Abraham Stefanidis and Vasilis Strogilos
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of organizational support, as it is evidenced by supervisor's support and coworkers' support, in the work engagement levels…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of organizational support, as it is evidenced by supervisor's support and coworkers' support, in the work engagement levels of employees who are parents of children with special needs and disabilities (SND).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed a self-administered survey questionnaire in Singapore and collected 224 useable responses. They used moderated hierarchical regression analysis to assess the relationships among organizational support, employees' child disability severity and levels of work engagement.
Findings
The research results indicated that higher levels of supervisor's and coworkers' support have a positive impact on work engagement levels of employees with children with SND. In addition, the authors observed that supervisor's support and coworkers' support moderate the relationship between employee’s child's disability severity and work engagement levels.
Research limitations/implications
The results contribute to the introduction of a discussion about supportive practices directed toward this diverse group of employees in Singapore. The research findings are country-specific.
Practical implications
The authors propose that human resource management practitioners could craft policies that may trigger tangible and emotional support by supervisors and coworkers of employees with children with disabilities, depending on employees’ children's disability severity.
Originality/value
This research is the first empirical examination that measures the work engagement levels of employed parents of children with SND in Singapore, considering both organizational and family dimensions.
Details
Keywords
Abraham Stefanidis, Margaret E. King-Sears, Lina Gilic and Vasilis Strogilos
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between (1) employed parents' work–family conflict (WFC), (2) their children with disabilities' support needs, (3…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between (1) employed parents' work–family conflict (WFC), (2) their children with disabilities' support needs, (3) their children's age, and (4) those parents' levels of school engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 193 US parents of children with disabilities who completed a survey regarding work and family strain as well as school engagement. Descriptive statistical and correlational analyses were used, followed by moderated regression analysis.
Findings
Results indicate that higher levels of WFC have a negative impact on parents' school engagement. Similarly, children with disabilities' increased needs for parental support have a negative impact on school engagement. Moreover, the age of children with disabilities holds a moderating role in the relationship between support needs and school engagement.
Research limitations/implications
Human resource managers can acquire information regarding employed parents of children with disabilities' increased support needs and formalize flexible policies leading to supportive workplace cultures. School personnel can instigate a range of options that facilitate parents' school engagement, such as maximizing use of technology via virtual meetings and activities.
Originality/value
These innovative findings contribute to theoretical underpinnings in work and family strain research as well as conservation of resources theory, given the lack of previous empirical work specific to children with disabilities and their employed parents.
Details
Keywords
The authors said their study was the first to consider the impact of organizational support on parents of children with SND in Singapore. Although there has been a lot of research…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors said their study was the first to consider the impact of organizational support on parents of children with SND in Singapore. Although there has been a lot of research on the effects of organizational support, it has not focused on this area.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data from 224 employees who were parents of children with SND in Singapore. They used a self-administered questionnaire.
Findings
For high supervisor’s support levels, high disability severity was associated with increased work engagement levels, but for low supervisor’s support levels, high disability severity was associated with lower work engagement levels. Meanwhile, the patterns were reverse for co-workers. High coworkers’ support levels were associated with reduced engagement. At the same time, the results showed the impact of coworkers’ support on work engagement was especially beneficial for employees whose children faced less severe disabilities.
Originality/value
The authors argue that the results provided powerful evidence that HR practitioners should strive to create a family-friendly culture in a constructive and understanding way.