Work-Family Balance, Participation in Family Work and Parental Self-Efficacy in Chilean Workers

Abstract

The article analyzes differences regarding work-family balance, participation in family work, and parental self-efficacy in workers (N=300) in Chile according to their sex and their status as income providers. Three instruments (Survey Work-Home Interaction-Nijmegen, Questionnaire of Participation in Family Work, and the Parental Evaluation Scale) were applied to workers from public and private organizations. Our results show that participation in family work is positively related to work-family balance, while the latter, in turn, is positively associated with parental self-efficacy. Furthermore, sex and being the main income provider in the household shows differential effects in both participation in family work and perception of parental self-efficacy. These results, we conclude, suggest the persistence of some elements of traditional gender patterns. This underlines the need to examine organizational policies from a gender perspective and to analyze the impact of public policy on organizational practices.