Workplace Support, Child Care, and Turnover Intentions among Employed Mothers of Infants

This article looks at the determinants of job turnover among mothers of infants, using intentions to change jobs or exit the labor force assessed at 1 year postpartum among a sample of 246 employed mothers. Hypotheses were that exit intentions should be more influenced by household factors determining labor supply and other personal characteristics indicating job attachment. Additionally, whereas both types of turnover intentions should decrease as workplace supports for mothers increase, child care satisfaction should affect exit intentions more than intentions to change jobs. Results showed support for the notion that labor force exits are more strongly influenced by child care problems and measures of job attachment than are job changes, though models correcting for selectivity reveal that the child care problems are not directly influencing exit intentions. Supervisor and co-worker support impede intentions to both exit the labor force and change jobs. However, other dimensions of workplace support affected intentions to exit and intentions to change jobs differently.