Peer-reviewed article
Workplace environment as a social determinant of well-being for mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Gray DM, Bruk-Lee V ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how workplace support practices affect the well-being of working mothers who have children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The research surveyed 118 mothers and found that supportive workplace environments and supervisors reduce work-family conflict and improve quality of life. The study identified seven specific workplace practices that organizations can adopt to better support these workers.
Key points
- Greater caregiving hours were associated with higher family-work conflict and lower quality of life
- Higher levels of family-supportive organization perceptions were linked to lower family-work conflict and higher quality of life
- Higher levels of family-supportive supervisor behaviors were associated with greater affective organizational commitment and work engagement
- Qualitative analysis identified seven specific workplace practices organizations can adopt
- Family-supportive workplace practices are important for working mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Limitations
This study focuses on maternal well-being and work conditions rather than direct child outcomes or well-being. The research does not evaluate an intervention designed to improve children's well-being, but rather examines workplace factors affecting mothers' experiences.
Abstract
This mixed-method study examined family-supportive organization perceptions (FSOP) and family supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) as social determinants of well-being and work attitudes among 118 working mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Quantitative analyses included weekly caregiving hours as a covariate. Greater caregiving hours were associated with greater family-work conflict and lower quality of life. Higher levels of FSOP were associated with lower family-work conflict and higher quality of life, and higher levels of FSSB were associated with greater affective organizational commitment and work engagement. Using reflexive thematic analysis, seven themes were captured by the qualitative data, highlighting specific workplace practices organizations can adopt to foster a supportive workplace for this worker population. The findings underscore the importance of family-supportive workplace practices in the lives of working mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.