Work and Family Interface

Maintaining a balance between one’s family life and work has always been hard. Many would think that this conflict did not affect people in the past. After speaking with one of my uncles, my perspective of how it was like for him during his young adult years changed.
In high school and college, Uncle Sam with his four friends formed a band. He spent all his time practicing the guitar and composing songs. He was one of the lucky people to have discovered his talent early enough and to have individuals with similar interests around him. As time went by, he was eager to start a family. I was shocked to hear that Sam had always dreamed of marrying a musician like him. None the less, he fell in love with Dana, a nurse.
In no time, they got married and soon had twin sons. As family commitments increased, it became harder for Sam to travel all the time for concerts and shows. It would have been hard for Dana to keep her job and raise two children on her own. Though Sam continued being a member of the band for some time, he made an effort to be home as much as he could. This meant that he would have to miss some concerts especially those away from home. Eventually, he quit the band and opened his music studio. This way, he was always around his family.
Sam says that things are different with my generation. During his days, people were more committed to their families and could do anything to be around their children even if it meant sacrificing some of your career aspirations. Today, women take longer to start families as they concentrate on climbing the career ladder. Young fathers do not have a problem spending too much time away from their families. During his time, only couples whose one partner was in the military spent time apart. Young adults today work more than people did during his time. This has led to many people in their twenties and thirties occupying managerial positions in organizations.
It is without a doubt harder for young people today to maintain a healthy balance between a demanding career and raising a family. Due to the inevitable high costs of living especially in cities, people have to work long hours. Globalization allows people to access a bigger market for their services and products. The increased market has led to more jobs and more possibilities for people to pursue. Many people do not have to leave their homes to go to work. Therefore, being in the house no longer means that one is spending quality time with their family. I intend to pursue my degree in human resource management and hopefully my masters and doctorate before I start a family. I can concentrate on my education and my career for the next few years and hope to land a good job in future. I would love to lecture in a local college so that I can have a flexible schedule that allows me to pay attention to my family.
Having learned the numerous benefits of actively raising children, I would want to try my best and give my kids the best. Although I would prefer to keep working, under some circumstances, I think I will put my family first even if it means taking some time off my job. Survey has shown that the long working hours and the less time spent at home hurts both the couple and the children. It leads to high rates of divorce and children become more aggressive and deviant. Although Islamic culture does not advocate for divorce, this is no longer stopping people from giving up on marriages. There is a high likelihood that kids whose parents are always working engage in criminal behavior and even join gangs. Since this is not something I want for both my children and I, sacrificing my career dreams might be inevitable. I look forward to a situation where my kids not only see me as their parent and provider but also as their friend.