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The impact of pregnancy on the work experience of employed pregnant women
Abstract
This research examined the work experiences and work environment of employed pregnant women and contrasted those experiences with the experiences of employed women who were not pregnant. The impact of environmental variables and internal states on job satisfaction, level of negative affect, and employment choices were explored. One hundred ninety-five (59 pregnant, 136 non-pregnant) female employees from a large university in a medium sized midwestern city were surveyed. The pregnant employees were recruited via a campus-wide e-mail message, an article in the UNL Scarlet, and an advertisement in the Daily Nebraskan. The non-pregnant sample was obtained using a random sample of all female University of Nebraska employees in the age range of the pregnant employees (21-42 years of age). Three analyses were conducted to examine mean differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant employees. The pregnant employees reported significantly higher frequency of intrusive interactions, but no significant mean differences were found in job satisfaction or work environment (supervisor support, work difficulty, and workload control). A set of multiple regression analyses examined the significant predictors of the pregnant employees' job satisfaction, level of negative affect, and intent to return to work. Supervisor support and level of positive affect were significant predictors of job satisfaction for the pregnant employees. The regression for negative affect revealed that the frequency of intrusive interactions and perception of supervisor support were significant predictors of level of negative affect for the pregnant sample. The discriminant analysis for intent to return to work indicated that the amount of perceived support for pregnancy and amount of perceived supervisor support were significant predictors of intent to return to work. One of the major implications of this study is that pregnant women report experiencing significantly more frequent intrusive interactions at work than their non-pregnant counterparts, and these intrusive interactions are predictive of the level of negative affect. This suggests that there is a strong need to educate employees regarding appropriate and inappropriate ways of interacting with pregnant women.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling|Womens studies|Occupational psychology|Labor relations
Recommended Citation
Clark, Michelle Peterson, "The impact of pregnancy on the work experience of employed pregnant women" (1997). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9815883.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9815883