Work and pregnancy: individual and organizational factors influencing organizational commitment, timing of maternity leave, and return to work

Organizational Work-Home Culture and its Relations with the Work-Family Interface and Employees' Subjective Well-being

The two studies reported in this paper aimed to present and discuss both the validation of the Work-Home Culture (WHC) scale (Dikkers et al., Work & Stress, 21(2), 155-172, 2007) in the Italian context (Study 1), and a relational model that links the WHC to subjective well-being via the mediation of three facets of the work-home interface: work-family conflict, work-family enrichment and work-family balance (Study 2). Heterogeneous samples of workers from different organisations took part in the cross-sectional studies. Substantial support was provided for the robustness of the factorial structure of the 18-item WHC scale with five factors (three support dimensions and two hindrance dimensions). Individuals' perceptions of a supportive WHC that characterises the organisation they work for - particularly with respect to work-family issues and the use of family-friendly benefits - turned out to be positively associated with work-family enrichment and balance. Only organisational time demands, which is a hindrance dimension, was associated with work-family conflict. Moreover, our findings suggest that WHC is significantly associated with subjective well-being and that this association is largely indirect - through the facets of work-family interface - rather than direct. The results of the two studies represent a relevant achievement from the perspective of conducting future research using this measure in different socio-cultural environments and ad hoc interventions in the fields of organisational psychology and occupational health.

Construction and Validation of the Quality of Maternity Leave Scales (QMLS)

Maternity leave is not federally guaranteed or paid in the United States. Although there has been an increase of women in the workforce, federal maternity leave policy has not changed since the adoption of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. The subjective quality of this maternity leave is likely an important component of what mothers perceive to be decent work. However, no scholars have developed measurements examining mothers’ subjective experiences of the quality of their maternity leave. Therefore, the goal of the current research was to develop scales measuring six domains of quality of maternity leave: time off, flexibility, coworker support, discrimination, microaggressions, and benefits (e.g., pay, health care, disability insurance). In two studies with diverse samples of working, adult mothers, we provide evidence for the factor structure, validity, and internal consistency of the Quality of Maternity Leave Scales.

Pregnant Women at Work

Research suggests that pregnant women are discriminated against in the workplace and that a significant percentage of new mothers leave the workforce. Few researchers have examined the link between women’s discriminatory experiences and workforce attrition, instead of focusing on either individual-level factors (e.g., income) or workplace factors (e.g., workplace support) that predict turnover. We integrate previous findings on individual and workplace factors within a stigma framework that takes into account pregnant women’s anticipated and experienced stigma. We hypothesized that pregnant women’s anticipated and experienced stigma would mediate the relationships between individual (e.g., gender role attitudes) and workplace factors (e.g., workplace support) and job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and turnover intentions. Using a three-wave longitudinal design, we surveyed 142 pregnant women during and after their pregnancies, and we used path analysis to test mediational models. Results indicated that anticipated stigma partially mediated the relationship between workplace factors and psychological well-being, whereas experienced stigma partially mediated the relationships between workplace factors and job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and turnover intentions. Overall, our study demonstrates both the utility of a stigma framework and the importance of workplace experiences in understanding why women leave their jobs.

Maternal depression, pregnancy intention, and return to paid work after childbirth

BACKGROUND

Maternal depression is an important public health issue for women, their families, and their employers. Previous studies have examined the impact of leave duration on maternal depression, but none have studied the association between maternal depression and the pace of return to paid work. We examine herein the relationship between maternal depression and return to work, and the moderating effects of pregnancy intention.

METHODS

We utilized data from the Listening to Mothers II Survey collected from January 20 through February 21, 2006. The woman had to be 18 to 45 years old, speak English, and have given birth in 2005 to a live singleton baby in a U.S. hospital. Our analyses were limited to women who worked for an employer during pregnancy (n = 882). The primary outcome was return to paid work at the time of the interview and the analyses utilized Cox proportional hazard models.

FINDINGS

In combination, intending the baby and being depressed suppressed return to paid work. Nondepressed mothers with unintended pregnancies returned to work the soonest. Compared with mothers who were not depressed and with unintended pregnancy, the risk ratio of returning to paid work (0.70) was significantly lower for mothers who were depressed and had an intended pregnancy. Mothers who were not depressed and with intended pregnancy also had a significantly lower risk ratio (0.60) of returning to paid work than those who were not depressed and with unintended pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

Primary care providers and policy makers can use these findings to support employed women in their childbearing years.

Representations of Change within Dyadic Relationships between Leader and Follower: Discourses of Pregnant Followers

This study explores the different discourses of change within dyadic leader—follower relationships due to the followers' pregnancy. The research draws on qualitative interviews with 20 pregnant working women in Finland The discourses of change were produced in tal through the participants' subjective emotional experiences about the direction of development (both positive and negative). Therefore, each of the discourses is presented here using representations of emotions. In this study, three different discourses were identified that represent change within the leader—member exchange (LMX) relationship. These were `practical discourse', `future orientation discourse', and `individual attention discourse'. The contribution of the article is threefold. First, the discursive approach applied in this study is rarely used in conjunction with LMX studies or studies concerning pregnant working women. Second, considering the accounts about change within relationships between pregnant followers and their leaders deepens our understanding about working women. Third, the findings challenge the traditional view that leader—member exchange relationships are stable.

Production and reproduction: the issues involved in reconciling work and pregnancy

Quebec legislation in occupational health contains a measure that gives pregnant workers the right to demand healthy and safe work conditions so that they can continue working while they are pregnant. About one-third of pregnant workers exercise this right every year. Nonetheless, even though the legislation's goal is to favor continued employment, more than 75 percent of the female workers who are eligible for protective reassignment are, in fact, not reassigned to other work stations or tasks, and instead must stop working. The results presented here stem from research intended to improve our understanding of the difficulties that arise in the workplace when the organization of work has to be reconciled with pregnancy. In telling us their experiences, the 51 pregnant workers we interviewed gave us their definition of "reconciliation." They did this by identifying the elements and areas of their occupational and family responsibilities that hindered or favored this reconciliation. They thus brought to light the predominant role that social relationships play in these situations. The comments of the women we met shed light on work conditions and organizations whose characteristics, once identified, suggest some of the changes needed to make this reconciliation possible.