If I were to assert that the pressures of working life - some of them heightened by the consequences of economic reform - are having a deleterious effect on family life, many harried parents would readily agree. But a lot of hard-nosed business people, economists and politicians would be sceptical. All they know is that we're more prosperous than ever before.
So where's the hard evidence that may convince them something's amiss in the wonderful world they've made for us?
Well, such evidence as exists has been assembled by a new interest group, Relationships Forum Australia, in its report An Unexpected Tragedy.
Thirty years ago, the average Australian worker spent less than 40 hours a week at work. The vast majority of them were in steady employment, working on weekdays between 8am and 6pm.
This pattern of working allowed most Australians to enjoy consistent patterns of life outside work - to spend predictable time with family and friends and in community activities.
Much has changed since then. It's true that we're not all working longer hours and that average working hours have fallen back a little in the past few years. But average hours are still a lot higher than they were 20 years ago and are near the top among the rich countries.
We have 22 per cent of employees working more than 50 hours a week, which is exceeded only by Japan. Add in the self-employed and the proportion rises to 29 per cent. But it's not just how long we work, but when. We have 30 per cent of the workforce working regularly at weekends, a proportion exceeded only by Italy. More than a third of employees usually work on Saturdays and almost a quarter on Sundays.
Add to that the increase in weekday work at unsocial hours. Just between 1992 and 1997, the proportion of the workforce working any time on weekdays between 6pm and 8am rose from 59 per cent to 64 per cent.
Then there's the degree of job security we enjoy and the ease with which the hours we're required to work can be changed at short notice. We have 27 per cent of the workforce in casual or temporary employment, which is exceeded only by Spain.
The other big change, of course, is the increase in the number of women in paid employment. The proportion of two-income couples with children has risen from 42 per cent in 1981 to 60 per cent.
The report says "there is a compelling case that the growing numbers of Australians who work long hours and at unsocial and unpredictable times sacrifice time with their families and friends".
Most of our social activities remain concentrated on the weekend, so it's not surprising that the 3 million people who work on weekends are able to spend less time with family, friends or clubs and associations. On average, the 2 million Australians who work on Sundays do so for almost a full day, typically losing six hours of family time and social contact, which they don't make up for during the week.
Surveys of time use show that working mothers sacrifice personal care, household and social time in order to minimise time lost with children. Many parents in two-income households adopt a strategy of "shift parenting" - one minds the kids while the other works. But this still requires them to sacrifice time spent together as a couple and with their families.
A government survey has found that half of working parents believe their work causes them to miss out on some of the rewarding aspects of being a parent. Forty per cent say that working leaves them with too little time or energy to be the parent they want to be. Almost 30 per cent say that, because of the requirements of their job, their family time is less enjoyable and more pressured.
We also know the divorce rate has risen consistently since the mid-1980s. And among families with dependent children, the proportion of single-parent families has nearly doubled since 1976 to 22 per cent.
When it comes to happiness and harmony, divorce and separation are just the tip of the iceberg. Relationships can deteriorate a long way and for a long time before parents split up.
The fact that family breakdown has increased at the same time as we've been working longer, more unsocial and more irregular hours doesn't prove the latter caused the former.
The statistical evidence that would establish a causal link between the two doesn't yet exist. The people in charge of our economic miracle don't seem to have regarded it as important to find out one way or the other.
Even so, studies from other English-speaking countries provide plenty of circumstantial evidence. For instance, a Canadian study of two-income families found a 26 per cent increased risk of parental depression where the father works unsocial hours, a 41 per cent increased risk where the mother works unsocial hours and a 65 per cent increased risk where both parents work unsocial hours.
The study also found higher risks of poorer family functioning and hostile or ineffective parenting.
Working unsocial hours makes it harder for employees to maintain family relationships because they miss out on shared family events and routines. Evening and overnight work is particularly stressful for parents, affecting their sleep and increasing depression, as well as disrupting family routines and possibly reducing parent involvement and responsiveness to children.
Among the children of the people studied, there were significantly higher risks of hyperactivity or inattention, physical aggression, emotional disorders and, among two- to three-year-olds, separation anxiety.
What could be done to halt and reverse the trend towards more weekend work and pressure on family life? Plenty. We could bring back penalty rates for work at unsocial hours and re-regulate shopping and trading hours, for openers.
Does that sound radical? It is. Utterly contrary to the spirit of our age. So, in theory, it won't happen until our politicians and their business and economist urgers can be presented with convincing evidence that our economic success is coming at the expense of family life.
In practice, however, the pollies will change their tune just as soon as enough voters make it clear that's what they want.
