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Carol Kleiman / Syndicated columnist
Quality or quantity? Parents' values change with generations

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"Generation X parents are less satisfied with the amount of time they allocate for family than boomer parents," said James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, a marketing strategy and research firm based in Belmont, Mass.

"While 'quality time' may be the focus for baby boomer parents, Gen X parents strive for as much time as possible with their children."

Chung bases his observation on a recent study his organization did of 1,492 baby boomers and 1,291 Gen Xers — all parents.

Boomers were born between 1946 and 1965; Generation Xers were born between 1966 and 1976.

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Chung reports that 38 percent of boomer parents said they were happy with the number of hours spent on child rearing and household responsibilities, but only 26 percent of Gen Xers reported satisfaction with their "balance" between work and family demands.

In a further breakdown of the findings, 25 percent of Gen X mothers and 35 percent of boomer moms were satisfied with how their time was spent.

The figures for the men were higher: 28 percent of Gen X dads and 41 percent of boomer dads were pleased with their priorities.

DIFFERENCES ON THE JOB: "In the past, it was thought that job satisfaction, life satisfaction, job stress and work/family conflict were typically isolated from one another," according to Richard Hammes, president of Hammes and Associates, a management consulting firm based in Barrington, Ill.

"But numerous recent studies (of executives) indicate that in most cases they're not."
 
The consultant, who has a doctorate in psychology, adds, however, that "the effect of job satisfaction on life satisfaction is much stronger than the reverse ... (though) job conflict that interferes with family activity creates job stress."

But there is one interesting exception: Family conflict does create job conflict but not job dissatisfaction, Hammes points out.

However, the psychologist warns that even executives have to "balance job and family needs rather than use the job as a sanctuary."

Or the golf course.

THE DIFFERENCE FOR WORKING WOMEN: If you're a woman who wants to break through the glass ceiling, try to join companies that aggressively recruit women and that offer on-target work/life programs.

That's the advice of George Dreher, professor of business administration at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in Bloomington.

In his recent study of 72 large U.S. corporations — where you would expect women to have the most opportunity to rise to the ranks of senior management — Dreher found that "the glass ceiling still is pervasive, but women can likely improve their chances of breaking it by joining companies that are known for recruiting women for low-level managerial positions and for offering generous work/life programs."

The two, he found, go hand in hand — especially when women who want to move to the top of the corporate ladder also have the options of flextime, job sharing, telecommuting, elder care and adoption benefits and dependent-care benefits.

E-mail questions to Carol Kleiman at ckleiman@tribune.com. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.