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 “… while families may be the most adaptable institutions in our society, we require evidence-based, evidence-informed, and evidence-inspired workplace practices, community and social supports, public policies, and programs if families are to thrive as they strive to harmonize and synchronize their work, family, and mobility rhythms, including with their broader needs.”

- Barbara Neis, Christina Murray, Nora Spinks 

An estimated 16% of Canada’s labour force engages in extended or complex mobility related to their work, yet little research attention has been paid on the impacts of this mobility on their families and home communities.

Families, Mobility, and Work was born out of a symposium of the same name held at the University of Prince Edward Island in May 2018, where editors Barbara Neis, Christina Murray, and Nora Spinks sought to fill a recognized gap in the research involving the intersections of family and work. The resulting collection highlights new research and insights on family life, employment, and mobility in the Canadian context.

This important volume brings together diverse voices and perspectives that are engaged in this complex field. More than 40 contributors share their research, stories and reflections, poetry, songs, and a photographic essay to represent the nuanced experiences of the workers and family members involved in and impacted by mobile work. Contributing authors touch on many topics, including the impacts of mobile work on intimate relationships, physical and mental health, parenting, community, and more.

Families, Mobility, and Work is published by Memorial University Press in partnership with The Vanier Institute of the Family, and aims to be engaging and accessible to researchers and casual readers, as a physical volume, eBook, and as a free open access PDF.

Families, Mobility, and Work was launched at a hybrid event on December 13th, 2022 featuring editors Barbara Neis, Christina Murray, and Nora Spinks, and contributors Shiva Nourpanah, Sara Dorow, Doug Lionais, Kevin Ryan, Sharon Roseman, Mandy Penney, and Steven High. If you missed it, you can tune in to the panel discussion below.