Work–family strain of employees with children with disabilities

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-02-2021-0039
• Published date: 24 August 2022
• Date: 24 August 2022
• Pages: 18-37
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity,equality,inclusion
• Author: Abraham Stefanidis,Margaret E. King-Sears,Lina Gilic,Vasilis Strogilos

Work–family strain of employees

with children with disabilities

Abraham Stefanidis

Department of Management, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business,

St. John’s University, New York, New York, USA

Margaret E. King-Sears

George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Lina Gilic

SUNY College at Old Westbury, Old Westbury, New York, USA, and

Vasilis Strogilos

School of Education, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between (1) employedparents’work–

family conflict (WFC), (2) their children with disabilities’support needs, (3) their children’s age, and (4) those

parents’levels of school engagement.

Design/methodology/approach–Data were collected from 193 US parents of children with disabilities who

completed a survey regarding work and family strain as well as school engagement. Descriptive statisticaland

correlational analyses were used, followed by moderated regression analysis.

Findings –Results indicate that higher levels of WFC have a negative impact on parents’school engagement.

Similarly, children with disabilities’increased needs for parental support have a negative impact on school

engagement. Moreover, the age of children with disabilities holds a moderating role in the relationship between

support needs and school engagement.

Research limitations/implications –Human resource managers can acquire information regarding

employed parents of children with disabilities’increased support needs and formalize flexible policies leading

to supportive workplace cultures. School personnel can instigate a range of options that facilitate parents’

school engagement, such as maximizing use of technology via virtual meetings and activities.

Originality/value –These innovative findings contribute to theoretical underpinnings in work and family

strain research as well as conservation of resources theory, given the lack of previous empirical work specific to

children with disabilities and their employed parents.

Keywords Work–family conflict, Family strain, School engagement, School involvement, Employed parents,

Children with disabilities

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Over six million students with disabilities in the United States (US) receive special education

services (U.S. Department of Education, 2020), yielding a comparable quantity of children’s

Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings with parents’participation. Parents’

school engagement also includes involvement in other school activities (e.g. attend special

events) and provision of support at home (e.g. assist with homework). Additionally, school

engagement consists of parents’communication with their child’s teachers and other school

personnel. Of critical importance is that such engagement contributes to positive outcomes

for children. Specifically, parents’school engagement is correlated with children’s improved

academic achievement and school attendance (Hirano et al., 2016), leading to school personnel

valuing parental engagement (Elbaum et al., 2016). National data indicate most parents’

school involvement consists of attending meetings and school events, with almost half

volunteering in alternative ways (e.g. field trips) (McQuiggan and Megra, 2017). When

EDI

42,1

18

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 6 February 2021

Revised 13 May 2021

17 October 2021

Accepted 14 July 2022

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 42 No. 1, 2023

pp. 18-37

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-02-2021-0039

schools capitalize on parents’engagement, it is significant that their children benefit in

multiple ways, such as parents reinforcing skills taught at school (Gross et al., 2018).

With almost 91% of school-aged children’s parents employed (Bureau of Labor Statistics,

2019), it can be problematic when parental capacity for school involvement can be impacted

by work obligations. Because some parents of children with disabilities experience family

strain due to increased caregiving-related tasks (McConnell and Savage, 2015), employees

who are parents of children with disabilities can face more work challenges (Brennan et al.,

2016). For example, inflexible work schedules and intense job responsibilities (e.g. demanding

tasks; long hours) impede parents’school engagement. This impediment can result in work–

family conflict (WFC), which refers to the interrole conflict deriving from increased work

obligations’impact on family life (Dubis and Bernadowski, 2014).

Work-related stressors are further accentuated for employed parents whose children have

increased disability-related support needs. Importantly, it is not the child’s disability label

that corresponds to increased support needs; rather, needs are determined by children’s

individual characteristics, and severity of impairment varies widely within any disability

type. For example, students with autism and emotional and behavioral disorders can have

challenging behaviors, associated with extensive support needs, requiring crisis intervention

and intensive services (Gnanasekaran et al., 2016). Brown (2014) found that high levels of

child difficulties (e.g. children with intellectual disabilities who have frequent temper

outbursts) were associated with WFC, highlighting not only the role of work (e.g. longer work

hours), but also that of family strain. Ultimately, many parents who could benefit the most

from school engagement have the least reservoirs of energy to do so, due to increased strain.

Children’s ages differentially interact with work–family balance (Brown and Clark, 2017)

and disability support needs (Rupp and Ressler, 2009), altering the types and availability of

resources that parents can potentially devote to their children’s schooling. Due to children’s

needs shifting as they age (Brennan et al., 2016;Kirk, 2008), work strain may not affect

parental school engagement the same way for younger and older ages. Thus, the age of

children with disabilities is a factor that bears further examination regarding the relationship

of work–family strain and parental school engagement.

Hobfoll (1989) describes conservation of resources theory as conceptualizing strain

directly related to people’s availability of internal and external supports. When such

supports, or resources, are sufficient, less strain is experienced. People utilize resources they

have acquired and maintained to access them when needed. Conversely, Hobfoll’s theory

contextualizes strain aligned with people who have depleted their resources. Drawing on

conservation of resources theory, in this research, we acknowledge that parents’reservoir of

internal and external resources (e.g. energy, time, finances, childcare) for being responsive to

their children’s needs while maintaining employment is limited. Given limited resources and

corresponding reserves, parents are obliged to prioritize how and where they allot their

energy and time. Therefore, increased strain at work and at home may diminish parents’

capacity to engage in the schooling activities of their children.

Given the lack of previous empirical work, the current study’s examination of parents’

WFC, children’s support needs, and children’s age can significantly expand research on

school engagement. Past studies have primarily focused on school engagement with parents

of typically developing children (Hanson and Pugliese, 2020;Holmes et al., 2018;LaRocque

et al., 2011;Lin et al., 2014;McQuiggan and Megra, 2017;Oswald et al., 2018). Hence, the

novelty of the current study stems from the fact that it assesses levels of work-related

(i.e. WFC) and family-related (i.e. child’s support needs and age) strain focusing on a population

of employees who grapple with distinctive issues that impact their levels of school engagement.

Work–family

strain

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