ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the lingering compulsion toward marriage and parenting, considers how this compulsion extends to the attempt at balancing work and family. It proposes the employment of an existing framework to locate opportunities for affirming and advocating for the needs of single and/or childfree (Sa/oCf) working adults. The lingering compulsion toward marriage also suggests a linearity that simply does not exist for many working adults. Having children rounds out the creation of the, traditional family. The lingering compulsion is propelled by pronatalism, or "a value which encourages reproduction and exalts the role of parenthood". Clearly, there are many family forms that deviate from the lingering compulsion. Some form familiar narratives, such as stepfamilies, that require little discursive dependence. Casper et al. developed a scale measuring five dimensions of singles-friendly workplace culture: social inclusion, equal respect for non-work life, equal work opportunities, equal access to benefits, and equal work expectations.
