Work-Family Balance Practices and Psychological Distress Among Employees in Quebec: A Gender Comparison
In a context where dual-career couples are now the norm, the issue of balancing work and family cannot be ignored and it underlines the relevance of examining the effect of existing work-family practices in Quebec organizations on workers' wellbeing. A comparison by gender is also relevant, given the social relations of gender and the sexual division of labour. Nowadays, women still allocate more time to childcare and housework than men, while the latter are more engaged in career work. Using data from the Québec Survey on Working Conditions, Employment and Health and Safety at Work (EQCOTESST), the present study is based on Bakker and Demerouti's theoretical Job demands and resources (JD-R) model. Overall, the analysis indicates that work-family practices, especially those related to maternity and flexible management of working hours, reduce the psychological distress of women. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, working conditions, family responsibilities and organizational environment characteristics, having access to a large number of work-family practices (seven or more out of ten) decreases the probability of women experiencing a high level of psychological distress, but not that of men. Conversely, time spent doing housework or assuming family responsibilities increases the likelihood of men having high levels of psychological distress, whereas this is not the case for women.