Work – family conflict, sense of coherence,coping resources and job satisfaction amongst women general practitioners

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to explore how women general practitioners experience work-family conflict, their sense of coherence, coping resources as well as implications of these on their level of job satisfaction. This involved investigating the bi-dimensional model of the work-family conflict and measuring them against other investigated variables like coping resources, sense of coherence and job satisfaction. The research was conceptualized based on the stress and coping models. Literature review based mostly on international level revealed that women doctors do experience work-family conflict and that it does impact on their level of well-being. The sample, which consisted of women general practitioners residing in the Gauteng province, was obtained using snowballing method and non-probability sampling method. A hundred and fourteen questionnaires were distributed by mail and within a period of three months only 28 questionnaires had been returned of which 22 were used for statistical procedures. Statistical analysis involved a number of procedures including Pearson correlation, t-test procedures and partial correlation methods. The results revealed that women general practitioners do experience work-family conflict especially one aspect of it known as the family interference with work (F→W). Furthermore results indicated that the experience of work-family conflict, specifically the F→W amongst these women does affect their level of job satisfaction in a significantly negative way. Demographics on the other hand proved to have no significant impact on the level of job satisfaction amongst these women. Lastly, it was noted that even though these women employed a wide variety of coping resources none of them proved to have any significant effect on their level of job satisfaction.