I.   Recent trends
     A.   The work week is increasing.
          1.   The average work week increased from 40.6 hours in 
                1973 to 46.6  hours in 1987.
          2.   The average work week for a professional person is 52 
                hours.
          3.   The average work week for a small business owner or a 
                corporate executive is 57 hours.
          4.   Many people in executive positions are actually 
                working 60 - 70 hour weeks.  The only way to put in
                those kinds of extra hours is to take time away from
                the family.
     B.   At the same time, the average parent spends 40 per cent 
            less time with their children than they did 25 years ago.
     C.   What kind of effect does the changing work week have on 
            families?

II.  Attitudes in corporate America
     A.   Top management believes we need to gain a competitive edge 
             in the world market in order to survive.  This involves:
          1.   "Downsizing" the company, which means layoffs in order 
                to reduce  payroll costs and expecting the work force
                that remains to produce as much or more than the
                company did with a larger work force.
          2.   Corporate America is basically insensitive to the 
                needs of family. 
               Fortune magazine interviewed the top CEOs and summed up
               their response this way. "Stop whining and get back to
               work. 

               You ain't seen nothin' yet."  They believe management
               will have to push even harder to keep up with global
               competition.
     B.   Young professionals are achievement focused, ambitious, 
            aggressive and energetic.  As they enter management they
            are "younger, tougher, leaner and meaner."
          1.   Many CEO's and management consultants are totally 
                indifferent to the situation.  
          2.   David Ogilvy in Confessions of an Advertising Man  
                wrote, 
                "If you  stay home and tend your gardens and children
                I will love you more as a human being, but don't
                expect to be the first person promoted in your group."
                 
          3.   Tom Peters and Nancy Austin, (Management consultants)
               describe those who have risen to the top.  They have
               "...given up family vacations, Little League games,
               birthday dinners, evenings, weekends, lunch hours,
               gardening, reading, movies and most other past times." 
                They frankly admitted, "We have a number of  friends
               whose marriages or partnerships crumbled under the
               weight of their devotion to a dream."
          4.   In light of these attitudes, what is your prognosis 
                for the American  family?
III. What effect do these kind of job stresses have on people?
     A.   Their health (both mental and physical).  Nervous 
            breakdowns are not unusual.  Top management people are
            high risks for coronary 
           disease. 
          There is even some evidence which would suggest that a high
          degree of  stress may induce cancer.  Drinking problems are
          common.
     B.   Their enthusiasm for the job. "Burnout" is a word which 
            entered our vocabulary in the seventies and has become
            increasingly commonplace  in the work force.  Strangely
            enough management never seems to get the message.  They
            throw away burned out managers and supervisors like they
            throw away gum when all the sweetness is gone.  The focus
            is often on short term performance and they figure there's
            always somebody else waiting in the wings when an
            overworked employee  "flames out."
     C.   Their loyalty to the company.
     D.   Their relationship to God.

IV.  Solutions to balancing job and family.
     A.   How should a family go about deciding how to deal with the 
            problem of  balancing family and work?

     B.   How can you approach an employer who may not appreciate your
           commitment to "seek the kingdom of God and his
           righteousness" as your first priority?  A friend of mine
           asked for three hours off from work in order that he might
           be able to attend a graduation party for his oldest
           daughter.   He received a note from his superior stating
           that his boss was very disappointed in his request. He
           pointed out that a person in his position has to make some
           sacrifice for the good of the company.  He told him to go
           ahead, but not to expect that he could make a habit of
           doing this sort of thing.   My friend responded in kind
           with a note of his own, pointing out the undeniable fact
           that others in his position had been granted time off in
           similar situations.   He also pointed out that he had done
           volunteer public relations work for the company on his own
           time when he really didn't
          have to and he suggested that he would abide by his
          employer's request, but in the future he would give no
          volunteer time. This man happened to be a valued employee
          whose contribution was obvious to all concerned.  The
          superior in question wrote a second note and apologized for
          overreacting to his request.  Had my friend not been willing
          to stick his neck out and risk the note, he might have been
          further intimidated by his employer.  In truth the person
          making the demand was probably a family man, and probably
          realized that he would not want to live by the standards he
          was imposing on my friends.  In this case he was dealing
          with a person who had respect for family values.  

     C.   How can you compete with the "eager beavers" at work who 
           are not yet  old enough to have family responsibilities?
     D.   How are other people in the work force dealing with the 
            problem of  balancing family responsibility and work time?
     E.   Is there any way to sensitize corporate management to the 
           importance of  maintaining family values?
     F.   Is it possible to commit yourself to excellence at work and 
           family values at the same time?
     G.   What strategies would you suggest for the Christian family 
            given the  current state of things in the work place?

MARIJUANA USE. The University of Chicago recently reported the results of a sampling of more than 1700 youths which indicated that an increased level of first time marijuana use and an elevated level of frequency of use among those who have previously tried it is being experienced by teenagers in single parent families and in stepparent homes. (Source: "The Family in America" - New Research 2-96)

CHILDREN IN MARRIAGE. A study project conducted by McGill University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that childless parents are 15 percent more likely to divorce than those who raise children. If children are present before marriage, there is a fifty per cent greater likelihood that divorce will occur (ibid)

FAITH COMMITMENTS. According to "USA Today" (2-5-96) the divorce rate among those who attend church less than once a year is 34 per cent. Among those who attend once to several times a year, the divorce rate is 27 per cent. Among those who attend church monthly or more often, the divorce rate drops to 18 percent.

NEXT WEEK'S FEATURE ARTICLE: "TEACHING VALUES TO CHILDREN"