Dr. Rachael Pettigrew

The effect of work arrangements on perception of work-family balance.

by K. A. Duncan & R. N. Pettigrew

Published by Community, Work & Family

January 1, 2012

This research used a nationally representative sample of women and men in dual-earner families with children from the 1998 and 2005 time-use cycles of Statistics Canada's General Social Survey. The work extends knowledge on the effect of the use of three work arrangements: flexible schedules, shift work and self-employment, on respondents' reported satisfaction with their work-family balance. Results of regression analysis indicated that work arrangements strongly affected work-family balance and did so differently for women and men. For women, some control over the work schedule significantly improved the perception of balance. For men, both self-employment and shift work were negatively related to reported work-family balance. The results support a flexible approach by policy-makers and employers in formulating workplace policies that assist employees in achieving satisfaction with the balance between their family and work responsibilities.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2012.724832

Assessment of settlement services systems in Western and Northern Canada: Perceptions of settlement provider organizations.

by W. Ashton, R.N. Pettigrew & E. Galatsanou

Published by Canadian Ethnic Studies

January 1, 2016

In Western Canada, away from cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, and Winnipeg, where fewer immigrants arrive, newcomers often inject vital lifeblood into local economies, bring new ideas for businesses, and further diversify the ethno-cultural profiles of rural communities. Yet, there is far less research on settlement services available in rural communities and smaller urban centres. This paper explores the perceptions of 159 officials from settlement service organizations (SPOs) across 32 rural communities in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Western region, which consists of the four western provinces and three northern territories. A mixed method approach was used to investigate SPOs’ organizational capacity, partnerships and assessment needs in three sub-categories of rural communities: remote, small, and medium-sized. The majority of SPOs reported sufficient capacity to communicate and coordinate with stakeholders and meet reporting requirements. In contrast, a majority of SPOs also reported a lack of capacity for investing in governance and strategic planning. Smaller communities (less than 30,000 population) were the most challenged in providing settlement services. The conclusions call for more support for SPOs and a more robust and integrated settlement services provision system that can meet the needs of all categories of immigrants.

URL: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/652608

Poking a sleeping bear: The challenge of organizational recruitment for controversial topics.

by R. N. Pettigrew & K.A. Duncan

Published by Community, Work and Family

January 1, 2017

Researchers often approach employers to investigate employees’ work and family experiences. Organizational willingness to grant access to employees can vary, especially when the research topic is seen as controversial or contentious for the employer. This paper explores this methodological challenge using a research example from Manitoba, Canada, which explored the use of parental leave by male employees and the impact of managerial attitudes and corporate culture on usage. Sixty large employers were recruited with only seven of those organizations agreeing to participate. In this paper, the reasons organizations gave for declining to participate and the implications of their decisions for the research are examined. Although the final sample included 905 managers and employees, participating organizations tended to be employee-focused and family-friendly employers. Organizations declined participation for a variety of reasons: avoiding raising the issue with unions, awareness that their policies unfairly benefited female leave takers, and simply not seeing the relevance of a topic relating to men’s work–family experiences. A dialogue often absent from the literature, it is important to understand how employers can limit researchers’ access to employees on controversial topics. The existence of such barriers suggests alternative avenues to recruit participants directly when topics are contentious for employers.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2016.1270259

Canadian Employers’ Reaction and Policy Adaptation to the extended, 61-week parental leave.

by Rachael N. Pettigrew

Published by Canadian Studies in Population

April 9, 2020

The Canadian parental leave policy has evolved over the last 50 years to provide more flexibility and meet the changing needs of families. In December of 2017, the federal government announced an extension of parental leave from a maximum length of 35 to 61 weeks. However, the Employment Insurance (EI) total payment will remain the same, just spread over 61 weeks. Structured interviews with 46 Canadian employers were conducted to understand their perception of the parental leave extension, its impact on their employees and their organization, and to clarify how they have adapted their internal policies to the new legislation. Employers reported low employee uptake of the 61-week parental leave option, citing the affordability of lower EI payments over the longer leave. Employers expressed concerns related to backfilling, employees reintegrating after long absences, and the potential extra costs associated with top-ups and benefit-cost sharing. Only a few employers recognized the strategic importance of offering supplemental programs for recruitment, retention, and satisfaction of employees.

URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42650-020-00030-y

COVID-19’s disruption of Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program: Impacts on food supply chain, farmers, temporary foreign workers, families, and consumers.

by A. L. Dias De Vasconcelos & R. N. Pettigrew

Published by Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences

January 2, 2021

URL: https://doi.org/10.14307/JFCS113.1.35

Fathers’ use of parental leave in a Canadian law enforcement organization.

by Rachael N. Pettigrew & Karen A. Duncan

Published by Journal of Family Issues

February 2, 2021

Prior to 2018, Canadian parents had access to 35 weeks of parental leave; but leave use is persistently gendered. We examine employee, employment, and organizational characteristics that influence use of parental leave by men in a Canadian law enforcement organization. Data from 97 managers and 234 male employees were analyzed using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. Employees received a top up to 93 percent of their salary when on leave, therefore illuminating factors, other than income loss, that influence fathers’ leave use. Logistic regression analysis showed that men who were younger, more educated, had a partner who was not in the labor force, and who had a positive attitude toward leave use were more likely to take parental leave. Managers’ were less positive than employees about men’s leave use. Thematic analysis of comments revealed a gendered perception, negative impact on the workplace, and concerns over misuse of parental leave.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X20976733

An Untenable workload: COVID-19 and the disproportional impact on women’s work-family demands.

by Rachael N. Pettigrew

Published by Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences

July 2, 2022

URL: https://doi.org/10.14307/JFCS113.4.8