Analysis. Motherhood, Employment, and Life Satisfaction

Article Analysis
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Article Analysis
Summary
The article “Motherhood, Employment, and Life Satisfaction: Trends in Germany Between 1984 and 2015” by Preisner, Neuberger, Posselt, and Kratz explores how motherhood norms have changed over the last few decades in Germany. Specifically, the article explores changes in employment norms among mothers, as well as women without children and how this has affected life satisfaction. The authors argue that today women have more choices on what to do with their life as opposed to the past. The study found that in previous studies, prevailing social norms, as well as taboos did not hold actual cost and benefits for motherhood, which has often led to lower life satisfaction. The good news is that these prevailing social norms and taboos have lost ground in Germany over the decades. The authors argue that the main causes of unhappiness in motherhood are limited time and financial resources. For mothers who work full-time, there is greater life satisfaction than mothers working part-time or those who are not working. This is largely attributed to their ability to have an income. However, despite the financial resources, the authors indicate that previous research has shown a life partner who helps raise the children offers mothers greater satisfaction. Most single mothers in Germany exhibited lower levels of life satisfaction compared to mothers and non-mothers with supportive partners. The article points out that data from 2006 shows that German labor force has witnessed an increase in mothers and in this way, change of most of these social norms.
Further, government family policy measures have helped active shape parenthood and paid work. For example, parental leave benefits ensure that mothers can enjoy paid leave and take care of their children. The authors also indicate that while these benefits have been identified, many articles have not focused on long-term changes in motherhood, employment, and life satisfaction. This study tries to examine these long-term effects and how they influence motherhood and life satisfaction.
Analysis
The article’s main thesis is that restrictive social norms in Germany have lost ground and this has enhanced life satisfaction for both mothers who are working and those not working. Ideally, the authors show that over the years, there has been more freedom and support for women in the employment sector and this has reduced time pressures and financial strains. Women do not have to feel that they need to stay away from motherhood to be able to work because social policies allow women to go even up to 3 years on leave with benefits (Preisner et al., 2018). To support these arguments, the authors collected to date from the German Socio-Eco...