Workplace family‐supportive programmes: Predictors of employed parents' importance ratings

Abstract

Little research has examined the predictors of employed parents' perceived importance of family‐supportive programmes. Therefore, this study examined the relationship of gender, parenting demands (number of children living at home and age of youngest child), family‐related tangible support (spouse tangible support and other‐family tangible support), and work–family conflict (work—>family and family—>work conflict) to the perceived importance of six family‐supportive programmes (flextime, compressed work week, job sharing, child‐care assistance, work at home and reduced work hours). Survey data were obtained from a sample of 252 employed parents. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that age of youngest child and family—>work conflict were the most consistent predictors. Implications of the findings for the outcome evaluation of family‐supportive programmes are discussed.