Households, Employment, and the Sense of Control

This paper investigates how the combination of job and household circumstances modifies the association between employment and the sense of control over one's life. Data are from a 1985 sample of 809 Illinois adults. The average sense of control is greater among people with paying jobs than among those without. The difference increases with greater job autonomy and higher earnings. Not all household contexts of employment are alike, however; people who do most of the household workfind employment less beneficial to their sense of control. Also, the more family income comes from sources other than one's earnings, the less that employment increases the sense of control. For married women, the typical combination of low pay, low autonomy, high responsibility for household chores, and family income other than personal earnings negates the positive association between employment and the sense of control.