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The Effects of Family-Friendly Policies and Workplace Social Support on Parenting Stress in Employed Mothers Working Nonstandard Hours
Abstract
This study examines whether family-friendly policies (childcare leave, on-site childcare, and flexible working hours) and workplace social support (supervisor and coworker support) in South Korea are directly related to parenting stress among employed mothers with nonstandard work schedules. In addition, this study investigates the moderating role of family-supportive organization perceptions in the aforesaid associations. Data were collected from 223 employed mothers who have nonstandard work schedules with at least one or more children under the age of six. Results show that on-site childcare, flexible working hours, and supervisor support are negatively associated with parenting stress, whereas childcare leave is positively associated with parenting stress. Employed mothers with high family-supportive organization perceptions report low levels of parenting stress when they received high levels of supervisor support or did not take childcare leave. Additionally, employed mothers with low family-supportive organization perceptions report high levels of parenting stress when they did not use on-site childcare. Consequently, our findings indicate that employed mothers’ greater family-supportive organization perceptions are key factor reducing their parenting stress when they are limited to use family-friendly policies. Implications are discussed in terms of the importance of work-family intervention to the work-family balance among mothers working nonstandard hours.
... Consequently, this discrepancy leads to different level of parenting stress among employed mothers with nonstandard work schedules between Asian and Western countries. In South Korea (Korea hereafter) in particular, employed mothers working nonstandard hours face greater work-family challenges, due to strong patriarchal social norms and the presence of greater gender inequality in the workplace than appears in other countries (Hwang, 2018). Therefore, Korean employed mothers who work nonstandard hours experience role overload as a worker and caregiver, which leads to greater parenting stress. ...
... In particular, mothers' daily parenting stress tends to increase as children move from infancy to early childhood (Crnic & Low, 2002). Because employed Korean mothers who have young children struggle to manage the demands of work and parenting in their daily lives, this study utilized PDH to indicate parenting stress (Hwang, 2018). ...
... This study used data from the Survey of Employed Mothers with Nonstandard Work Schedules conducted in Korea between June and September 2011 (Hwang, 2018). This data set includes data from 240 employed mothers in dual-earner families: who lived in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Chungcheong-do, who worked nonstandard hours and had at least one or more children under the age of six. ...
This study examined the effects of supervisor and coworker support on parenting stress among employed mothers working nonstandard hours in South Korea. In addition, this study investigated the mediating role of family-supportive organization perception on the above associations. Path analysis was applied to data collected from 223 Korean mothers who worked nonstandard hours and had at least one child under the age of six. The results showed that supervisor support was inversely associated with parenting stress. However, coworker support was not significantly associated with parenting stress. Family-supportive organization perception mediated the association between supervisor support and parenting stress. Consequently, the supervisor plays a key role in establishing a family-friendly workplace culture, which leads to an alleviation of the burden of parenting among employed mothers with nonstandard work schedules in Korean organizational contexts, which are characterized as a vertical and hierarchical structure. In response to these findings, researchers and policy makers should find a way to reduce the negative effects of maternal nonstandard work schedules on child and family well-being in diverse contexts to promote social well-being.
... Aile dostu örgüt kültürü: Örgütlerin aileyi destekleyen, çalışanların çeşitli ihtiyaçlarına duyarlı bir örgüt iklimine sahip olması çalışanların iş ve aile yaşamlarını dengede tutmalarına yardımcı olmaktadır. Aile destekleyici örgüt algısı düşük olan çalışan anneler, iş yerinde çocuk bakımı hizmetinden faydalanamadıklarında yüksek düzeyde ebeveynlik stresi yaşadıklarını belirtmiştir (Hwang, 2019). ...
... Tespit edilen bir diğer bulgu, çocuklar için ek ödemeler, kreş ya da yaşlı bakımı gibi resmi bakım desteklerinin bulunmayışıdır. Hâlbuki iş yerinde kreş ve esnek saat uygulamaları ile çalışan annelerin ebeveynlik stresleri arasında negatif bir ilişki tespit edilmiştir (Hwang, 2019). Bir diğer çalışmada çocuk bakımı desteklerinin, babalardaki depresif semptomları azalttığı tespit edilmiştir (Perry-Jenkins vd., 2017). ...
... Dua diantaranya yaitu pemberlakuan aturan organisasi yang spesifik membahas pembagian waktu untuk kehidupan profesional dan memiliki kegiatan kantor yang melibatkan anggota keluarga (Žnidaršic & Bernik, 2021). Organisasi dengan peraturan ramah pada keseimbangan kerjakeluarga ini secara berkelanjutan tercatat memiliki karyawan yang lebih rendah mengalami stres (Hwang, 2019). ...
... Meski demikian, diperlukan proses asesmen yang komprehensif untuk mendapat serangkaian aturan untuk menyeimbangkan dua hal ini. Proses yang kompleks tersebut turut berdampak pada organisasi yang seringkali melewatkan aturan mengenai keseimbangan kerja-keluarga dan sulit diimplementasikan (Hwang, 2019;Kim et al., 2023). ...
Masa pandemi telah membawa banyak perubahan dari sisi kehidupan sosial, profesional, dan personal wanita karier yang menarik untuk diteliti dalam sudut pandang psikologi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memahami pengalaman wanita karier terkait dengan keseimbangan kerja keluarga kurun waktu pandemi Covid-19 antara tahun 2021-2022. Metode kualitatif fenomenologi dan analisis tematik diterapkan pada penelitian ini. Pengambilan data menggunakan teknik wawancara mendalam serta kuesioner terbuka. Partisipan dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 51 pekerja wanita yang mengisi kuesioner terbuka dan ditindaklanjuti dengan wawancara semi terstruktur pada empat partisipan dengan kriteria yang sama. Partisipan berusia antara 18 dan 44 tahun, menikah, memiliki anak yang masih bersekolah, dan bekerja di perusahaan swasta atau publik. Temuan studi ini berfokus pada dinamika yang muncul pada wanita karier. Selama masa pandemi, wanita karier memiliki tiga faktor internal yang terkait dengan keseimbangan kerja-keluarga, yaitu motivasi, emosi, dan konflik internal. Guna meminimalisir hal tersebut, wanita karier membutuhkan faktor eksternal yang terdiri dari hubungan interpersonal yang baik dan dukungan kerja materi maupun non-materi. Implikasi penelitian ini berada pada level keluarga dan organisasi.
... 5 Availability of family-friendly supports (for example, flexible working arrangements) has been associated with reduced parenting stress. 6 Conversely, negative perceptions of workplace family support have been associated with poor physical health, depression and increased absenteeism. 7 Additionally, working conditions (for example, psychosocial factors) may affect preconception health practices, pregnancy-related conditions, fetal health and development, reproductive health, and pregnancy outcomes. ...
Objective:
To investigate the availability of resources at an Australian university workplace to support the health, wellbeing, and transition to parenthood of female employees working during the preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum periods. Type of program or service: Workplace health promotion for female employees of reproductive age.
Methods:
A survey of female employees aged 18-45 years evaluated participant health practices, availability of work and parenting supports, and access to health and wellbeing resources in the workplace. Additionally, an environmental assessment was completed by employees with a knowledge of local healthy lifestyle supports and a minimum of 2 years' employment. The assessment documented site characteristics and availability of wellbeing facilities across 10 campuses.
Results:
There were 241 valid survey responses. Of 221 respondents to a question about workplace support, 76% (n = 168) indicated that the workplace should play a role in supporting the transition to parenthood and in health promotion, with 64.1% of 223 participants disagreeing with the statement "my health is not the responsibility of the university". Both the survey and environmental assessment revealed that access to parenting resources to support employee health and wellbeing were suboptimal.
Lessons learnt:
There is a misalignment between the needs of female employees working during these health-defining life stages, and the availability of resources to support those needs. Regulatory guidance may be required to navigate resource gaps within the work environment and address factors impacting the health and wellbeing of employees of reproductive age.
... Partnered working mothers were known to have more excellent mental health than sole working mothers. Working mothers who perceive their workplace as being family-friendly reported having low levels of parental stress (Hwang, 2019). Contrarily, working mothers who regard their organizations as having low support for family matters tend to have significant levels of parenting stress when they do not utilize onsite daycare. ...
p style="text-align: justify;">The current study investigates the psychometric characteristics of the Social Support Scale as an instrument for assessing social support for academics. The original version of the scale was adapted and translated into Indonesian and was administered to academics in Indonesia through a google form. The data were then analyzed to investigate the reliability, construct validity, and structure of factors of the instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis confirms that the three-dimension model was the best model regarding the internal structure. Our findings also advocate the Social Support Scale as a valid and reliable tool for assessing social support in Indonesian academics. Thus, it can be employed to examine lecturers’ social support level which helps the universities to build a supportive working climate, as well as improve the relationship quality between employees.</p
... Despite the positive impact of employment, job demands and lack of workplace support can negatively affect the health and well-being of employees across different occupations (Kim et al., 2020;Maglalang et al., 2021;Matthews et al., 2014;Morris, 2014). Specifically, family supportive supervisors (FSS) have been found to improve employee sleep and physical health (Crain et al., 2014;Earle & Heymann, 2011;Hwang, 2019). One study found that workers with managers who were more open to, and more creative in addressing, work-family balance had lower cardiovascular risk factors and slept more hours (Berkman et al., 2010). ...
Employed parents of children with disabilities and serious health conditions report high levels of stress increasing the level of risk for sleep and physical health problems. This study examines the influence of personal, family, and work supports on sleep and health. Conservation of resources theory and the continuum of dependent care model frame the conceptual development of this exploratory study. Using secondary analysis of the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce, employed parents providing disability care were compared to those providing care to children without disabilities to determine how personal, family, and workplace resources affect sleep and physical health. Bivariate and multivariate tests revealed organizational support was the strongest predictor of sleep and physical health problems. Exceptional care demands were associated with poorer sleep and physical health. Job autonomy and coworker support moderated sleep and physical health outcomes for employed parents of children with disabilities. Practice implications include developing family supportive organizational cultures and interventions that aid employed parents with exceptional care demands. Occupational social workers can assist ensuring organizational health promotion and prevention initiatives include targeted interventions. Future research should examine the long-term effects of exceptional care demands and impact of workplace initiatives.
... Non-standard working hours involving work hours outside typical or standard working hours has become very common worldwide [14]. According to a survey by the Korean government, around 15% of all employed workers were engaged in nonstandard work schedules in 2011, which was similar to other Western countries [15]. Long working hours can be an important cause of time scarcity or "time poverty" [16,17]. ...
This study investigates whether workers with long working hours as well as shift workers perceive higher unmet dental care needs, and whether there is a gender difference in the associations. We used the Korea Health Panel (2009, 2011–2014) involving 20,451 person-wave observations from 5567 individuals. Perceived unmet dental care needs was defined when the participants reported that they perceived a need for dental treatment or check-up but had failed to receive dental care services during the past year. Fixed effects logit models were applied to examine how changes in weekly working hours or shift work status were linked to changes in perceived unmet dental needs within each individual. Among participants, 15.9–24.7% reported perceived unmet dental needs and the most common reason was time scarcity. We found that long working hours (>52 h/week) was significantly associated with perceived unmet dental needs due to time scarcity in both men (OR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.13–1.78) and women (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.03–1.79) compared workers working 40–52 h per week. Shift work was also a significant risk factor, but only in women (OR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.06–2.32). These findings provide evidence for labor policies to reduce working hours in order to improve access to dental care services.
... Wanita karir memiliki kecenderungan harapan yang tinggi pada keluarga dalam mendukung profesi yang dia lakukan terutama dukungan dari suami, sebelum ia mengambil tanggung jawab dalam pemenuhan kebutuhan belajarnya. Temuan dalam penelitian ini konsisten dengan penelitian sebelumnya bahwa dukungan keluarga yang lebih besar bagi ibu yang bekerja merupakan faktor kunci dalam mengurangi stres pengasuhan yang terbatas (Hwang, 2018). Oleh karena itu pemahaman gender dalam keluarga dirasa sangat diperlukan. ...
Modernisasi dan globalisasi mengharuskan wanita karir mampu membagi peran baik dalam urusan keluarga maupun dalam karirnya. Upaya yang dapat dilakukan oleh wanita karir guna menghadapi berbagai perubahan yang terjadi salah satunya yakni belajar mandiri. Belajar mandiri atau dikenal dengan self-directed learning (SDL) merupakan suatu proses dimana individu mengambil inisiatif dengan atau tanpa bantuan orang lain dalam memenuhi kebutuhan belajarnya. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menentukan dan mendeskripsikan pengaruh dimensi person dan konteks terhadap dimensi proses belajar mandiri pada wanita karir. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode survei melalui pendekatan kuantitatif dengan populasi sebanyak 4024 wanita karir dengan sampel 100 orang (α=0,1) yang diambil secara simple random sampling di sepuluh Kecamatan di Kota Tasikmalaya. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada Bulan April hingga Oktober 2019. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa person dan konteks berpengaruh sebesar 65,8% terhadap proses belajar mandiri wanita karir di Kota Tasikmalaya. Dukungan Konteks pada proses belajar mandiri lebih tinggi pengaruhnya dibandingkan dengan kemampuan personal wanita karir. Wanita karir yang memiliki kemampuan personal yang bagus jika didukung oleh konteks yang memadai akan membuat proses belajar mandiri wanita karir optimal dalam meningkatkan profesionalisme kerja dan ketahanan keluarganya. Dukungan konteks ini khususnya dukungan keluarga, kebijakan organisasi, dan kebijakan pemerintah. Rekomendasi atas penelitian ini yakni: a) perlu adanya dukungan dan kerjasama dari pihak keluarga, instansi dan pemerintah dalam memfasilitasi proses belajar mandiri yang dilakukan oleh wanita karir; b) perlu adanya penataan serius terkait kebijakan instansi dan pemerintah yang mendukung peran wanita karir sebagai pekerja maupun sebagai ibu dan istri.
... Previous research on work-related stress and work-life balance has considered childcare provision in support of females and younger parents at workplace. For instance, Hwang (2018) argues that working mothers receive lower parenting stress when employed by family-supportive organisations. Likewise, Perry-Jenkins et al. (2016) demonstrates that shift flexibility and organisational childcare support correlate well with the reduction of depressive symptoms among young parents. ...
In light of continuous growth of family tourism hotels should consider providing childcare to family guests. Very few hotels have however embraced this market opportunity and the determinants of childcare provision in hotels remain poorly understood. This paper contributes to knowledge by exploring the business feasibility of providing childcare in hotels. Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, i.e. family guests (n = 20) and managers (n = 9), in UK hotels establish the numerous benefits of childcare provision. They also reveal such barriers of implementation as increased operational costs, lack of adequate staffing, children’s safety considerations and seasonality of family tourism demand. To enhance feasibility of childcare provision, hotels should collaborate with each other, but also with local nurseries, to resolve the issues of fluctuated demand and staffing. Hotels should further consider extending childcare provision to their own employees and local residents. Policy interventions can facilitate this by offering dedicated financial and training support.
In recent decades, in response to changes in work dynamics, demographics, and technological advancements, organizations have sought to implement practices that facilitate transitions between work and family—so-called work-family practices. Previous research has focused on identifying antecedents for a more positive work-family relationship, employees’ well-being, and positive organizational outcomes. Nevertheless, the development of this research framework over the decades has brought a main conclusion and concern: the availability of these practices is not a measure of organizational success and, to some extent, is dependent on the supportive behaviors of supervisors. To address the growing interest in this topic, a systematic review was conducted to qualitatively analyze the relationship between work-family practices and supervisor support, as well as their subsequent impact on employees and organizations. Following a PRISMA methodology, this review examined 39 articles (40 studies) and corroborated the positive and essential role of supervisor support in enhancing the effectiveness of work-family practices. The findings further clarified its influence on employee well-being and health, workplace attitudes (e.g., commitment, job satisfaction, turnover intention), and the work-family relationship (e.g., conflict and enrichment). Consequently, supervisor support proved imperative for employees and organizational contexts to benefit from work–family practices, going beyond their provision by organizations. Therefore, this research is the first systematic review focusing on recognizing and confirming the importance of work-family practices and supervisor support as foundational components of a family-supportive work environment. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research paths, will be discussed.
Scholars have extensively used the job demands–resources model to explain the dynamics underlying work engagement and proposed several versions of the model. However, in theoretical terms, nonwork elements have not been incorporated into the model. This study investigated the roles of home demands and resources in the model by testing the boost/buffer hypotheses for work engagement from the perspective of the work–home interface. We demonstrated that (1) the demands of a domain boost the positive impact of resources drawn from another domain on work engagement, (2) the resources of a domain buffer the negative impact of demands derived from another domain on work engagement; and (3) the buffering and boosting effects of home demands and resources impact work engagement. We conducted a diary study on a group of coffee shop employees in Ireland. The results partially supported the proposed hypotheses but nevertheless indicated support for the cross‐domain boost/buffer hypotheses with regard to work engagement. The proposed model may serve as a theoretical foundation for research on issues related to the impact of work and nonwork domains on work engagement.
Organizations utilize various options to help employees reduce work-life conflict, from formal family-friendly benefits to non-institutionalized measures. Although these forms of organizational support are beneficial in theory, few studies examine the circumstances under which these options could become useful to employees in Asian corporate culture. This study explores how formal and informal supports affect employees’ work-life conflict across companies in Hong Kong. Using a repeated cross-sectional survey with longitudinal design, we find that different combinations of family-friendly policies affirm higher levels of control over working time. However, having control over working time shows little effect as the moderator in reducing work-life conflict, whereas the presence of a supportive supervisor is more important in this scenario. These findings suggest that provision and uptake of family-friendly policies should be coupled with supportive supervisors to create an informative corporate culture and wider social conducts at the workplace, when addressing employee work-life conflict. The findings of the study offer companies in Hong Kong some unique insight into the effectiveness of formal and informal family-friendly practices in fostering a family-supportive work environment. The findings of the study also impact policy debates in Hong Kong by offering concrete recommendations for restructuring the present family-friendly policies and the work environment, and to improve the work-family conflict of Hong Kong employees.
Variable time work is no longer abnormal in the post‐industrial economy and is accelerating due to digitisation and the COVID‐19 pandemic. Previous studies have revealed a causal relationship between working time variability and work–life balance at the individual level; however, there has been less discussion of the role of the institutional context. This study examines the interplay among childcare policy, schedule control, and its relationship with work–life balance. We conducted a multilevel analysis using the European Working Conditions Survey. The analyses revealed that childcare policy has a U‐shaped relationship with work–life balance for female variable time workers without schedule control. In contrast, workers with schedule control and male workers did not have a curvilinear relationship with the outcome. Our analyses imply that sufficient childcare intervention and its interaction with schedule control are necessary to offset the negative effect of childcare services on work–life balance.
Although work-family issues have received nascent attention in the hospitality industry due to their value to stakeholders (e.g., organizations, employees, and their families), the existing literature is not conclusive. And there is a need to seek ways of creating work-family support to help employees balance between work and family spheres. Taking a systematic review approach aided by structured synthesis and meta-analysis across disciplines, this research provides a comprehensive conceptual model of work-family support literature. The model includes formal work-family support policies, supporting theories, and outcomes on multiple levels, thus representing the relational mechanisms of key variables. By doing so, this study presents the current status of hospitality literature. It offers valuable future research avenues: increased academic attention to a need for more research on work-family support policy in the hospitality industry, a call for studies on childcare policies, and a comprehensive perspective of work-family issues by taking into account individual differences of employees, various countries as a research context, and far-reaching outcomes of work-family support policies.
Entrepreneurship is a fundamental part of any national economy. In sea-related economies, entrepreneurship is developed using the maritime resource. In the case of Croatia, tourism, and in its component nautical tourism, are extremely important for the regional and local economy, its survival and development. Given the importance of nautical tourism, especially the marina business and all activities related to marinas, including charter, authors have conducted several studies including this one. As shown by the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, which was conducted during the development of the first strategy for the development of nautical tourism (2006), the conditions and circumstances of Croatian coastal sites, which relate to the marina business, differ significantly from north to south. The objective of this research was, considering the difference in development of these localities, to investigate
and to compare Croatian and German model of using sea as a resource. The aim was to answer the question why Croatian entrepreneurship is significantly less developed than Germany, at least in the part of the state-entrepreneurship relationship. Besides desk research, method of analysis was used to investigate that problem, as well as method of comparison. Business data, as well as other detailed information, was collected in collaboration with Kroeslin marina (Germany). Besides that, two German laws that come as a result of the German model were analysed. To conclude on the performance of the Croatian model which uses only concession model, criterion comparison of German and Croatian model was made. In this way interesting results were obtained. Based on these research results, it was concluded that Croatia still does not have a developed model and system for the use of resources, the sea, which would support the development of marinas, as well as entrepreneurship in general. Therefore, cooperation with Germany, as well as with other developed EU economies, is of special importance for the development of the Croatian economy.
Despite the prevalence of the informal sector in many developing countries, the care challenges of workers in this sector remain largely unexplored. This article contributes to closing this research gap by exploring the work–family fit of women working in the informal sector in South Africa using data from a nationally representative survey. The results reveal that like their formal sector counterparts, women working in the informal sector have poor work–family fit and hence require similar support and attention. The article highlights the underlying factors and concludes by underscoring the need for context-specific policies and further research.
We examined whether using paid leave is directly linked to employed mothers’ depressive symptoms. In addition, we examined the moderating effect of employed mothers’ perceived fairness of division of household labor (housework and childcare) on the above association. We collected data from 92 employed mothers who were eligible to take paid leave and returned to the workplace after childbirth in Upstate New York State area. Using hierarchical regression analyses, we found that employed mothers’ paid leave use was not significantly associated with their levels of depressive symptoms. However, perceived fairness of division of household labor moderated the above association. Specifically, when employed mothers took paid leave, they reported lower levels of depressive symptoms than those who did not take leave when they perceived that the division of household labor was fair to them.
Purpose
The objective of the study is to identify the themes of “family friendly practices” and to perform a literature review. The research aims to identify the emerging trends in the area of “family friendly practices” by carrying out an exhaustive literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
The study synthesizes the literature between the years 2010 and 2019. First of all, 150 research articles were identified by keyword search, bibliography and citation search, out of which 57 research articles were selected on the basis of the most sound theoretical background and maximum literature contribution. The citation analysis method was performed on these studies in order to study the journals, authors by using Google Scholar, ResearchGate, the international database Science Citation Index and SCImago Journal Ranking.
Findings
The author citation count shows that the research topic is still getting recognition and the research in this area is increasing. The finding of the research is that the current research in family-friendly practices has focused mainly on seven topics: availability and usability of family-friendly policy, job satisfaction, organizational performance, supervisor or manager support, work–life conflict, employee turnover employee retention and women’s employment.
Originality/value
The study may provide valuable inputs to the HRD practitioners, managers, research scholars, to understand the recent trends in the field of family-friendly policy. As per the best knowledge of the author, this is the first study on family-friendly practices using citation analysis.
Contemporary norms of fatherhood emphasize the dual demands of breadwinning and daily involvement in child care. Recent qualitative research suggests that working-class fathers find it difficult to meet these demands due to job instability and workplace inflexibility. Yet little quantitative research has examined how employment characteristics are related to fathers’ parenting stress, in comparison with mothers’. Analyses using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,165) show that unemployment and workplace inflexibility, but not overwork, multiple jobs, odd jobs, and nonstandard hours, are related to more parenting stress for fathers. Although these two factors are also related to more parenting stress for mothers, nuanced gender differences emerged: these are better predictors than other parental or child characteristics for fathers only, and the effect size of workplace inflexibility is greater for fathers than mothers. In sum, securing a job with flexible schedule is central to reducing fathers’ parenting stress.
This study investigates the relationship between family-friendly policies and organizational performance, voluntary turnover rate, and labor productivity, using the Korea Workplace Panel Survey data from 2005 to 2009. The sample of this study consists of 158 public organizations in South Korea. This study uses panel data analysis to estimate the family-friendly policy effect. The result of the analysis suggests that the number of family-friendly policies is positively associated with labor productivity in public organizations. However, the number of family-friendly policies does not reduce the turnover rate. In addition, unionization has shown to decrease turnover rate and is positively associated with labor productivity in public organizations. The proportion of female workers has a positive relationship with turnover rate in organizations.
This paper provides a comprehensive review of empirical evidence linking parental nonstandard work schedules to four main child developmental outcomes: internalizing and externalizing problems, cognitive development, and body mass index. We evaluated the studies based on theory and methodological rigor (longitudinal data, representative samples, consideration of selection and information bias, confounders, moderators, and mediators). Of 23 studies published between 1980 and 2012 that met the selection criteria, 21 reported significant associations between nonstandard work schedules and an adverse child developmental outcome. The associations were partially mediated through parental depressive symptoms, low quality parenting, reduced parent-child interaction and closeness, and a less supportive home environment. These associations were more pronounced in disadvantaged families and when parents worked such schedules full time. We discuss the nuance, strengths, and limitations of the existing studies, and propose recommendations for future research.
Evidence is presented that (a) employees in an organization form global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being, (b) such perceived organizational support reduces absenteeism, and (c) the relation between perceived organizational support and absenteeism is greater for employees with a strong exchange ideology than those with a weak exchange ideology. These findings support the social exchange view that employees’ commitment to the organization is strongly influenced by their perception of the organization’s commitment to them. Perceived organizational support is assumed to increase the employee’s affective attachment to the organization and his or her expectancy that greater effort toward meeting organizational goals will be rewarded. The extent to which these factors increase work effort would depend on the strength of the employee’s exchange ideology favoring the trade of work effort for material and symbolic benefits.
This contribution develops a model that explicates the origin and function of dynamic collectivism in Korean business organizations. Dynamic collectivism is a heuristic device, capturing dynamic and conflicting features embedded in Korean corporate culture. Specifically, we show how cultural legacy, founder leadership and social climate lead to dynamic collectivism. Next, we analyze dynamic collectivism in terms of multiple cultural dimensions, metaphors and behavioural norms. Finally, we show how dynamic collectivism influences business practices such as strategy formulation, organizational design and human resource management: also, we discuss how dynamic collectivism could change in the near future along with rapid organizational transformations and globalization.
This study (a) compared the effect of perceived supervisor support (PSS) and perceived coworker support (PCS) on work attitudes; (b) examined the moderating role of gender, tenure, and job type in the support—attitude relationship; and (c) tested a theoretical model hypothesizing relationships among PCS, PSS, perceived organizational support, and work attitudes. In a meta-analysis, PSS was found to be more strongly related to job satisfaction (.52 vs. .37), affective commitment (.48 vs. .28), and turnover intention (—.36 vs. —.19) than was PCS. Further, job type (customer-contact vs. non-customer-contact jobs) was found to be a significant moderator. Finally, the proposed model received empirical support. Different forms of support were closely related to work attitudes and to each other. Implications for research on social support are discussed.
(from the chapter) provide a comprehensive overview of the methodological issues encountered in cross-cultural [psychological] research / focus on data sets that are comparative in nature / most studies of this type involve data from at least 2 cultural groups, but some studies are monocultural / we see the process of conducting cross-cultural research as composed of 3 important steps / describes specific issues . . . such as quasi-experimentation / deals with the analysis of cross cultural data / reviews the main issues in the methodology and analysis of 4 common types of cross-cultural studies / encourage cross-cultural researchers to place more emphasis on methods and data analysis to improve the effectiveness of their studies / dispel the myth that methodological and statistical sophistication is an obstacle or a distraction in the research enterprise (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)
This study investigated 3 broad classes of individual-differences variables (job-search motives, competencies, and constraints) as predictors of job-search intensity among 292 unemployed job seekers. Also assessed was the relationship between job-search intensity and reemployment success in a longitudinal context. Results show significant relationships between the predictors employment commitment, financial hardship, job-search self-efficacy, and motivation control and the outcome job-search intensity. Support was not found for a relationship between perceived job-search constraints and job-search intensity. Motivation control was highlighted as the only lagged predictor of job-search intensity over time for those who were continuously unemployed. Job-search intensity predicted Time 2 reemployment status for the sample as a whole, but not reemployment quality for those who found jobs over the study's duration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In a sample of 55 dual-earner families with children aged 8 to 14 in which the mothers are registered nurses regularly working either day shifts (typically 7: 00 a. m. to 3: 00 p. m.) or evening shifts (typically 3: 00 p. m. to 11: 00 p. m.), we estimated the within-couple relationship between the wife's work variables (i.e., work shift, work hours, and the interaction between work shift and work hours) and each spouse's work-family conflict, psychological distress, and marital-role quality. Wives' work variables predicted their own work-family conflict and psychological distress and showed a trend to predict their husbands' work-family conflict.
This paper examines the concept of organizational culture using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) in organizations from six different industries in Canada and South Korea. The Competing Values Framework (Quinn and Rohrbaugh, 1983; Quinn, 1988) is used to compare organizational cultures of similar firms and their HRM in the two countries. The data reported are from thirty-nine Canadian and forty Korean organizations. The findings show that, even though some aspects of organizational culture are related and can be attributed to the differences between the national cultures (Korean versus Canada), industry and contextual variables do contribute to a significant extent to the perception of organizational culture. In addition, the analysis reported here shows that other organizational aspects that are closely related to organizational culture (organizational climate and leadership) have significant associations with national cultures as well as industry and contextual factors. The aspects of organizational context under study included size, age and ownership of the firms, uncertainty and unpredictability of the environment, organizational support for training and unionization. Implications of the study for cross-national research, and for the use of competing Values Framework are discussed.
This meta-analysis examines relationships between work-family support policies, which are policies that provide support for dependent care responsibilities, and employee outcomes by developing a conceptual model detailing the psychological mechanisms through which policy availability and use relate to work attitudes. Bivariate results indicated that availability and use of work-family support policies had modest positive relationships with job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intentions to stay. Further, tests of differences in effect sizes showed that policy availability was more strongly related to job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intentions to stay than was policy use. Subsequent meta-analytic structural equation modeling results indicated that policy availability and use had modest effects on work attitudes, which were partially mediated by family-supportive organization perceptions and work-to-family conflict, respectively. Additionally, number of policies and sample characteristics (percent women, percent married-cohabiting, percent with dependents) moderated the effects of policy availability and use on outcomes. Implications of these findings and directions for future research on work-family support policies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Individual differences in parenting stress, experienced by most parents as those aversive feelings that are associated with the demands of the parenting role, have been shown to be an important aspect of parent, child, and family functioning. A definition of parenting stress is provided, along with its application to more general stress models. Three implicit hypotheses in much of the past research on parenting stress and behavior are evaluated: (a) parenting stress is causally related to poor parenting, (b) poor parenting is causally related to problems in child adjustment, and (c) parenting behavior mediates the associations between parenting stress and child adjustment. In addition, three questions for future research regarding within-family and within-Individual variation in parenting stress are raised: (a) Is parenting stress genetically influenced? (b) Do mothers and fathers show similar or different levels of parenting stress? (c) Is parenting stress “child specific” within families?
Examined relations between adults' role strain, anxiety, and depression and 5 aspects of role-related experience: commitment, demands, satisfactions, evaluations, and social support for role-related activities. Participants were 102 men (mean age 34.6 yrs) and 194 women (mean age 32.4 yrs), all employed, in dual-earner marriages, and parenting a preschool child. High commitment to roles was not uniformly associated with greater well-being (e.g., a component of work commitment reflecting absorption in work was linked with a higher role strain in men). Diverse sources of support were linked with women's psychological states, but men's well-being was responsive chiefly to wives' support. Age and role-tenure had relatively little impact on the relations between role-related experiences and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors examined the direct and indirect effects of organizational policies and practices that are supportive of family responsibilities on work–family conflict and psychological, physical, and behavioral measures of strain. Survey data were gathered at 45 acute-care facilities from 398 health professionals who had children aged 16 years or younger at home. Supportive practices, especially flexible scheduling and supportive supervisors, had direct positive effects on employee perceptions of control over work and family matters. Control perceptions, in turn, were associated with lower levels of work–family conflict, job dissatisfaction, depression, somatic complaints, and blood cholesterol. These results suggest that organizations can take steps that can increase employees' control over family responsibilities and that this control might help employees better manage conflicting demands of work and family life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Using organizational support theory as an overarching framework, we investigated the moderating roles of family supportive organization perceptions (FSOP) and childcare satisfaction on the relationship between type of childcare use (on-site vs. external) on one hand, and work engagement and job satisfaction on the other hand. We tested study hypotheses using data collected from staff and faculty members from a large public university in the Southern United States. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that, compared with external childcare users, employees using on-site childcare were less engaged in and satisfied with their jobs when they (a) perceived their organization to be unsupportive toward their family life and (b) were dissatisfied with their childcare provider. Organizational implications emphasize the importance of integrating any on-site childcare program with a climate that openly acknowledges and cares for employees' family-related responsibilities and providing high-quality childcare services to employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
We examine professionals’ use of telecommuting, perceptions of psychological job control, and boundary management strategies. We contend that work–family research should distinguish between descriptions of flexibility use (formal telecommuting policy user, amount of telecommuting practiced) and how the individual psychologically experiences flexibility (perceived control over where, when, and how one works, boundary management strategies regarding separation between work and family roles). Survey and interview data were collected from 245 professionals in two Fortune 500 firms with telework policies. Employees who perceived greater psychological job control had significantly lower turnover intentions, family–work conflict, and depression. Boundary management strategies higher on integration were positively related to family–work conflict. Although we found a main effect for formal policy use and higher depression, an interaction existed where women users with children had lower depression. Formal use positively related to supervisor performance ratings. Future research should distinguish between descriptive use and psychological experiences of flexibility.
Although the concept of family-supportive organization perceptions has been well received in the literature, the actual construct has been relatively understudied. In the present study, we accomplish two goals. First using confirmatory factor analysis, we report on the validation of an abbreviated six-item measure of family-supportive organization perceptions that demonstrates limited measurement error. Second, we link role theory, social support resource theory, and the direct effects model of social support, to suggest that the way in which family-supportive organization perceptions affect work-family conflict is via experiences of domain overload. Contrary to the direct effects model of social support, family-supportive organization perceptions do not differentially impact work and family overload. Consistent with social support resource theory though, the effects of family-supportive organization perceptions on work-to-family and family to-work conflict are fully mediated via work and family overload (respectively). Avenues for future research incorporating family-supportive organization perceptions are also considered.
This article uses meta-analysis to develop a model integrating research on relationships between employee perceptions of general and work-family-specific supervisor and organizational support and work-family conflict. Drawing on 115 samples from 85 studies comprising 72,507 employees, we compared the relative influence of 4 types of workplace social support to work-family conflict: perceived organizational support (POS); supervisor support; perceived organizational work-family support, also known as family-supportive organizational perceptions (FSOP); and supervisor work-family support. Results show work-family-specific constructs of supervisor support and organization support are more strongly related to work-family conflict than general supervisor support and organization support, respectively. We then test a mediation model assessing the effects of all measures at once and show positive perceptions of general and work-family-specific supervisor indirectly relate to work-family conflict via organizational work-family support. These results demonstrate that work-family-specific support plays a central role in individuals' work-family conflict experiences.
This study examined organizational levers that impact work-family experiences, participant health, and subsequent turnover. Using a sample of 179 women returning to full-time work 4 months after childbirth, we examined the associations of 3 job resources (job security, skill discretion, and schedule control) with work-to-family enrichment and the associations of 2 job demands (psychological requirements and nonstandard work schedules) with work-to-family conflict. Further, we considered subsequent impact of work-to-family conflict and enrichment on women's health (physical and mental health) 8 months after women returned to work and the impact of health on voluntary turnover 12 months after women returned to work. Having a nonstandard work schedule was directly and positively related to conflict, whereas schedule control buffered the effect of psychological requirements on conflict. Skill discretion and job security, both job resources, directly and positively related to enrichment. Work-to-family conflict was negatively related to both physical and mental health, but work-to-family enrichment positively predicted only physical health. Physical health and mental health both negatively influenced turnover. We discuss implications and opportunities for future research.
This research provides a theory-driven approach to study the relationship between the availability of work—family policies and family-supportive organization perceptions (FSOPs) and supervisory support perceptions (SSPs). At-risk family characteristics, which are characteristics that potentially affect work—family conflict such as a young child in the home, are investigated as a moderator of the proposed relationships. Findings substantiate positive relationships between the availability of work—family policies and FSOPs and SSPs; in addition, at-risk family characteristics are found to strengthen the relationship between work—family policies and SSPs. FSOPs and SSPs are also examined as mediators of the relationship between work—family policies and employee outcomes of intention to turnover, job satisfaction, and job burnout. Findings partially support FSOPs and SSPs as having mediating influences in the work—family policies and work attitudes relationship.
Data from two studies assessed the effects of nonstandard work schedules on perceived family well-being and daily stressors. Study 1, using a sample of employed, married adults aged 25 - 74 (n = 1,166) from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States, showed that night work was associated with perceptions of greater marital instability, negative family-work, and work-family spillover than weekend or daytime work. In Study 2, with a subsample of adults (n = 458) who participated in the National Study of Daily Experiences, weekend workers reported more daily work stressors than weekday workers. Several sociodemographic variables were tested as moderators. Both studies demonstrated that nonstandard work schedules place a strain on working, married adults at the global and daily level.
The importance of major life stress and minor daily hassles associated with parenting was studied in 74 mothers and their 5-year-old children. Of interest were the relative and absolute contributions of the stress factors to indices of parental, child, and family functioning. Mothers completed questionnaires regarding stressors, aspects of parenting and individual psychological status, social support, family functioning, and child behavioral status. Mother-child pairs were also observed in interactions in a laboratory setting. Analyses indicated that life stress and parenting daily hassles significantly predicted aspects of child, parent, and family status. Hassles, however, proved to be a more powerful stress construct. Further analyses indicated that mothers' social support moderated the influence of hassles on indices of maternal behavior. The results are discussed in relation to the potential for minor parenting stresses to influence microsocial processes within parent-child relationships and contribute to dysfunction in children and families.
In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.
This study examined the contributions of organizational level norms about work requirements and social relations, and work-family conflict, to job stress and subjective health symptoms, controlling for Karasek's job demand-control-support model of the psychosocial work environment, in a sample of 1,346 employees from 56 firms in the Norwegian food and beverage industry. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that organizational norms governing work performance and social relations, and work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, explained significant amounts of variance for job stress. The cross-level interaction between work performance norms and work-to-family conflict was also significantly related to job stress. Work-to-family conflict was significantly related to health symptoms, but family-to-work conflict and organizational norms were not.
An economy that operates 24/7-as ours now does-imposes extraordinary burdens on workers. Two-fifths of all employed Americans work mostly during evenings, nights, weekends, or on rotating shifts outside the traditional 9-to-5 work day. The pervasiveness of nonstandard work schedules has become a significant social phenomenon, with important implications for the health and well-being of workers and their families. In Working in a 24/7 Economy, Harriet Presser looks at the effects of nonstandard work schedules on family functioning and shows how these schedules disrupt marriages and force families to cobble together complex child-care arrangements that should concern us all. The number of hours Americans work has received ample attention, but the issue of which hours-or days-Americans work has received much less scrutiny. Working in a 24/7 Economy provides a comprehensive overview of who works nonstandard schedules and why. Presser argues that the growth in women’s employment, technological change, and other demographic changes over the past thirty years gave rise to the growing demand for late-shift and weekend employment in the service sector. She also demonstrates that most people who work these hours do so primarily because it is a job requirement, rather than a choice based on personal considerations. Presser shows that the consequences of working nonstandard schedules often differ for men and women since housework and child-rearing remain assigned primarily to women even when both spouses are employed. As with many other social problems, the burden of these schedules disproportionately affects the working poor, reflecting their lack of options in the workplace and adding to their disadvantage. Presser also documents how such work arrangements have created a new rhythm of daily life within many American families, including those with two earners and absent fathers. With spouses often not at home together in the evenings or nights, and parents often not at home with their children at such times, the relatively new concept of “home-time” has emerged as primary concern for families across the nation. Employing a wealth of empirical data, Working in a 24/7 Economy shows that nonstandard work schedules are both highly prevalent among American families and generate a level of complexity in family functioning that demands greater public attention. Presser makes a convincing case for expanded research and meaningful policy initiatives to address this growing social phenomenon. © 2003 by Russell Sage Foundation. First papercover edition 2005. All rights reserved.
Although the implications of nonstandard work schedules (work outside of the typical 9 – 5, Monday – Friday schedule) for individuals and families are increasingly well understood, it is unclear how such schedules are associated with perceived social support for working mothers. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and a variety of methodological approaches, we found mixed evidence for this relationship. Results from ordinary least squares and propensity-weighted models suggest that working a nonstandard schedule is associated with weaker perceived support, particularly among those who are Black and less educated, and those who exclusively work such a schedule. Conversely, results from fixed-effects models suggest that changing from a standard to a nonstandard schedule is associated with modest increases in perceived social support. These results add nuance to our understanding of the implications of nonstandard work schedules for families.
Given the economic implications of a low-fertility rate, many countries have implemented paid maternity leave to promote births. However, the efficacy of this policy is mostly unknown. We examined whether paid maternity leave in South Korea, which has a fertility rate among the lowest in the world, is directly related to infant development and employed mothers' second-birth intentions, and indirectly associated with these outcomes via parenting stress. Participants included 315 married and employed Korean mothers in the months after giving birth to their first child. Paid maternity leave was beneficial for infant development but was not a solution for promoting second-birth intentions among employed mothers in Korea. Parenting stress adversely affected both infant development and employed mothers' second-birth intentions, and it may therefore need to be considered as work–family policies, fertility issues, and infant development in families are addressed. Implications considering cultural and familial contexts are discussed.
This study examined the gender difference regarding the simultaneous impacts of Job Demands–Control–Support model variables (job demands, job control, supervisor support, and coworker support) on job satisfaction via work–family conflict using multiple group structural equation modeling. The participants were 1,092 male and 1,367 female employees from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce. Results showed that job control was only significantly associated with work–family conflict in female employees. In addition, high levels of job control, supervisor support, and coworker support were significantly associated with an increase in job satisfaction in both male and female employees. Regarding the mediating effect, work–family conflict mediated relationships between job demands, supervisor support, coworker support, and job satisfaction in both male and female employees, whereas work–family conflict only mediated the association between job control and job satisfaction in female employees. In this study, the implications considering the gender difference and work–family contexts are discussed.
A growing body of research has explored the degree to which nonstandard work schedules affect workers and their families. However, relatively few studies to date have examined the relationship between parental nonstandard work schedules and adolescents’ academic achievement, and even less attention has been paid to Asian populations. This study aimed to examine the effects of parental nonstandard work schedules on adolescents’ academic achievement in South Korea. We analyzed 1100 dual-earner households with middle-school students from the 2011 and 2012 Korean Child and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS). Results from a cross-sectional ordinary least squares regression and regression with a lagged dependent variable showed that fathers’ nonstandard work schedules were significantly associated with poorer academic achievement in math, while mothers’ nonstandard work schedules were not. In the fixed effects model, however, the negative relationship between fathers’ nonstandard work schedules and adolescents’ academic achievement became only marginally significant. These results provide suggestive evidence that the negative effect of parental nonstandard work schedules on South Korean adolescents’ academic achievement may be due, at least in part, to selection bias. Unobserved differences between standard and nonstandard shift fathers and their adolescents might have biased the estimates from the cross-sectional regression and regression with lagged dependent variable. This implies that future studies on the impact of nonstandard work schedules need to employ robust methods to minimize selection bias.
This article reports on a beginning study of minor daily stresses associated with parenting, and how the perception of minor stresses may be mediated by parental social support networks and social cognitive level. Daily hassles of parenting were assessed in three groups of mothers and fathers with children 9-12, 18-24, and 30-36 months old, along with measures of social support, social cognitive level, and parental satisfaction. Results indicated that reported hassles were significantly greater with increasing child age, although fathers and mothers did not differ in the overall amount of hassle they perceived. Both mothers' and fathers' perception of parenting hassles were related to indices of support and social cognition, although differential patterns of relations were found across ages and between mothers and fathers. Parental social support moderated the effect of minor stresses for some outcomes. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for determinants of parenting and family processes influencing children's relationships with their parents.
Introduces the special issue on the stresses of parenting by highlighting the need for dynamic multivariate models to understand the causation of parenting stress and its impact on parenting behaviors and child outcomes. A brief summary of the principal thrust and conclusions of each article is presented. The importance of parental cognitions as mediators of more distal factors that influence parent-child interaction is emphasized.
This article focuses on how maternal employment in nonstandard schedules at night, on the weekends, or that rotate on a weekly basis influence preschoolers’ behavioral outcomes. Examining low-income working mothers and their children aged 2 – 4 years from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study (N= 206), we find that maternal nonstandard schedules are associated with negative behavioral outcomes for young children. There is some evidence that the negative effects of nonstandard schedules on behavior problems operate indirectly through increased parenting stress. Moderating influences of child gender and family composition are also detected. These findings are consistent with the small number of studies demonstrating the negative effects of nonstandard schedules on children of varying ages.
Scholarship on work and family topics expanded in scope and coverage during the 2000-2010 decade, spurred by an increased diversity of workplaces and of families, by methodological innovations, and by the growth of communities of scholars focused on the work-family nexus. We discuss these developments as the backdrop for emergent work-family research on six central topics: (a) gender, time, and the division of labor in the home; (b) paid work: too much or too little; (c) maternal employment and child outcomes; (d) work-family conflict; (e) work, family, stress, and health; and (f) work-family policy. We conclude with a discussion of trends important for research and suggestions about future directions in the work-family arena.
This article develops a novel skilled-based theory to explain patterns of occupational segregation by gender in advanced industrial societies. This new approach brings together insights from two critical literatures: the varieties of capitalism literature and feminist studies of welfare states. The central claim is that firm-specific skills discriminate against women, whereas general skills are more gender-neutral. This article thus attributes cross-national variations in occupational segregation to differences in national skill profiles: those countries in which a large number of employers rely on firm-specific skills experience greater degrees of occupational segregation by gender. This work also explores the potential interactive effects of social policy regimes and national skill profiles on occupational segregation by gender.
Explored factors that influence parenting behavior through examination of previously reported and more recently developed models for predicting parenting behavior. Patterson's behavioral model, Abidin's initial model of parenting stress, and Belsky's process model of determinants of parenting are reviewed. A proposed model is presented to improve on previous models by integrating sociological, environmental, and behavioral factors, as well as personality characteristics of the parent, in predicting parenting behavior. Finally, description is provided on a new self-report measure (i.e., the Parenting Alliance Inventory) developed to focus on those aspects of the marital relationship that bear directly on parenting. Implications for future research are presented.
Oxytocin (OT) plays an important role in bond-formation and social reciprocity and animal studies indicate that OT functioning is transferred from parent to child through patterns of parental care. Perspectives on attachment suggest that the individual's various attachment bonds are underpinned by the oxytocinergic system. However, prospective human studies that demonstrate the cross-generation transfer of OT as mediated by early caregiving and its impact on children's multiple attachments are lacking. To address these concerns, the current study included one-hundred-and-sixty mothers and fathers and their firstborn child who participated in a three-year longitudinal study. At the first and sixth postpartum months, parents' plasma OT was assayed, parent-infant interactions were videotaped and micro-coded, and allelic variations on the OXTR(rs2254298, rs1042778) and CD38rs3796863 genes were measured. At three years, parents' and child's salivary OT was assessed and children's social reciprocity observed during interactions with mother, father, and their first best friend. Parents' OT levels were individually stable across the three-year period, correlated with low-risk OXTR and CD38 alleles, and predicted child OT. Child's social reciprocity with friend was associated with child OT levels, mother's OT-related genes and hormones, and mother-child reciprocity, but not with father's genes, hormones, or behaviour. A cross-generation gene-by-environment effect emerged, with low child OT levels predicted by the interaction of maternal high-risk CD38 allele and diminished maternal care in infancy. These results demonstrate individual stability in peripheral OT across several years and describe a cross-generation transfer of OT through caregiving in humans within a prospective longitudinal design. Consistent with other mammals, bio-behavioral experiences within the parent-infant bond shape children's affiliative biology and social behavior across multiple attachments. Our findings bear important implications for conditions involving disruptions to maternal-infant bonding and underscore the potential for peer-based interventions.Neuropsychopharmacology accepted article preview online, 16 January 2013; doi:10.1038/npp.2013.22.
The balance between work and family plays a pivotal but evolving role in human resource policy. Ensuring that human resource policy responds to rapidly changing American family demographics, particularly the recent sharp increase in single unmarried Americans, is a major challenge. Compensation policy long has focused on family-oriented values by promising increased capacity to provide for a family in exchange for higher work performance. Now, employees are voicing concerns about matters such as quality time with family, and, in turn, employers are responding by implementing more benefits to achieve a better work–family balance. Strong counterarguments against human resource goals targeted only at families advocate personal policies that emphasize work–life balance for all employees. How well has personal policy kept pace with the shifting compensation preferences of public employees? Results suggest that implementation policies are keeping pace with employee satisfaction. However, levels of employee satisfaction often differ widely by demographic characteristics.
Many children live in families where one or both parents work evenings, nights, or weekends. Do these work schedules affect family relationships or well-being? Using cross-sectional survey data from dual-earner Canadian families (N= 4,306) with children aged 2 – 11 years (N= 6,156), we compared families where parents worked standard weekday times with those where parents worked nonstandard schedules. Parents working nonstandard schedules reported worse family functioning, more depressive symptoms, and less effective parenting. Their children were also more likely to have social and emotional difficulties, and these associations were partially mediated through family relationships and parent well-being. For some families, work in the 24-hour economy may strain the well-being of parents and children.
Despite increasing interest in the effects of parenting stress on children and families, many questions remain regarding the nature of parenting stress and the mechanism through which stress exerts its influence across time. In this study, cumulative parenting stress was assessed across the preschool period in a sample of 125 typically developing children and their mothers. Indices of parenting stress included both major life events stress-assessed annually from age 3 to 5, and parenting daily hassles assessed every 6 months across the same period. Naturalistic home observations were conducted when children were age 5, during which measures of parent and child interactive behaviour as well as dyadic pleasure and dyadic conflict were obtained. Mothers also completed the CBCL to assess children's behaviour problems. Results indicated that parenting daily hassles and major life stress are relatively stable across the preschool period. Both cumulative stress indices also proved to be important predictors of parent and child behaviour and dyadic interaction, although the predictions were somewhat differential. Despite meaningful relations between the stress factors and child well being, no evidence was found to support the premise that parent behaviour mediates the association between parenting stress and child outcomes. Results are discussed within a developmental framework to understand the stability and complexity of cumulative stress associations to early parent–child relationships. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The present study tests a model of antecedents (i.e., the use of family-friendly policies, supervisor support, number of hours worked, having childcare responsibility) and consequences (i.e., job and family satisfaction) of work–family conflict and family–work conflict. As hypothesized, we found that the use of family-friendly policies, hours worked per week, and supervisor support were predictive of work–family conflict. In addition, as predicted, childcare responsibility and supervisor support were found to be related to family–work conflict. Work–family conflict was found to be related to both job and family satisfaction. Our research extends previous research in a number of ways. We believe that a particular strength of our study is it incorporated data gathered at different points in time and from more than one source.
The present study examines global employee perceptions regarding the extent their work organization is family-supportive (FSOP). Data gathered from 522 participants employed in a variety of occupations and organizations indicated that FSOP responses related significantly to the number of family-friendly benefits offered by the organization, benefit usage, and perceived family support from supervisors. FSOP responses also explained a significant amount of unique variance associated with work–family conflict, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions above and beyond the variance explained by the number of family-friendly benefits available by the organization and supervisor support. Results indicated that FSOP mediates the relationship between family-friendly benefits available and the dependent variables of work–family conflict, affective commitment, and job satisfaction. FSOP also mediated the relationship between supervisor support and work–family conflict. The results underscore the important role that perceptions of the overall work environment play in determining employee reactions to family-friendly benefit policies.
Data from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care (Phase I) and propensity score techniques were used to determine if working fulltime in a nonstandard schedule job during the child's first year predicted parenting practices over 3 years. Results indicated that women who worked fulltime in a nonstandard schedule job during the first year had poorer maternal sensitivity at 24 and 36 months. Modest differences in HOME scores were also observed at 36 months. The results provide strong evidence that fulltime maternal employment in nonstandard schedule jobs may interfere with the creation and maintenance of developmentally generative parenting practices.
This paper examines the associations between maternal nonstandard work schedules during infancy and children's early behavior problems, and the extent to which infant temperament may moderate these associations. Hypothesized associations were tested using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care (Phase I). Analyses focused on mothers who returned to work by the time the child was 6 months of age, and who worked an average of at least 35h per week from 6 through 36 months. At 24 and 36 months, children whose mothers worked a nonstandard schedule had higher internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Modest, albeit inconsistent, evidence suggests that temperamentally reactive children may be more vulnerable to maternal work schedules. Maternal depressive symptoms partially mediated associations between nonstandard maternal work schedules and child behavior outcomes.
To facilitate early identification of children at risk for development of behavioral or emotional disturbance, the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) is designed as a screening and diagnostic instrument that measures the relative magnitude of stress in the parent-child system. For this study, the most recent revision of the PSI, Form 6, was evaluated for reliability and factorial validity using a sample of 534 parents. Form 6 of the PSI was found to have even higher reliability than previous forms, supporting its continued usefulness both for preliminary screening and for pretest/posttest measurement of the effectiveness of counseling programs and intervention techniques. Form 6 of the PSI was also found to have high factorial validity, suggesting that the domain scores and subscale scores may be confidently utilized to provide information about specific sources of stress in the parent-child system which should be the focus of further attention and professional assistance.
A study on shift workers’ work-family conflicts, job stress, and utilization of family-friendly policies
- E Ahn
- G Yoo
Ahn, E., & Yoo, G. (2009). A study on shift workers' workfamily conflicts, job stress, and utilization of familyfriendly policies. Korean Journal of Family Relations,
14(3), 115-139.
Employed mothers’ work-family conflict and social support variables
- Y Cho
- S Lee
Cho, Y., & Lee, S. (1998). Employed mothers' work-family
conflict and social support variables. Yonsei Journal of
Human Ecology, 12, 94-103.