Relationships among perceived work-life balance, resources, and the well-being of working parents

This two-part study utilizes quantitative and qualitative data to examine how working parents cope with work-life demands. The quantitative component of the study uses a secondary data set from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce (a nationally representative sample of working adults). The research design employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the associations among the perceptions of workplace support, supervisory support, work-schedule flexibility, work-life balance, and personal well-being. In this study, employee well-being is an endogenous latent construct. Perceived workplace support and perceived supervisory support are latent exogenous constructs. The mediating variables are employees' perceptions of the flexibility of their work schedules and the state of their work-life balance. For the qualitative component of the study, 27 in-depth interviews were conducted in New Jersey with working parents who had a chronically ill or disabled child. The two components of the study contribute to an understanding of the effects of formal and informal workplace supports in enhancing the well-being of employees with children in general and those with a chronically ill or disabled child in particular.The quantitative study is unique in its examination of work-schedule flexibility and work-life balance as mediating variables and furthers our understanding of which sets of workplace policies and supports are positively associated with employee well-being. Supplementing the quantitative data, the in-depth interviews provide an examination of how and why parents utilize such supports in dealing with the challenging situation of caring for a chronically ill or disabled child. This information will assist social workers in developing more effective intervention efforts in the workplace, with the ultimate goal of increasing employees' quality of life. Specifically, the results of this study will help social workers who work within employee assistance programs to understand how company policies affect employees and how to more effectively intervene to support positive employee well-being and work-life balance. Finally, the findings will inform public policymakers as they continue to develop policies that positively affect employees and their work environment.