Long hours disconnecting families: Goward

Housing costs, excessive commuting times from the affordability belt and the NEED for 2 incomes in families to keep their heads above water certainly feed into this picture:

Long hours disconnecting families: Goward - National - smh.com.au

Long work hours are making men grumpy, while women are struggling to balance uncertain hours with family commitments.

That's what Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward has been told in submissions to a report about balancing work and family responsibilities.

"The most important challenge for men is the huge hours that men are working," Ms Goward said.

"I thought it was just a problem for middle managers, really, but it's much more widespread than that."

Ms Goward said men who worked long hours were often "disconnected" from their wives and children - something that may be contributing to Australia's "alarming" divorce rate.

Ms Goward said more women were employed in casual work and many had trouble with the uncertainty of their hours, making it difficult to arrange child-care and family commitments.

Ms Goward was also concerned the Government's proposed industrial relations reforms would result in worse working conditions for women on low incomes.

"I think for low-income, low-skilled people the flexibilities will inevitably lead to more precarious working hours, particularly for women, and that was a big complaint from women," Ms Goward told ABC Radio today.