Married cooperators

Originally issued in 1997, at a time when divorce rates were climbing steeply, this study turns to Non-Discordant Marital Separations (NMS). It asks what allows households to stay bonded through hard periods and which forms of family support help them do so.

The author also looks at pressures that work against family cohesion. These include spouses who must live apart because of job-related travel, struggles over personal identity, the reasons behind extramarital affairs, and the demanding ways of the ‘greedy’ workplace. The book shows how parents and children manage the effects of employment on their lives together.

Written for scholars and for general readers worried about how work affects family life, the volume is presented as an unusual account of this subject.