Community, work and family in diverse contexts and changing times

Abstract

The 8th International Community, Work and Family conference took place in Malta at the Valletta campus of the University of Malta between the 23rd to the 25th May 2019. In a pre-COVID-19 world with no traveling restrictions, the conference brought together over 100 experts, academics, and students from a broad range of countries and disciplines to focus on the theme of Community, Work and Family in Diverse Contexts and Changing Times. The research presented during the conference highlights some of the challenges that communities, organizations and families are facing in the twenty-first century across diverse and rapidly changing contexts. The topics presented spanned from broad studies that analyze the work-life interface of well-studied groups such as fathers and mothers, to other clusters that are generally less well-researched such as the police and the military, migrants, solo entrepreneurs, the LGBTIQ community, and those who work with people with special needs. The recurrent theme of the gendered division of labor and work-life measures was discussed by various researchers, as were the issues of flexible work, family policy, and the impact of technology. It was refreshing to note that various researchers focused on the issue of community as a source of support, whilst others explored how peer, supervisor and management support impacts work-life issues. Overall, the conference provided a diverse and rich range of scholarly material upon which to develop this special issue for Community, Work & Family. Despite the proliferation of studies across contexts and scholars’ efforts to integrate global research and knowledge, diversity within contexts remains a pertinent topic in the community, work and family field. Legal, economic, and social structures, in addition to culture, have a significant impact on the work-life experiences of individuals (Ollier-Malaterre & Foucreault, 2017). The availability of social support through public policies, societal norms around the gendered division of labor and family roles, and the distribution of opportunities across groups, contribute not only to an understanding of the community, work and family interface, but to the broader view of social inequalities within a country context.