Parents' alcohol use: gender differences in the impact of household and family chores.

BACKGROUND: Social roles influence alcohol use. Nevertheless, little is known about how specific aspects of a given role, here parenthood, may influence alcohol use. The research questions for this study were the following: (i) are family-related indicators (FRI) linked to the alcohol use of mothers and fathers? and (ii) does the level of employment, i.e. full-time, part-time employment or unemployment, moderate the relationship between FRI and parental alcohol use? METHODS: Survey data of 3217 parents aged 25-50 living in Switzerland. Mean comparisons and multiple regression models of annual frequency of drinking and risky single occasion drinking, quantity per day on FRI (age of the youngest child, number of children in the household, majority of child-care/household duties). RESULTS: Protective relationships between FRI and alcohol use were observed among mothers. In contrast, among fathers, detrimental associations between FRI and alcohol use were observed. Whereas maternal responsibilities in general had a protective effect on alcohol use, the number of children had a detrimental impact on the quantity of alcohol consumed per day when mothers were in paid employment. Among fathers, the correlations between age of the youngest child, number of children and frequency of drinking was moderated by the level of paid employment. CONCLUSION: The study showed that in Switzerland, a systematic negative relationship was more often found between FRI and women's drinking than men's. Evidence was found that maternal responsibilities per se may protect from alcohol use but can turn into a detrimental triangle if mothers are additionally in paid employment

Work-Related Mental Health and Job Performance: Can Mindfulness Help?

Work-related mental health issues such as work-related stress and addiction to work impose a significant health and economic burden to the employee, the employing organization, and the country of work more generally. Interventions that can be empirically shown to improve levels of work-related mental health – especially those with the potential to concurrently improve employee levels of work performance – are of particular interest to occupational stakeholders. One such broad-application interventional approach currently of interest to occupational stakeholders in this respect is mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Following a brief explication of the mindfulness construct, this paper critically discusses current research directions in the utilization of mindfulness in workplace settings and assesses its suitability for operationalization as an organization-level work-related mental health intervention. By effecting a perceptual-shift in the mode of responding and relating to sensory and cognitive-affective stimuli, employees that undergo mindfulness training may be able to transfer the locus of control for stress from external work conditions to internal metacognitive and attentional resources. Therefore, MBIs may constitute cost-effective organization-level interventions due to not actually requiring any modifications to human resource management systems and practises. Based on preliminary empirical findings and on the outcomes of MBI studies with clinical populations, it is concluded that MBIs appear to be viable interventional options for organizations wishing to improve the mental health of their employees

A cross-national study on the antecedents of work–life balance from the fit and balance perspective

Drawing on the perceived work–family fit and balance perspective, this study investigates demands and resources as antecedents of work–life balance (WLB) across four countries (New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain), so as to provide empirical cross-national evidence. Using structural equation modelling analysis on a sample of 870 full time employees, we found that work demands, hours worked and family demands were negatively related to WLB, while job autonomy and supervisor support were positively related to WLB. We also found evidence that resources (job autonomy and supervisor support) moderated the relationships between demands and work–life balance, with high resources consistently buffering any detrimental influence of demands on WLB. Furthermore, our study identified additional predictors of WLB that were unique to some national contexts. For example, in France and Italy, overtime hours worked were negatively associated with WLB, while parental status was positively associated with WLB. Overall, the implications for theory and practice are discussed.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Working conditions and Work-Family Conflict in German hospital physicians: psychosocial and organisational predictors and consequences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Germany currently experiences a situation of major physician attrition. The incompatibility between work and family has been discussed as one of the major reasons for the increasing departure of German physicians for non-clinical occupations or abroad. This study investigates predictors for one particular direction of Work-Family Conflict – namely work interfering with family conflict (WIF) – which are located within the psychosocial work environment or work organisation of hospital physicians. Furthermore, effects of WIF on the individual physicians' physical and mental health were examined. Analyses were performed with an emphasis on gender differences. Comparisons with the general German population were made.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected by questionnaires as part of a study on <it>Psychosocial work hazards and strains of German hospital physicians </it>during April–July 2005. Two hundred and ninety-six hospital physicians (response rate 38.9%) participated in the survey. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), work interfering with family conflict scale (WIF), and hospital-specific single items on work organisation were used to assess WIF, its predictors, and consequences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>German hospital physicians reported elevated levels of WIF (mean = 74) compared to the general German population (mean = 45, <it>p </it>< .01). No significant gender difference was found. Predictors for the WIF were lower age, high quantitative demands at work, elevated number of days at work despite own illness, and consequences of short-notice changes in the duty roster. Good sense of community at work was a protective factor. Compared to the general German population, we observed a significant higher level of quantitative work demands among hospital physicians (mean = 73 vs. mean = 57, <it>p </it>< .01). High values of WIF were significantly correlated to higher rates of personal burnout, behavioural and cognitive stress symptoms, and the intention to leave the job. In contrast, low levels of WIF predicted higher job satisfaction, better self-judged general health status, better work ability, and higher satisfaction with life in general. Compared to the German general population, physicians showed significantly higher levels of individual stress and quality of life as well as lower levels for well-being. This has to be judged as an alerting finding regarding the state of physicians' health.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In our study, work interfering with family conflict (WIF) as part of Work-Family Conflict (WFC) was highly prevalent among German hospital physicians. Factors of work organisation as well as factors of interpersonal relations at work were identified as significant predictors for WIF. Some of these predictors are accessible to alteration by improving work organisation in hospitals.</p

Alcohol use and misuse: What are the contributions of occupation and work organization conditions?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This research examines the specific contribution of occupation and work organization conditions to alcohol use and misuse. It is based on a social-action model that takes into account agent personality, structures of daily life, and macro social structures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data come from a representative sample of 10,155 workers in Quebec, Canada. Multinomial regression models corrected for sample design effect have been used to predict low-risk and high-risk drinking compared to non-drinkers. The contribution of occupation and work organization conditions (skill used, decision authority, physical and psychological demands, hours worked, irregular work schedule, harassment, unionization, job insecurity, performance pay, prestige) have been adjusted for family situation, social network outside the workplace, and individual characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to non-qualified blue-collars, both low-risk and high-risk drinking are associated with qualified blue-collars, semi-qualified white-collars, and middle managers; high-risk drinking is associated with upper managers. For constraints-resources related to work organization conditions, only workplace harassment is an important determinant of both low-risk and high-risk drinking, but it is modestly moderated by occupation. Family situation, social support outside work, and personal characteristics of individuals are also associated with alcohol use and misuse. Non-work factors mediated/suppressed the role of occupation and work organization conditions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Occupation and workplace harassment are important factors associated with alcohol use and misuse. The results support the theoretical model conceptualizing alcohol use and misuse as being the product of stress caused by constraints and resources brought to bear simultaneously by agent personality, structures of daily life, and macro social structures. Occupational alcohol researchers must expand their theoretical perspectives to avoid erroneous conclusions about the specific role of the workplace.</p

When work keeps us apart: a thematic analysis of the experience of business travellers

Whilst business travel is deemed important for organizational success and economic outcomes, little is known about the actual process of business travelling from the perspective of individuals who undertake such travel on a regular basis. Thus the current qualitative study examined how business travellers (three women and eight men) attempt to find a balance between work and family, by focusing on how time together and time apart are experienced. The results can be interpreted and framed within work/family border theory in that business travellers’ borders are less defined and less permeable, thus requiring them to border-cross more frequently. This necessitates a process of negotiation with key border-keepers (their spouse/partner). Business travellers also undertake compensatory behaviours to make up for their time away from family. In order to find a work/family balance they go through a process of adapting, negotiating and tailoring their lives around their work commitments to alleviate work-life conflict

Work-life conflict and associations with work- and nonwork-related factors and with physical and mental health outcomes: a nationally representative cross-sectional study in Switzerland

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to examine work- and nonwork-related factors and physical and mental health outcomes associated with combined time- and strain-based work-life conflict (WLC) among adult employees living and working in Switzerland as well as possible gender differences in this regard. METHODS: The data used for the study were taken from wave 6 of the nationally representative Swiss Household Panel (SHP) collected in 2004. The analysis was restricted to 4'371 employees aged 20 to 64 years. Trivariate crosstabulations and multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses stratified by gender were performed in order to calculate gender-specific prevalence rates (%), beta coefficients (SZ) and crude as well as multiple adjusted odds ratios (OR) as measures of association. RESULTS: Every eighth person (12.5%) within the study population has a high or very high WLC score. Prevalence rates are clearly above average in men and women with higher education, in executive positions or managerial functions, in full-time jobs, with variable work schedules, regular overtime, long commuting time to work and job insecurity. Working overtime regularly, having variable work schedules and being in a management position are most strongly associated with WLC in men, whereas in women the level of employment is the strongest explanatory variable by far, followed by variable work schedules and high job status (managerial position). In both men and women, WLC is associated with several physical and mental health problems. Employees with high or very high WLC show a comparatively high relative risk of self-reported poor health, anxiety and depression, lack of energy and optimism, serious backache, headaches, sleep disorders and fatigue. While overall prevalence rate of (very) high WLC is higher in men than in women, associations between degrees of WLC and most health outcomes are stronger in women than in men. CONCLUSIONS: This important issue which up to now has been largely neglected in public health research needs to be addressed in future public health research and, if the findings are confirmed by subsequent (longitudinal) studies, to be considered in workplace health promotion and interventions in Switzerland as elsewhere

Childbearing and Economic Work: The Health Balance of Women in Accra, Ghana

Objectives: This study aims to investigate (1) whether the health of working women with young children differs from that of working women without young children, and (2) which social factors mediate the relationship between economic and maternal role performance and health among mothers with young children. Methods: The analyses uses panel data from 697 women present in both waves of the Women's Health Study for Accra (WHSA-I and WHSA-II); a community based study of women aged 18 years and older in the Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana conducted in 2003 and 2008-2009. Change in physical and mental health between the survey waves is compared between women with a biological child alive at WHSA-II and born since WHSA-I and women without a living biological child at WHSA-II born in the interval. To account for attrition between the two survey waves selection models were used with unconditional change score models being used as the outcome model. Results: We found in our sample of working women that those who had a child born between WHSA-I and WHSA-II who was still alive at WHSA-II did not experience a change in mental or physical health different from other women. Among working women with young children, educational status, relationship to the household head and household demography were associated with change in mental health at the 5 % level, whilst migration status and household demography was associated with change in physical health scores. Conclusion: The results suggest there are no health penalties of combining work and childbearing among women with young children in Accra, Ghana

Medically certified sickness absence with insurance benefits in women with and without children

Background: Sickness absence in Sweden is high, particularly in young women and the reasons are unclear. Many Swedish women combine parenthood and work and are facing demands that may contribute to impaired health and well-being. We compared mothers and women without children under different conditions, assuming increased sickness absence in mothers, due to time-based stress and psychological strain. Methods: All women born in 1960–79 (1.2 million) were followed from 1993 to 2003. Information on children in the home for each year was related to medically certified sickness absence with insurance benefits the year after. We used age and time-stratified proportional hazard regression models accounting for the individual's changes on study variables over time. Data were retrieved from national administrative registers. Results: Sickness absence was higher in mothers than in women without children, the relative risks decreased by age, with no effect after the age of 35 years. An effect appeared in lonely women irrespective of age, while in cohabiting women only for the ages 20–25 years. Mothers showed increased sickness absence in all subgroups of country of birth, education, income, sector of employment and place of residence. The relation between number of children and sickness absence was nonlinear, with the highest relative risks for mothers of one child. The upward trend of sickness absence at the end of 1990s was steeper for mothers compared to women without children. Conclusion: Despite the well-developed social security system and child care services in Sweden, parenthood predicts increased sickness absence, particularly in young and in lone women