How men and their families are coping with the auto sector crash
Rui Matias always thought he’d get by if he lost his job – but that was when he had one. It turns out nothing could have prepared the 54-year old auto sector employee for his layoff in December.
Matias has worked for auto parts producer Martinrea since 1979. He was a supervisor for many years, but recently worked in purchasing. He says the company always survived previous recessions, “but those were nothing like this one,” explains Matias. “Everybody started to fear for their own job and then they started to let people go gradually."
Before Christmas, his plant underwent a general shutdown. Matias was told the layoff would only be temporary, until January 19. Three months later, he’s still awaiting a phone call to go back.
Headed for a collision
The collapsing auto sector is leaving men especially hard hit; they make up the majority of the country’s auto workforce. And in a report by Statistics Canada, men lost nearly two-thirds of the 129,000 Canadian jobs cut in January – 101,000 of those were shed in manufacturing. As a result, their wives and partners may be forced to take on the added responsibility of becoming sole income earners.
Matias is one of hundreds of thousands of Canadians that lost the capacity to provide for his family. He has also lost his sense of purpose.
Ryerson University sociology professor Pamela Sugiman says losing a job can be stressful for a man. “It’s emotionally trying not to be able to fill out the role of breadwinner, not knowing whether they can contribute to the economic welfare of their family,” she says.
The effects of job loss on a man's self-esteem are well documented. But little research has been done on gender role expectations and their effect on men’s physical and psychological health.
According to an article in an Australian psychology journal, men often have to juggle the notion that a “real man” is one who provides for his family with the modern view that they share equality with women, at work and home. The challenge for men is to find new ways of defining themselves as more than just breadwinners.
But for some, this may be difficult.
Bread, but no winners
Rui and Maria Matias have been married for 32 years. Despite what they both describe as a solid relationship, the last few months have been difficult for the couple.
Last September, Maria accepted an early retirement package from the company that employed her for 23 years. The idea was to help raise her six-month-old grandson, Tristan, after the couple’s 30-year-old daughter returned to work.
Neither of them anticipated Rui’s job loss.
Maria says they've been able to save money over the years, but their retirement savings have taken a beating in the ailing financial market, dropping nearly 30 per cent since the fall.
“It’s a matter of priorities. We’ve got to manage the money better and cut down on a few things,” Rui says. But, he adds, “our quality of life is worse than before.”
If Rui is permanently laid-off, both he and Maria are willing to look for other jobs.
Sugiman, however, believes there are fewer opportunities for men who are close to retiring.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a huge amount of investment in retraining a man who is 60-years-old,” she says. “Some may have to enter traditionally feminized service sector work, which isn’t lucrative.”
Despite this, Rui says he’s willing to take a job for $10 or $12 an hour.
Sleepless nights
Besides feeling guilt-ridden about retiring early, Maria finds it difficult to watch her husband’s morale deteriorate.
“Some nights I know he doesn’t sleep and then I can’t sleep. I come downstairs and he’s just pacing. He keeps telling me, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do, this is not life’," says Maria. "I’m trying to be strong for him, but it’s a big problem.”
Sugiman says that some researchers believe the uncertainty surrounding a potential job loss can be more stressful than the job loss itself. Rui agrees.
"I don’t know if I’m going back next month, if they’re going to let me go two months from now," says Matias. "It’s very depressing.”
Matias family photo slideshow
That’s all, folks
Peter Rhebergen, 45, worked as a financial analyst at Ontegra, a division of Canadian auto parts giant Magna. Last October, the company announced it would be shutting down its west-end Toronto plant in the spring.
“Things were never going well,” Rhebergen admits, “but I never thought they were going to close the plant, simply because we were part of such a large company.”
Rhebergen took the announcement in stride even though his wife of five years, Judi Ribeiro, was six-months pregnant.
“I was actually excited because I knew we were having a baby, so I thought it would be great to have all that time off,” says Rhebergen.
The next few months, however, were trying. An increased workload meant less time spent with his wife planning for the arrival of their first child. Then, the company wouldn’t provide Rhebergen with any information about his severance package. Finally, many of his colleagues were offered retention bonuses to stay on with Ontegra until April. Rhebergen only received his at the end of January – two days before his daughter was born.
“At that point I said, ‘forget it.’ I was just fed up,” he recalls. “‘I’m going to stay home with my daughter – she’s going to need me, especially when she’s young’.”
Your loss is my gain
Being laid-off is nothing new for Rhebergen. He lost his job as a result of the recession in the early '90s. A high school drop-out, he saw this situation as an opportunity to go back to school. He got an undergraduate degree and later an MBA.
“From now on, a plant closing will always be a positive,” Rhebergen says. He’s currently working towards his certified general accountant designation.
Sugiman says that young, middle-class men that have been laid off are in a much better position of finding another job; the nature of their work is less taxing on the body. She also says there will be more retraining for employees in their 30s and 40s.
But, Rhebergen admits, it was the couple’s monetary stability (including his wife’s successful bead store and consulting firm ventures) that allowed him to choose to leave when it suited them, rather than when it suited the company.
“Even though my severance package was less than I expected, we’re doing well financially,” says Rhebergen.
The couple, however, says it can only survive on a single income until the end of the year.
But Ribeiro and Rhebergen may be more of an exception than the rule. These days, Sugiman says, it’s very difficult for families to depend on a sole breadwinner. Because women typically earn less than men, the situation becomes even more uncertain for many.
“There will be concern over basic necessities," says Sugiman. "Some people will have to find lower cost housing, groceries and clothing.”
Changing roles
Although many men are now home while their spouses or partners become sole breadwinners, Sugiman doesn’t believe there will be a radical change in traditional roles. “Gender roles and ideologies are very strong and very pervasive,” she says. “Any changes are very gradual.”
In recent decades, men have become much more involved in parenting. But Sugiman says that doesn’t mean they’ve taken on the primary responsibility of managing the home. She adds that women "are still the ones making sure their kids get to the doctor’s appointment on time.”
“It’s one thing to execute tasks, but it’s another thing to take responsibility for [them],” says Sugiman.
But Rhebergen is proud of the part he’s playing in raising his two-month-old daughter.
“It’s not just Judi taking care of the baby. I look after [her] while Judi runs errands. I change diapers and feed with the bottle. The only thing I can’t do is breastfeed,” he says. “I love staying home and being with my daughter.”
Aside from his new role, Rhebergen is also busy with school, fixing up the house and visiting his 85-year-old mother in a nearby nursing home. Despite this, Ribeiro says her husband is less stressed since being home. And for her the extra support has been invaluable.
“I can’t imagine doing this without him,” she says. “I know many women have done this before, but I think having the help at home is much better – it’s incredible.”
Ribeiro plans to ease herself back into work within the next few months. In the meantime, Rhebergen will focus on school and raising his daughter. He’s confident, however, that he’ll be working by the end of the year.
“There’s no question about that," Rhebergen says. "There are a lot of opportunities out there for me.”
