The Cost of Living in Britain - Essay Example

Essay
The cost of living in Britain has been on a rise according to the latest surveys. This situation has resulted in more people in a family especially mothers going out to work in order to make ends meet as revealed by a recent study that 1 in every 3 parents work (Easier Finance, 2008).

There has been a substantial increase in the proportion of married mothers going to work since the mid-1960s according to an article published by McRae, S. According to a recent survey, the number of women going to work has increased by 18% since 1993 (Easier Finance, 2008). A major reason identified for this is the increasing cost of living and in addition, work also provides women confidence in themselves, a way of exposing their skills, and also increased social contact (Orr, J, 1997). The publicly funded childcare mounts to only 2 % of children under 3 years of age. While earlier on mothers took up part-time jobs now they prefer to go for full-time jobs in order to make ends meet (Orr, J, 1997, Reynolds, T, Calleder, C, Edwards, R, 2003). This trend of both the parents going to work has affected the quality of time they spend with their children (Easier Finance, 2008). A study conducted has revealed that children of working mothers showed lesser educational achievement due to lack of maternal care (Orr, J, 1997). The study also showed that among working mothers, children of mothers who worked part-time fared better in examinations compared to those whose mothers worked full-time reflecting the fact that the amount of time spent on children by the mother had an influence on the cognitive development of the child. Another new trend that is fast growing is the atypical working hours taken up by mothers. This includes working at weekends and in shifts during weekdays in order to manage both home and work. A recent study has revealed that children get to spend less time with their mothers who work at weekends as it is only during the weekends parents get to spend quality time with their children (Barnes, M, Bryson, C & Smith, R, 2006). The study has shown that such work timings limit the activities shared between the parents, and mothers in particular and their children. This includes having joint meals, reading and playing together, sports, and other social activities (Barnes, M, Bryson, C & Smith, R, 2006). While children of working mothers who have been put to daycare have shown positive improvements, those who belong to poorer families are at a disadvantage as their parents cannot afford this luxury (Orr, J, 1997).

Women who have taken up employment have also remained without an issue or delayed childbearing before they had established their careers, according to Susan Mcrae. The report also quotes 40% of childbirths have been to women aged 30 or older. It also projects 25% childlessness by 2010. According to the office of national statistics, a survey conducted between 1971 and 2002 showed that fertility rates have declined by 35% (Gray, S, 2007).

According to a comparative survey result (1980 to 2000) conducted by the Cambridge University posted in the BBC, there has been a decrease in the percentage of men and women who believe that family life would not be affected by working women (BBC News, 2008). In another survey conducted by a health magazine and published on the BBC news website, 93% of working mothers have claimed that it is stressful to cope with both family and work. They expressed that this in turn also affected the family members. Working mothers require additional support from their spouses in doing household choruses. The survey found that only 37% of working couples share household chores. Some may also have to cope with husbands who feel threatened by their success (BBC News, 2001). A similar scenario was found in the small-scale study conducted by a team of researchers at South Bank University. The main points cited in the report include: mothers being more work-centered, problems with getting over bad work feelings, and bringing work home all of which led to strained relationships within the family (Reynolds, T, Calleder, C, Edwards, R, 2003).

In conclusion, there has been widespread disruption of family life resulting in broken families, increased divorce rates, and a disturbed mental and physical development of children. Good solutions to this problem would be flexible work timings for women employees and better child care facilities for the children of working mothers, better incentives for children could also be provided by the government. There is a need for more family-friendly workplace policies and practices in order to enable mothers to achieve their goals and also lead a peaceful and happy family life (Reynolds, T, Calleder, C, Edwards, R, 2003).