Dissertação
Conflito trabalho-família, conflito família-trabalho e equilíbrio ocupacional: uma análise entre mulheres trabalhadoras brasileiras
Fecha
2023-03-08Registro en:
0000-0001-6435-6653
Autor
Jacqueline Josiane Gonçalves Ferreira
Institución
Resumen
Throughout history, men have been considered to be the providers, while women have been
considered the responsible for reproductive duties, not to mention that unpaid domestic work
and caregiving are activities mostly carried out by women. As the female population became
more present in the job market due to changes in social and familial structures, they had to
face the challenge of conciliating family and work demands. This had the potential of causing
unbalance between occupations, overload, strain, and suffering in these workers. Furthermore,
the COVID-19 pandemic increased gender and class inequalities as it weakened support
networks, increased domestic work and childcare demands, in addition to work-related
pressure, increasing the risk of mental and physical suffering. This setting contributed for
conflicts to appear in work-family relations. A conflict can emerge when the demands and
requirements of one sphere of activity are not compatible with those from another. With this
in mind, the goals of this study were: (i) to describe sociodemographic and professional
characteristics and occupational balance; and (ii) to investigate whether these factors are
predictive of a conflict in the work-family relation of Brazilian women workers during the
COVID-19 pandemic. This is an observational, cross-sectional, and quantitative study, carried
out using an online population survey. The workers were recruited by convenience and
answered the following instruments: a questionnaire with sociodemographic and professional
information; the Brazil Economic Classification Criteria, from the Associação Brasileira de
Empresas de Pesquisa (the Brazilian Association of Research Companies); one question
about their perceptions regarding their occupational balance; and the Multidimensional WorkFamily Conflict Survey - EMCT-F. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Two
hierarchical multiple linear regression models were created: one to test the strength of the
association between independent variables and the outcome of Work-Family Conflict (CTF);
and the other to test the strength of the association between independent variables and the
outcome of Family-Work Conflict (CFT). The study included 352 women, aged from 20 to 65
years, who lived in several Brazilian states and had active paid jobs. Occupational balance
(β
sc
=-0.470; t=-7.314; p=0.000), work hour load (β
sc=0.148; t=2.285; p=0.024), and behavior
(β
sc= 0.308; t=3.619; p=0.000) were predictors of family-work conflicts, and, together,
explained 47.5% of the total variance (F(18. 158= 7.951; p= 0.000; R2
= 0.475). The variables
in the family-work conflict model explained 31,7% of the total variance (F(19. 63= 3.983; p=
0.000; R2
= 0.317), suggesting that educational level (β
sc= 0.224; t= 3.142; p= 0.002),
occupational balance (β
sc
= -0.218; t= -2.658; p= 0.009), work hour load (β
sc
=-0.189; t= -
2.541; p= 0.012), and behavior (β
sc= 0.247; t= 2.609; p= 0.010) were predictors of familywork conflicts. This result showed that work-family relations must be analyzed considering
different personal and work factors, in association with the experience and involvement of
working women in significant occupations. Longer work hours, worse occupational balance,
and negative perception of behavior predict a higher chance of work-family conflict. On the
other hand, lower hour loads, higher educational levels, worse occupational balance, and
negative perceptions associated with one's behavior predict more family-work conflicts. The
results of this research suggest paths to develop public policies targeted at gender equality, in
addition to encouraging the inclusion of women in the Brazilian job market, their retention,
and the provision of equal opportunities.