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Latina Workers in North Carolina: Work Organization, Domestic Responsibilities, Health, and Family Life

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Abstract

This analysis describes the work organization and domestic work experienced by migrant Latinas, and explores the linkage between work and health. Twenty Latina workers in North Carolina with at least one child under age 12 completed in-depth interviews focused on their work organization, domestic responsibilities, work-family conflict, health, and family health. Using a systematic qualitative analysis, these women described a demanding work organization that is contingent and exploitative, with little control or support. They also described demanding domestic roles, with gendered and unequal division of household work. The resulting work-family conflict affects their mental and physical health, and has negative effects on the care and health of their families. The findings from this study highlight that work stressors from an unfavorable work organization create work-family conflict, and that work-family conflict in this population has a negative influence on workers’ health and health behaviors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA

    Guadalupe Rodriguez, Joanne C. Sandberg & Thomas A. Arcury

  2. Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Guadalupe Rodriguez, Grisel Trejo, Sara A. Quandt, Joanne C. Sandberg & Thomas A. Arcury

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Grisel Trejo & Sara A. Quandt

  4. El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Elizabeth Schiemann

  5. Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Stephanie S. Daniel

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  1. Guadalupe Rodriguez
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Correspondence to Thomas A. Arcury.

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Rodriguez, G., Trejo, G., Schiemann, E. et al. Latina Workers in North Carolina: Work Organization, Domestic Responsibilities, Health, and Family Life. J Immigrant Minority Health 18, 687–696 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0314-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0314-x

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