ABSTRACT
It is an essential life activity on which the routine, and extraordinary, accomplishments of people and their societies depend. Some governments do legislate to provide basic protection of working conditions and entitlements. Sennett’s book exposes the sharp edges of the dilemma in which so many people find themselves. Secure attachments are those that are established by having our attachment needs met in appropriate ways. Parents do not need to be schooled in attachment theory to understand the tensions between the demands of work and the affectional and attachment needs of their children, other dependents, and themselves. In Global Women, Parrenas argues that growing crisis of care troubles the world’s most developed nations. The themes of work–family balance and the love drain have allowed us to glimpse some of the problems that work can create for enabling secure attachments. Evidence of growing social pathologies in many societies should alert us to the real risks to emotional and social health.
