Verification of causal relationship model for work-family conflict of nurses with a maternal role

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the work environment factors that affect the work-family conflict (WFC) of nurses with a maternal role, and the influence of the WFC on work engagement (WE). An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted with 368 nurses with the role of mother. The questionnaire was comprised of questions about age, home environment, and work environment, and questions from a Japanese version Work Family Conflict Scale (WFCS), and a Japanese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-J).
Results of a covariance structure analysis of 253 valid responses showed statistically significant relations to WFC in the following work environment factors：“employment type”, “affiliation”, and “work environment where nurses can demonstrate nursing expertise” (0.29, 0.22, -0.47). The findings suggest that a “work environment where nurses can demonstrate nursing expertise” may be a useful work environment factor to reduce the WFC, but no statistically significant influence of the WFC on WE was identified.