Work–family balance and job satisfaction: An analysis of Canadian psychologist mothers.

Abstract

Working mothers face difficulty attaining job satisfaction and work-family balance, but social support can moderate these effects; professional psychologists have unique experiences in these areas. Eighty-nine Canadian mothers with careers in psychology responded to open-ended questions in this online study. Theoretical thematic analysis was used to examine written responses regarding work-family balance, job satisfaction, and social support. This sample of psychologists reported high job satisfaction and variable workfamily balance. Social supports, including childcare, improved both of these variables. Although existing research has shown that work-family balance is a strong predictor of job satisfaction, this study found that high job satisfaction contributes to better work-family balance. Supports such as employer, coworker, family, and childcare supports were noteworthy for their perceived helpfulness. Various employer supports were highlighted including flexibility and part-time work. When mothers were not granted these supports, they often switched to private practice to have greater control and improve their work-family balance. Although many participants reported having greater control over their work hours in private practice, many experienced a decrease in work-family balance. Other settings of interest were academia and hospitals. Common advantages to these work settings were availability of colleagues, teamwork, flexibility, and autonomy, while disadvantages included bureaucracy and stigma associated with taking maternity leave. This research outlines which social supports, especially a slow return to work after maternity/parental leave, increase work-family balance and job satisfaction in employed mothers. Directions for future research are discussed. Public Significance StatementMothers may find it hard to balance their work and home lives and are often not as happy with their jobs as others. This study supports other research which shows that childcare support, support from family, coworkers, and employers helps mothers balance work and family and enjoy their jobs more. Mothers who have a job in psychology were found to be very happy with their jobs but had different balances between their work and family lives.

Risk and protective factors for burnout among psychologists and neuropsychologists: A scoping review.

“…Job satisfaction among PSYs who are mothers is particular since it can be positive when a balance between professional and personal aspects is established. Yet, it is not unusual for women to have to change their work environment to achieve job and personal life satisfaction (Wiens et al, 2023).…”

“…As changes need to be tailored to internal issues and may vary depending on the institutions, individuals, and countries, it is important to have an open discussion about the changes to be implemented. Some authors cited in the present scoping review have identified potential areas for change that could lead to higher employee job satisfaction, such as addressing issues related to internal politics, bureaucratic burdens, lack of recognition (Wiens et al, 2023), and salary satisfaction (Sweet et al, 2015). As stated earlier, control over their work is important for PSYs, and it may be achieved through direct payment, reducing administrative tasks, and being able to choose between working in a single or shared office.…”

Predicting working sole Indian mothers' satisfaction towards work–family balance integrating the Kano model and weighted average method

“…In Poland, Parchomiuk (2022) looked at the WFB satisfaction among mothers of impaired children and discovered that both work-family responsibilities have an impact on parental satisfaction. Wiens et al . (2022) concluded that social support plays a moderate role in WFB satisfaction amongst Canadian mothers.…”

“…The private sector organization's family-friendly WFB policy had a diverse impact on WFB satisfaction of an employee. Consequently, WFB satisfaction is considered a robust predictor of the overall quality of work-life satisfaction (Wiens et al ., 2022). WFB satisfaction is more important for sole working mothers since maintaining the WFB is more difficult for lone mothers as a sole parent (Kushwaha et al ., 2022).…”

Breaking the maternity mold: navigating the return to work and challenging rigid maternal beliefs through an online psychological intervention

“…As such, the cultural landscape in Italy still reinforces gender differences whereby women are expected to be responsible for childcare, and in the end, this practice can perpetuate gender inequality in work-family balance. WMs may, therefore, encounter difficulties in reconciling work and family life, which may lead to widespread dissatisfaction with their lives ( 9 ). In this scenario, it is necessary to take into account the maternal leave policies and regulation for RTW in Italy, which provides the context for understanding the Italian mothers included in this study.…”