Title: Identify management strategies for balancing work and family roles.
Course: Individual Development (19260-18) > Section: Managing Work and Family Responsibilities for the Well-Being of Self and Others

Identification of management strategies should include

- family life cycle (e.g., beginning stage, child rearing, launching stage [also known as the empty nest], mid-year, and aging stage)
- family and work values
- prioritization of family and work responsibilities
- use of time
- use of technology
- organization
- strategies to manage stress
- health and safety needs of family members (e.g., physical health, mental health, substance abuse, disabilities)
- conflict resolution.

Process/Skill Questions:

Thinking

- What is the relationship between the family’s circumstances and workplace productivity?
- Why is it important to a person, to the family, and to the employer to balance work and family roles?
- What responsibility does an employer have for a worker’s well-being beyond the workplace?
- How do management strategies for balancing work and family roles change as the family progresses through its life cycle?

Communication

- When is it appropriate for an employee to communicate personal/family problems to an employer?
- What communication skills are needed to develop strategies for balancing work and family roles?
- How can the lack of communication hinder work environments? Family environments?

Leadership

- What leadership techniques can you use to address and resolve conflict regarding work and family roles?
- What skills do family members need to become leaders?
- What criteria should be used to assess efforts at balancing work and family roles?

Management

- What management skills are needed to set priorities at work and at home?
- What kind of training is needed to develop management strategies for balancing work and family roles?
- What management skills are needed to deal with issues at different stages of the family life cycle?