There is a widely held opinion among many sociologists that contemporary British society has undergone significant change over the last twenty-five years. This change has touched on the most important aspects of our lives such as family and work.
Speaking about the diversity of family and household patterns, we should first single out the major types of this phenomenon. These types are organizational, cultural, class, life-course, and cohort diversity. Organizational diversity involves division of labor, role relationships, and household types.
As far as structural or organizational diversity is concerned, it is quite possible for us to say that the traditional image of a British nuclear family is as widespread as it had been two decades ago. This statement can be substantiated by sociological data, confirmed by many recent types of research. First, it is worth mentioning that there has been a considerable increase in one-person households, and what is more important the number of lone-parent families, approximately 18 percent. Besides, it should be taken into account that the young generation tends to be more and more independent of their parent. The proportion of families with dependent children (dependence implies financial relationships) has significantly decreased over the last two decades. According to the General Household Survey, the proportion of such families has diminished to approximately 17 percent. It should be mentioned that it is difficult to ascertain the exact number due to the subjective nature of the word “independence”; there are many interpretations of it (Murphy pp 18-26).
Moreover, we can say that the contemporary British family tends to become “smaller”. At first glance, it may sound a bit strange, but the average size of a contemporary English family has reduced to only two or three members, whereas only in the middle of the twentieth century did the traditional nuclear family consist of approximately five members.
As far as the cultural diversity of family patterns is concerned, we should say that there is a great variety of lifestyles among modern British families. It can be explained by the difference in ethnic origin or religious belief.
These changes can be ascribed to a great number of factors. First, the attitude of the population towards starting a family has altered. The deep-rooted stereotype that a person cannot be successful unless he has a family was rejected. Besides, the image of the weaker sex has changed, the adjective weak is no longer appropriate; it can be ascribed to the strong feminist movement.
Speaking about the changes in the patterns of work are concerned, we should mention the following. First, the British workplace is becoming more and more decentralized, which means that a great number of employees prefer to work at home. Modern technologies and the Internet in particular have provided many opportunities in this aspect. Approximately, 10 percent of employees are not directly present at their workplace, which was unheard of at least 20 years ago.
Besides, we can say that the development of new technologies has created many opportunities for work on the Internet. According to statistical data, an employee and an employer cannot even see each other.
Recent research has also ascertained that there is a growth in part-time employment. It can be ascribed to the fact that the present companies have a wide range of products, and the demands can vary from month to month. Approximately 17 percent of the companies tend to hire part-time employees.
The third aspect is that in comparison with the past women begin to obtain executive positions. It can be explained that the level of their qualification has significantly increased. However, if we try to compare them with men, we may conclude that women are usually underestimated.
Overall, we can say that changes in the patterns of work are caused by the development of new technologies and the fact that the role of women in society has altered.
Thus, having analyzed the major trends in contemporary British society, we can arrive at the conclusion that such spheres of British life as family and work have undergone a change. The main peculiarity is that women have grown more independent from the stronger sex, which led to some new family and work patterns.
Bibliography
Abercrombie N, Warde A. (2002) Contemporary British Society. Policy Press.
Murphy, M. and Berrington, A. (1993) Household Change in the 1980s: a review, PopulationTrends 73, pp. 18-26.
Atkinson, A. B. (1995) Incomes and the Welfare State. Essays on Britain and Europe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.