The Experience of Childbearing Women in the Workplace: The Impact of Family-Friendly Policies and Practices. Final Report.

Secondary analyses of data collected in the Mothers in the Workplace study examined how family-relevant workplace policies and practices may influence childbearing women's labor force participation during pregnancy and after childbirth. It focused on 2,375 women who held wage and salary jobs during pregnancy and 1,761 of these women who were reinterviewed following childbirth. Findings confirmed previous research: working in a low-wage job, working part-time, being in a nonprofessional/nonmanagerial occupation, being a relatively new hire, working for a smaller organization, and working a nonstandard shift each were independently associated with reduced access to family-friendly policies in the prenatal period, with respondent characteristics such as education controlled. Employers who offered health insurance and related benefits had more job-satisfied and productive employees who worked longer into pregnancy, reported reduced absenteeism, and planned to return to work sooner. Employers who offered time flexibility benefited in increased productivity, earlier planned return, and increased job satisfaction among pregnant employees. Women with job-protected leave, higher prenatal earnings, and greater flexibility in when they started and ended work were more likely to remain attached to the labor force and their prenatal employers. Flexible time policies and practices were central in mediating the relationship between social support at work and problems arranging child care, work to home interference, and job satisfaction. (Appendixes include lists of 38 references and 4 related reports, surveys, and data tables.) (YLB)