one’s own life outcomes. Similarly,
Biese and McKie (2016) suggest a sense of wellbeing can come from the ability to opt in or
opt out of a life path. In opting out of traditional high-powered careers, many women in thedeveloped world are seeking other, more sustainable career formats, to provide a greater senseof psychological and physical health. Whilst victims of acid attack violence often loose theluxury of choice to opt in or out, a trend in the developed countries that may prove positive forsuch victims is that of individuals becoming increasingly able to create their own identity andpathway, rather than adhere to traditional career path expectations (Biese & McKie, 2016).
Certainly, women feel empowered when they can orchestrate their situation (Combs &Milosevic, 2016).
The ability to be authentic is intrinsically linked to a sense of dignity and comfort in self. The
World Health Organisation recognises the important role that dignity plays in ensuring
wellbeing (WHO, n.d). Liedner et al. (2012, as cited in Jones, 2016) established that feelingsof humiliation, shame and embarrassment are linked to feelings of hopelessness andhelplessness; and that feelings of shame can have an implicit impact on achievement. A senseof humiliation may be extended and exacerbated for victims of acid violence by lack of action
by authorities in ensuring retributive and restorative justice. Despite the brutality of the crime,
courts can take years to determine a judgment and most victims do not receive compensation(Nguyen, 2015). The World Happiness Report 2016 highlights the serious impact that disability
can have on wellbeing, noting that, whilst individuals display a degree of resilience in adapting
to major life events such as those causing physical disability, strong evidence points to theextended influence that disability has on wellbeing. Although a social enterprise can be awellbeing enhancing space for disadvantaged individuals and communities who are involved
with it, not all such exchanges may be wellbeing promoting and, therefore, further studies in78

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
this under-researched area can help build an understanding about the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the
wellbeing resulting from the work of social enterprises as well as negative experiences
impacting wellbeing due to such work (Munoz et al., 2015).

Research methods
We present an illustrative single case of a social enterprise from the developing world – a
country in South Asia to highlight the paradox in wellbeing work in the case of survivors ofacid violence. Our focus is unique as there are very few social enterprises which singlemindedly emphasise helping acid attack victims access crucial medical, legal and financial
assistance in working towards empowerment and social integration in the South Asian context.
Single cases are suitable when there is an opportunity of exploring a phenomenon under
uncommon or extreme settings (Eisenhardt & Graebner, 2007). Scholars acknowledge that asingle case is particularly suitable when it is “unusually revelatory, or when it is extremely
exemplar, or when it offers opportunities for unusual research access” (Mariotto, Zanni &Moraes, 2013: 358).
Access to interviews with victims of acid violence can be very challenging due to the traumaticand fragile condition of survivors of such attacks. However, through persistence andknowledge of the unwritten mores of the local culture, we gathered primary data throughnarrative interviews and diarised accounts, and this study focuses on information rich storiesof two individuals – the founder, and a survivor of acid violence. Narrative interviews are
particularly suitable for sensitive research and for eliciting a more “contextualised andcomprehensive account of an event and experiences” (Flick, 2009:191) than collecting data by
asking pre-structured questions. The interviews started with broad open question to start theconversation. The founder was asked to narrate the story of how he started this social enterpriseand the survivor was encouraged to tell her story of how she got associated with this social
enterprise and her experiences. Participants were encouraged to share their understanding of
wellbeing and resilience of acid violence survivors. Probing questions helped gain further
insight into their perspective on key challenges and accomplishments in relation to wellbeing.
Interviews with the participants lasted between two to three hours. Interview data was
supplemented with field notes that contained observation about the rehabilitation centre where
the primary data was gathered. Secondary data was sourced from websites, media reports,
emails, social media messages and notes from phone conversations with participants.
Our study highlights how paradoxes around wellbeing of acid violence survivors triggered
tensions between these two people and deteriorated their positive and trust based relationship,
eventually transforming it into an intractable conflict. The founder of the social enterprise madeall strategic decisions regarding the social venture such as campaigning and fund allocations
for treatment and rehabilitation of victims. The acid violence survivor’s life was instantly
changed when she was returning from work one day and was attacked by a man whose marriage
proposal she had rejected more than once. Before this dreadful incident, the survivor supported
her parents in meeting everyday living expenses by working in a local shop. The social
enterprise team approached the survivor at the local hospital where she was admitted after
being attacked by acid. The survivor and her parents were offered accommodation at therehabilitation centre of the social enterprise so that they had somewhere to stay while they tried
to arrange for medical treatment at the city hospital. Many hospitals in the developing country
where the social enterprise was situated are ill equipped to provide adequate treatment for acid79

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
violence victims. In a few months, the social enterprise founder encouraged the survivor to
become involved in the activities of the social venture through volunteer work.
Based on established trust and rapport with the researcher, the survivor felt inclined to further
share aspects of her recovery experience and personal wellbeing five months after the first faceto-face interview. With permission, this additional data was collected through notes madeduring phone conversations and online communication for a duration of 10 months. During
this time the survivor spoke candidly about her experiences and goals of recovery andwellbeing. She had started living with her biological family and had stopped working as avolunteer for the social enterprise, using any support from them or living at their rehabilitation
centre. This exemplar case is rare in that it reveals rich insights into how mutual trust, andunderstanding between a beneficiary of a social enterprise and its founder deteriorated overtime from being very positive to ending in an intractable conflict. We modified and excluded
particular personal details and descriptions from the participants’ narratives to protect theparticipants and the social enterprise from being identified. At the time of the interview, theventure was new and had operated for less than a year and the founder revealed that theenterprise mainly relied on public funds through campaigns and like many new social
enterprises operated under severe financial constraints to support approximately 15 survivorsof acid violence.
Analysis was done through focusing on text descriptions in transcripts, notes and secondary
data that depicted the participants’ experiences and perspectives of wellbeing of acid violence
survivors. Further interpretation involved focusing on the participants’ point of view related tothe sequence of incidents that transformed their relationship as well as the who, what and why
details of the elements of wellbeing that were complex and enduring in nature. To ensure
consistent interpretation of data, the co-authors had frequent dialogue to achieve a common
understanding about complexities of wellbeing work by this social enterprise, through which
three paradoxes pertaining to wellbeing work emerged. These are presented in the next section.
Findings
The situational complexity of wellbeing work with acid violence survivors in a social enterprisesituated in a developing country is illuminated through three paradoxes, with each paradox
highlighting the organisational point of view through the founder’s voice, followed by the acidviolence survivor’s voice.
1. Organisational legitimacy AND personal healing space
Given the lack of support for victims of acid violence, gaining legitimacy as a social enterpriseand raising awareness toward this issue was crucial. From an organisational standpoint,survivors’ participation in campaigns would help achieve this legitimacy. Furthermore,
campaigning could be a cathartic platform for survivors to rupture their silence about violence
and challenge the barriers of social prejudice and exclusion:
Sharing personal stories and connecting with others is an opportunity for selfintrospection, more clarity and understanding of one’s own life and journey. One could
end up repeating their personal story four times in a day to different media persons.
Media interviews have happened even till 2am because we didn’t have time for it during
the day. But we do it because civil society needs to wake up and be sensitive about acidviolence (Founder).
80New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88

But, such efforts towards organisational legitimacy also inadvertently hindered survivor
healing because of their repeated recounting of personal trauma during campaigns. To
selflessly and tirelessly campaign while still dealing with one’s own recovery roadblocks led
to emotional and physical fatigue, shifting focus away from personal recovery and wellbeing:
I haven’t had the time to see the doctor and have missed my last appointment as I havebeen quite busy with campaign work. To do campaign work, I must be away from myfamily, stay with the rest of the team, travel to other places. Although people are quite
caring here, I feel lonely. I miss my father a lot. I must travel, compile lists, giveinterviews, protest etc. I do whatever campaign work the team asks me to do and I do
all this as much as I can find courage within me (Survivor).
As per the local traditions and culture, it is uncommon for women to speak openly about their
feelings, question or challenge the norms of society, live away from their families and travelwith non-family members. Therefore, work for social enterprise, such as campaigning, may
involve a transitional parting from traditional customs and can exacerbate stress andvulnerability among some survivors grappling with loss of identity and social discrimination
after violence. The paradoxical tension of creating safe platforms for survivors to heal andmove on from this trauma while also urging them to recount their personal horrors of violence
to garner social and financial support was particularly challenging as depicted in the founder’squote:
A survivor told me that it initially she had difficulty in trusting us. We invited her manytimes to participate in media interviews but she would decline such invitations. We
didn’t know this but when she told us that initially she didn’t trust us, we realised thatit takes a long time to build trust. I am reminded of another survivor who for the firsttime decided to come out and eagerly share her story with media but this triggered manyfurther media questions. She slipped into major depression due to her continuousinteraction with media (Founder).
The paradox of achieving organisational legitimacy while also nurturing space for personal
healing is further evident in the venture’s strategy of encouraging survivors to use social media
despite financial and other resource constraints:
We are stretched resource-wise but we are working towards individual Facebook pages
for our survivors. This is where the world gets to know each survivor more personallysuch as likes, dislikes, skills etc. Many of the survivors we are supporting are fromlower educational and socio economic background and lack these skills. We aresupporting the survivors to learn some English, learn how to use social media tools andcommunicate directly. We want to work in a detailed way on one survivor at a time
(Founder).
While social media opened additional channels for survivors to engage and heal by sharing
their pain with others and for the enterprise to seek financial support towards its mission, theunintended consequence of this strategy was that it deepened the sense of social rejection,
vulnerability and isolation due to lack of reciprocation from the online community. In the local
patriarchal culture, which blames female victims for provoking abuse and inciting acid violence
upon themselves, the lack of empathy reflected on social media platforms deepened the feeling81

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
of social exclusion and exploitation by others for their personal gains as illustrated in thesurvivor’s quote:
I feel like no one cares about me. I sent a message to all 50 of my contacts on social
media. I met these people through campaigning activities. I gave interviews and shared
my experiences with them but when I asked whether they could help me collect funds
for my next surgery then not a single person replied. I didn’t even hear from anyone tosay ‘sorry I can’t help’. Just no response (Survivor).
2. Organisational funding AND survivor funding
Lack of funding was a major challenge for the young social venture. From an organisational
standpoint, the founder had to find ways of meeting urgent recovery needs of survivors
while also reserving funds for raising social awareness, rallying public support and meeting
operational costs. Any funds raised through campaigning would be prioritised for the mosturgent medical needs of any survivor but this did not diminish the founder’s sense ofurgency in trying to keep the venture financially sustainable:
Just last month we were in dire financial situation but luckily recently we have got muchneeded capital injection. We try to operate with a positive sense of hope and keep ourlarger mission in mind. Having said this, our venture operates on some basic principles.
One principle is to use minimum resources for campaigns. We are therefore trying out
different social media options and crowdfunding platform for various individual
survivor projects. We are also expecting one of our survivor activists to get an
employment contract so her earnings from that will help sustain our initiative. We aim
to create a Trust and help the survivors get financially independent so that they can
support each other. We try and focus on one survivor at a time to address their recovery
and rehabilitation needs (Founder).
Funding appeals relied on survivor participation to communicate the seriousness of the social
problem and urgency for required funds. Such appeals, therefore, portrayed individual
survivors showing their physical injuries and recounting personal trauma. Most survivors ofacid violence in the developing country where data was collected are women. Despite changing
times and more women from this country getting educated and entering the workforce, societal
expectations are still governed by patriarchal notions that include women conforming totraditional customs and norms:
We made a detailed plan to gain attention to acid violence. Today the survivors may
easily be able to speak to various people but initially it wasn’t so easy for them. Therewas much work that went behind this. I remember at a court hearing of one of oursurvivors, we encouraged all survivors to get bold, not hide their facial injuries and stepout from behind their veils and gather in the front of the court to support each other. It
is not easy to get one survivor to open her face and speak about her personal story andhere we had several survivors gathered in front of the court and taking media questions.
This is when people started getting interested in this issue (Founder).
The paradoxical tension of spending on campaigns, highlighting the needs of one survivor at atime to build momentum for generating more funds can lead to misunderstanding. The
importance of shared values, collective good and shared social vision, if not understood by all
stakeholders, especially the survivors as primary stakeholders, can create a feeling of82

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
unfairness, preferential treatment and being taken advantage of, despite having received
ongoing care and support from the organisation:
I don’t want pity and sympathy. I asked him [the founder] for funding towards my next
surgery and I was told that I couldn’t have it. I asked why I couldn’t have it when myface and my story is in the crowdfunding videos and I have worked so hard in every
campaign. If I have participated in a crowdfunding campaign, then there should be a
separate account in my name where the money is transferred for my surgery and I canaccess it when needed. I feel I have been sold false dreams (Survivor).
Due to funding constraints, there was lack of specialised therapy and clinical care at therehabilitation centre. Hence, the founder mostly relied on fostering a “family” culture and a“home” like environment of care and responsibility:
We don’t have facilities like one would see in a developed country like New Zealand.
What we have here is a home for the survivors and their families. Many of the survivors
are from rural areas and small towns and come to this city for treatment in the hospital.
They have nowhere to stay. If someone has a problem, we talk about it and try toresolve it as a family. We offer them a place to stay as they seek access to treatment.
There are no expert counsellors here. We cannot afford such expert help. Experts mayhelp as many of our survivors face long term trauma, depression and sleepless nights
but I also feel that sometimes it’s a case of paying more attention to what the doctor
says and when the same advice is given by a family member then its ignored (Founder).
The unintended consequence of creating such a nurturing environment is that it can impose acontemporary, organisational notion of a family on the more traditional concept of a family
which emphasises values such as respecting hierarchy and authority to maintain harmony. For
example, in the local tradition, the eldest male in a family usually acts as a head and all otherfamily members respect his formal authority. Most women would generally not shareaccommodation with men outside their family as illustrated in the quote below:
I felt quite uncomfortable and uneasy living there because there were males who
participated in this campaigns and would end up staying in this shared accommodation.
During the time my parents stayed at the rehabilitation centre, they were often asked tocook and clean after others. They didn’t mind and wanted to help but I felt hurt thatjust because we are from a poor family, there was a general lack of respect for their age.
I was very frustrated when I saw one day that my father was asked to wash others’
garments. I felt I was better off living with my family with dignity (Survivor).
The ethos of care through fostering a family environment from an organisational standpoint
can fail to meet the wellbeing needs and even aggravate vulnerability among violence victims
by unintentionally limiting or challenging the expression of traditional family values.
3. Entrepreneurial aspirations AND personal career aspirations
Financial burden due to medical costs is usually a major impediment for survivors recoveringand rebuilding their life. While the founder supported the acid violence survivors to build skills
aligned with area of their personal interest, an equally important consideration was to ensurethat such skill-based training would ultimately help them get financially independent throughemployment. Sadly, survivors often face rejection, apathy and indifference when seeking83New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
employment. Hence, from the founder’s point of view, starting up a venture that would bemanaged by some survivors would not only help them become financially independent but
would also rupture the social stigma of acid violence by limiting their chances of potentially
undergoing further trauma and discrimination if they ended up working for an organisation that
did not understand their wellbeing needs:
Through personal connections, we can get some of the survivors employed in privatecompanies. But who will understand their health challenges? Who will understand theirneed for taking frequent leave to get multiple surgeries done? There is a risk of further
stigmatisation and survivors feeling more depressed because of no support systems andawareness at workplace. Our venture is not even a year old so this issue is only now
beginning to gain some attention. We know things take time in campaigning andactivism work. One must be patient and dream fulfilment is not a possibility for manyof us especially those who belong to the lower or middle socio economic section of thissociety (Founder).
For many women, fulfilling traditional roles and social expectations of getting married, being
a homemaker, raising children and looking after elderly would be more important than carving
out a professional identity through career accomplishments. From a survivor’s perspective,
holding onto the residue of unfulfilled dreams of full time work or being a homemaker could
be more pertinent to healing than embarking on the unchartered path of entrepreneurship. A
departure from such unfulfilled personal dreams and aspirations could mean an exacerbatedsense of loss, further alienation from one’s community and survivors could perceive this as anact of coercion by the organisation:
My interest has always been in beauty and my dream is to become a beautician. I hopeto get funding support for professionally training in the beauty industry and becoming
full time employed as a beautician. When I am full time employed, I can support myfather. My father’s health is not so good but he has supported me a lot so I want to beable to also help and support him through my earnings. But they [the founder and coreteam members] had some ideas about a dressmaking shop that would be managed bysurvivors. They would provide the ongoing support and they kept telling me to get
involved in such ventures. We had arguments about this because I didn’t want to be
involved in it. It would also mean staying away from my family and living my life
where such as venture would be started (Survivor).
Organisational strategies perpetuated through managing or controlling at such deep intimatelevels can inadvertently run counter to the survivor wellbeing and empowerment aim of thesocial venture.

Discussion and Conclusion
The three paradoxes illuminate the fact that social mission, based on the aims of a social
enterprise in a developing world context, may have paradoxical demands from the vantage
point of survivors of acid violence. While both the founder of the social enterprise and thesurvivors have the aim of wellbeing, the translation of this aim can be loaded with emotion andcontrary points of view. For the survivors, wellbeing may be negatively impacted throughexternal influences associated with stigmatism, entrepreneurial aspirations and activism, andinternal influences associated with trauma, self-degradation, and the shrinkage of space to think84

New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 42(3): 75-88
about wellbeing as the mind is occupied in sharing horrifying stories of personal acid attacks
with the media. The psychological result of such internal and external sanctioning is decreased
confidence, self-worth and self-respect.
Our contribution has been to illuminate the staggering complexity in which wellbeing work for
women victims of acid violence is embedded in the often unforgiving and traditional milieu ofa developing country. Untangling paradoxes in wellbeing work with women victims ofviolence in this context may involve not only the psychological benefits of being engaged in
useful and meaningful work for self and the social enterprise, but also the ability to stayconnected with the immediate family, reconstructive surgery and planning for the day-to-day
needs involved in surviving acid violence. Additionally, even if employment is accessed,
individuals from stigmatised groups, such as acid attack survivors face further obstacle towellbeing by having a greater tendency to experience workplace discrimination compared totheir cohorts from non-stigmatised groups as they receive less resources and thus have lessmeans by which to select healthy behaviours, again impacting on their physical wellbeing(Combs & Milosevic, 2016). Thus, in a cyclic fashion the long-term presence of stress andlow psychological health flow through to further impact negatively on wellbeing.
Yet, the paradox of wellbeing is that it is possible to support a virtuous cycle and Huq et al.
(2016) note this is possible through setting up structures which respect both poles of theparadox or, in our case, respect shown to each other by both the founder and survivor.
Achieving value for both parties may be enhanced through viewing the paradoxes asinterdependent and inherent in the business of social mission (Schad et al., 2016). Additionally,in acknowledging that status and power differences may contribute to vicious cycles, attempts
can be made to rebalance poles through encouraging and supporting individuals who are at the
weaker pole, keeping in mind the big picture, or the support and empowerment so crucial for
victims of acid violence within which the paradoxes are embedded.

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