PERCEIVED STRESS, WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT AND WORK ENGAGEMENT AS CORRELATES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF WORKING NURSING MOTHERS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS.

The study examined the influence of perceived stress, work-family conflict and work engagement on the psychological well-being of working nursing mothers in Ibadan metropolis, Oyo state. Descriptive survey method was employed for this study. A sample of three hundred andfourteen -working nursing mothers was randomly selected among the population of -working women infive local government areas within Ibadan metropolis. The age of the participants was from 20-45years with a mean age of 28.80. Four standardized instruments; Ryff Psychological well-being Scale (r=0.73), Perceived Stress Scale (r= 0.77), Work-family Conflict Scale (r=0.75) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (r=0.84) was used. The statistical data analyses utilized are Pearson Product Moment Correlation and multiple regressions. Results indicate that psychological well-being negatively correlates with perceived stress (r = -.974, p<0.01), and workfamily conflict (r= -.785 p<0.01), however, positive correlation was recorded with work engagement (r= .492, p<0.01). Resultfurther showed a significant combined contribution of perceived stress, work-family conflict, and work engagement on psychological well-being (yielding a coefficient of multiple regressions R= 0.605, multiple R2 = 0.366 and adjusted R2 =.355). Also, perceived stress, work-family conflict and work engagement are potent predictors of psychological well-being of working nursing mothers. The most potent factor was work engagement (fi= .101, t = 7.051, P<0.01) -workfamily conflict (ft = -.074, t =- .2.437, P<0.05) and perceived stress (ft = - .974, t = -47.590, P<0.01). To this end, it is recommended that stress management trainings should be organized regularly to help -working nursing mothers attain a balance in work and family life, mediate and reduce stress and ultimately improve the psychological well-being of working nursing mothers. Also, working conditions and organizational policies should also be tailored to encourage employee engagement as this will also boost performance and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]