Working and non-working mothers: a comparative study

Usha R. Rout; Cary L. Cooper; Helen Kerslake

doi:10.1108/09649429710181234

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Women In Management Review

ISSN: 0964-9425
Currently published as: Gender in Management: An International Journal

Online from: 1985

Subject Area: Human Resource Management

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Working and non-working mothers: a comparative study

Document Information:
Title:	Working and non-working mothers: a comparative study
Author(s):	Usha R. Rout, (Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK), Cary L. Cooper, (Professor at Manchester School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK), Helen Kerslake, (Helen Kerslake has now graduated from the Department of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK)
Citation:	Usha R. Rout, Cary L. Cooper, Helen Kerslake, (1997) "Working and non-working mothers: a comparative study", Women In Management Review, Vol. 12 Iss: 7, pp.264 - 275
Keywords:	Employees, Employment, Health, Mental health, Women
Article type:	Research paper
DOI:	10.1108/09649429710181234 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	MCB UP Ltd
Abstract:	Expands on research which has demonstrated that employment has positive or neutral effects on women’s health. This pilot study examines whether these positive effects could also be found in employed mothers by comparing working mothers with non-working mothers on measures of mental health, self-esteem, and mother role satisfaction. Also this study assesses the stress experienced by these mothers and examines the coping strategies used by them. Of the 200 questionnaires distributed, 101 were returned giving a 50.5 per cent return rate of which 78 per cent were working mothers and 22 per cent non-working mothers. The working mothers had better mental health and reported less depression than the non-working mothers. The most frequently reported source of stress for working mothers was not having enough time to do everything, whereas for non-working mothers lack of social life was a major stressor. The findings of this study support the expansion hypothesis, which emphasizes the benefits rather than the costs of multiple role involvement.