Difficulties Faced by Working Mothers and Potential Solutions to these Problems: A Survey of Nursing Personnel in a Korean Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify difficulties that working mothers face and solutions to the identified problems. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey. A survey with 8 items rated on a 5-point scale (1~5) and 5 open-ended questions was administered to 48 married nurses and nurse aides working in 5 nursing units of a teaching hospital in South Korea in April 2013. Results: The score of satisfaction with childrearing patterns (mean=3.31±0.79) was higher than that of satisfaction with spousal support (mean=3.08±0.85). The score of working mother's turnover intention (mean=2.40±1.03) was lowest among the 8 items, but partners did not want their wives to quit work (mean=3.60±1.22). Satisfaction with company employment benefits for childrearing (mean=2.90±0.72) had the lowest score among the 4 satisfaction types analyzed. The turnover intention and satisfactions with childrearing (r=-.51, p<.001), spousal support (r=-.43, p=.002), supervisor's support (r=-.36, p=.013), and company benefits (r=-.37, p=.009) showed significant negative correlations. Conclusion: According to these results, familial support for childrearing is highly correlated with employed mothers' turnover intention. So improvement of familial support for childrearing will reduce married nurses' turnover intention. In addition, well-organized nursery facilities are recommended for enabling working mothers to continue their careers. Furthermore, more family-friendly welfare policies such as a flextime systems or compulsory paternity leave should be reinforced in the workplace.