Exploring work-family conflict and family-work conflict amongst working parents of children with down syndrome in the Khomas region, Namibia.
dc.contributor.author | Ndove, Ester Ebba I. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-29T09:22:09Z | |
dc.date.available | 2024-05-29T09:22:09Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
dc.description | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master in industrial psychology | |
dc.description.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 ii 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 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11070/3844 | |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.publisher | University of Namibia | |
dc.subject | Work-to-family conflict | |
dc.subject | Down syndrome | |
dc.subject | COVID-19 | |
dc.subject | Family-to-work conflict | |
dc.subject | Individual work performance | |
dc.title | Exploring work-family conflict and family-work conflict amongst working parents of children with down syndrome in the Khomas region, Namibia. | |
dc.type | Thesis |