Dr Brendan Burchell and Dr Francis Annor have recieved a ~£6000 Cambridge-Africa Alborada Research Fund to expand upon their research investigating the impacts of informal labour on family life in Ghana. This research builds on Dr Annor's PhD thesis, which concluded that employment within the informal sector in Ghana frequently led to multiple income generating activities, which has significant impacts on workers' abilities to combine work and family roles. The study showed that experiences of work-family conflict and enrichment had significant impact on employees’ satisfaction with their jobs and family life as well as their psychological well-being. The research further highlighted interesting similarities and differences between employees’ experiences of conflict and enrichment in Ghana and the UK, suggesting that Western theories and research on the work-family interface cannot be readily applied in Ghanaian and sub-Saharan African contexts.
This new research grant will provide the opportunity for Dr's Annor and Burchell to conduct semi-structured interviews (and possibly focus groups) in Ghana to develop both a better practical and theoretical understanding of these work situations. This project will also help strengthen existing ties between the University of Cambridge and the University of Ghana, particularly the respective Departments in which Drs Annor and Burchell are based.
This project finished in September 2018.
[Image Credit: 20120507 Traders in the Market, Ghana by Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0].