Canadian women psychologists: Work, family, and the balance.

Abstract

Work–family balance is especially relevant to women professionals given that childbearing and the heavy tilt of family obligations often rest on the shoulders of women. The purpose of this study was to predict job satisfaction, satisfaction with work–family balance, and quality of life (QoL) for professionally trained Canadian women doctoral psychologists. A total of 158 women participated in our online survey. Most participants were mothers (n = 116, 73.4%) and most of our sample worked 31 hr per week or more (n = 139, 87.9%), but being a mother of a child under the age of 18 years was inversely related to hours of work (rs = −.18, p = .03). Satisfaction with work hours was a key predictor of job satisfaction, satisfaction with work–family balance, and QoL. Women who had their first child at younger ages had greater QoL and satisfaction with work–family balance. Just over half of the participants (n = 80, 50.6%) indicated that they were satisfied with how they were able to divide time between work and family life. However, fewer participants indicated satisfaction with their opportunity to perform both their career and home-related duties well (n = 65, 41.1%). Working in a college or university setting was associated with greater job satisfaction. Among mothers, having fewer relocations (moves) for training was associated with a greater QoL. Our results suggest that negotiable work hours and support for family planning may be especially helpful for this population.