Paper
Saturday, July 24, 2004
An Exploratory Study of Workplace Supports Among Canadian Health Care Employees
Debbie Kane, RN, PhD, Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| Learning Objective #1: Identify organizational supports that contribute to employees, work-family balance and general well-being |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify how perceptions of organizational support and supervisor support impact work-family conflict, general well-being, and propensity to stay |
Purpose: In spite of increasing attention being directed to the problem of work-family conflict there is a dearth of research linking organizational support practices to actual outcomes related to work-family conflict. The purpose of this study was to identify how employee's perceptions of organizational and supervisor support, and utilization of organizational supports, influenced their perception of work-family conflict, general well-being, and propensity to leave. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational survey was used that incorporated structured and open-ended questions. The convenience sample of 92 participants was drawn from a mid-size public health agency with 150 employees, that serves a community of 350,000 people. Findings: Flexible work hours, family emergency days off, unpaid leave of absence, personal days with pay, time off in lieu of overtime, short-term family leave, and employee assistance program were the supports most commonly used by the study participants. A significant relationship was identified between the use of flexible hours and general well-being. Utilization of family emergency days off was found to be significantly related to work-family conflict and absenteeism. Employees who perceived their organization as highly supportive also reported significantly lower propensity to leave scores. Implications: The significant relationship between family emergency days off and higher reports of work-family conflict and absenteeism suggest this support is being used by those employees the family-supportive policies are intended to help; those experiencing work-family conflict. Further, at a time when national headlines are reporting a critical shortage of healthcare employees it is particularly worthwhile to provide workplace policies that contribute to higher perceptions of organizaional support and reduced propensity to leave.
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