Book Review The Labour Market Ate My Babies Reviewed by Sharna Wiblen* Barbara Pocock, The Labour Market Ate My Babies. Work, children and a sustainable future, The Federation Press, 2006, pb. 264pp, rrp. $A44.95  The book is concerned primarily with the impact of parental work on the lives of young adults. If we still believe what Michael Jackson proclaimed, that ‘the children are our future’ then why is it that Barbara Pocock’s latest book ‘The labour market ate my babies: work, children and a sustainable future’ can be described as new and insightful? The role of children in society and the impact of work on children would be described by most as an important issue. However the concerns of children are not currently, and rarely have in the past consumed popular media or academia. Despite the endless media allocated to critiquing the new WorkChoices policy of the Howard Government and its affects on workers, little concern has manifested for the direct impact of parental work, occupations and hours on children. This is where Pocock’s concern for the wider realm of work, and more specifically her consideration of children begins to fill a void.   The book is concerned primarily with the impact of parental work on the lives of young adults. For empirical data Pocock and her team interviewed 93 young adults between the ages of 10 and 18. Ensuring that the interviewee’s were from a range of economic backgrounds: disadvantaged, rural, comfortable and privileged strengthened the credibility of her methodology. Additionally the book is not overly referenced which allows the young adults to express their desires and fears in their own words - an opportunity that these young adults may rarely receive. Although Pocock revisits some established areas of the work/life balance, gender inequity and the salience of occupation and employment to an individual’s identity, her greatest contribution is through the discussion of the real everyday impact that negative job spillover of parents and their work has on children. Drawing on the work of US researcher Galinsky, Pocock makes an important contribution. Significantly both authors argue that it ‘…is not whether parents work but how their work affects them and how attentive or focused they are able to be towards their children when they are with them’ (p63). The idea that society should be concerned not with the question of whether parents go to work but the state in which they come home seems to reflect personal realities and childhoods more usefully. Remembering one’s own childhood could ignite concerns about the moods of parents when returning from work and the recognition of the ability of children to evaluate the impact of work on the family. Pocock has succeeded in highlighting a refreshingly new angle on this topic and suitably argues that negative job spillover is an important concept to consider. Discussion of the interviews with the young adults highlighted some interesting findings. Only a couple of children who live with a parent working long or unsociable hours felt that these did not affect them, and in one case, this was because they were, as they put it, ‘used to it.’ (p70). In addition Pocock found that time with one parent does not compensate for time with the other parent. Raising a child is a two-parent job. Previous studies have stated that childhood experiences help identity and personality formation. Reinforcing the argument, Pocock found that many of the young adults interviewed are already affected by the work patterns of their parents and plan their own work and household futures- sometimes in reaction to their own youthful experiences (p2). Many expressed optimism about their ability to dictate their life path. Some planned to decide how many children they will have, what age they would have their children and even how many hours on what days of the week they will work after the birth of their children. However those living in the current workplace relations environment are aware that the ability to make such choices is bleak. Furthermore Pocock mentions that the rising costs of education will ensure that the work/life cycle will remain uneven,  and more significantly briefly recognises that many women who enter the workforce will do so with education-related debts that have been unknown to previous generations. Although Pocock begins to make the connections between education, work and children for women, further discussions could have strengthened her ideas. The areas of work and family are a zero-sum game. ‘The exhortation to work more is rarely subjected to a critical assessment of its impact on our larger lives, selves and society. If we work more in paid jobs, must we then work less at caring?’ (p47). Pocock begins to question the wider impact of working patterns in a format that ensures that certain questions are posed. And such questions should insight some degree of personal reflection. Overall Pocock’s book is extensive. It raises the standard of the work/ life debate and acknowledges the actions of one rarely ever only affect their person. And if the children really are our future, than the young adults as reflected by those interviewed are optimistic. This is a stark generational difference and an optimism that may not be shared by those who read this book. * (Sharna Wiblen works for a management consultancy and tutors in work and organisational studies at the University of Sydney) Posted 16 April 2007 worksite home