OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the extent to which accessibility and use of 11 specific family-friendly work conditions were associated with physical health, anxiety and depression in Malaysian women with young children.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional design using a retrospective self-complete, anonymous, online survey was conducted between March and October 2021.
METHODS: Women with a child aged 5 years or less (N = 190) completed an online survey measuring their exposure (availability and use) to 11 specific family-friendly work conditions, and their physical health, anxiety, and depression. The sample included women who were currently and recently working and with both formal and informal employment.
RESULTS: After accounting for potential confounders, women who used paid maternity leave have a lower likelihood of having anxiety symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Future research is needed to extend the findings from this study by over-sampling women who are informally employed and not currently working. Policy creation and development processes, including research and decision-making, should be led by and inclusive of women. For example, research funding could be allocated to 'lived experience' research that privileges the co-design of research with consumers. Based on these findings, the extent to which family-friendly work conditions fulfill their intent to improve the well-being for working women requires further critique.
BACKGROUND: Saudi Arabia has a unique nursing profile, as the majority of the nursing workforce are expatriates. The Saudi health care system relies on contracted expatriate nurses to provide most of the direct patient health care. For nurses from other countries, Saudi Arabia can be a challenging place to work due to a range of factors including personal, policy and organisational variables. There is a high turnover of expatriate nurses, and this has been long-standing problem for the Saudi Arabian health care system.
METHOD: A cross-sectional survey design among nurses in Saudi Arabia including 502 nurses, of whom 83.7% are female. Structural equation modelling is used to examine the relationships between the study variables. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to create and validate the measurement models for variables.
RESULTS: The analysis of the survey data identifies that Filipino nurses are more likely to intend to leave their current position than other expatriates, including Malaysian, Pakistani, Indian or local Saudi nurses. Many expatriates identify discrimination as an important contributing factor for their intention to leave, citing that the national salary remuneration for nurses should be based on competency and delivery of care. Furthermore, several independent variables are found to be significant predictors of anticipated turnover, including discrimination; social support from immediate supervisor; organisational commitment; and autonomy.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the most comprehensive information available to date about the factors that influence nurses' desire to leave their current job and provides evidence for better health workforce planning in Saudi Arabia. This study strongly indicates that the main factor related to turnover is the unfair and unequal salaries paid to nurses of different nationalities in Saudi Arabia.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The findings relating to both Saudi and foreign nurse employment could be helpful to policymakers and the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia.