Exploring work-family conflict and family-work conflict amongst working parents of children with down syndrome in the Khomas region, Namibia.
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Date
2024
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
Orientation: The world and dynamics of work and family have been changing since
the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
which resulted in the most rapid transformation of the workplace. All these changes
may inevitably impact the work-family and family-work environments of parents of
children with Down syndrome. Research purpose: The purpose of this study is to
look into the relationship between WFC, FWC, and individual work performance
among parents parenting children with DS in Namibia's Khomas region. Motivation
for the study: The study was motivated by a lack of adequate and relevant research
on Down syndrome in Namibia. Hence, this study attempted to fill gaps in research on
Down syndrome, its relationship to work and family roles, and their possible effects
on the individual work performances of working parents who have children born with
Down syndrome. Furthermore, to comprehend the potential challenges faced by
working parents of children with Down syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic, in
which remote work became the new global norm across organisations, the study
investigated how these adjustments affected the work-life balance as well. Research
design, approach, and method: The study used a mixed-methods approach,
especially a concurrent research design with non-probability purposive sampling, to
accomplish this. The WFC questionnaire was used to evaluate work-family conflict;
the FWC questionnaire examined family-work conflict; and the Individual Work
Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) was used to measure individual work
performance via a survey. SPSS version 28 was used to analyse the quantitative data.
Concurrently, the study employed a narrative research design, with an in-depth, semi structured, open-ended interview guide serving as the study's qualitative data
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collection tool. The tool was created to document the individual experiences of
working parents with Down syndrome in Namibia's Khomas region. The data was
analysed using content analysis, and the themes that emerged were grouped together.
Research findings: Only work-family conflict was found to negatively influence
individual work performance at the 5% level of significance. These findings showed
that family-work conflict was not a significant variable to impact individual work
performance. The study found five themes from the qualitative analysis, which were:
understanding Down syndrome; balancing caregiving and employment
responsibilities; parental work performance and family commitments; the impact of
family obligations on work; and organisational support and accommodation. Value:
Insights gained from this study highlighted the need for more future research on similar
characteristics, which may be the significant factors that affect individual work
performance. The study results may all in all improve the individual work
performances of parents of Down syndrome children in Namibia and recommend
standard organisational strategies that may drive organisations to design appropriate
and acceptable work expectations for both the employer and employees, especially in
the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master in industrial psychology
Keywords
Work-to-family conflict, Down syndrome, COVID-19, Family-to-work conflict, Individual work performance