Supporting Sleep and Health of Employed Parents with Typical and Exceptional Care Demands

Abstract

Employed parents of children with disabilities and serious health conditions report high levels of stress increasing the level of risk for sleep and physical health problems. This study examines the influence of personal, family, and work supports on sleep and health. Conservation of resources theory and the continuum of dependent care model frame the conceptual development of this exploratory study. Using secondary analysis of the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce, employed parents providing disability care were compared to those providing care to children without disabilities to determine how personal, family, and workplace resources affect sleep and physical health. Bivariate and multivariate tests revealed organizational support was the strongest predictor of sleep and physical health problems. Exceptional care demands were associated with poorer sleep and physical health. Job autonomy and coworker support moderated sleep and physical health outcomes for employed parents of children with disabilities. Practice implications include developing family supportive organizational cultures and interventions that aid employed parents with exceptional care demands. Occupational social workers can assist ensuring organizational health promotion and prevention initiatives include targeted interventions. Future research should examine the long-term effects of exceptional care demands and impact of workplace initiatives.

Keywords:

• Employed parents
• children with disabilities
• exceptional care demands
• sleep
• physical health
• occupational social work

Acknowledgments

The authors disclose receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This research and preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and from the Center for Mental Health Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services (NIDILRR grant 90RT5030). The views expressed in the article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

The authors would like to acknowledge the access we were given by the Society for Human Resource Management to the SHRM 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce. SHRM is not responsible for the interpretations presented in this article or the conclusions authors reached based on our analysis and interpretation of the data. We are also grateful for the assistance we received from Ellen Galinsky and staff of the Families and Work Institute who provided their encouragement for the study of employed family members giving exceptional care, and included key variables in the 2016 NSCW.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).