Applying the effort-reward imbalance model to household and family work: a population-based study of German mothers

Stefanie Sperlich,Siegfried Geyer,Richard Peter

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-12

Abstract

BackgroundThis paper reports on results of a newly developed questionnaire for the assessment of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) in unpaid household and family work. Methods: Using a cross-sectional population-based survey of German mothers (n = 3129) the dimensional structure of the theoretical ERI model was validated by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Analyses of Variance were computed to examine relationships between ERI and social factors and health outcomes.ResultsCFA revealed good psychometric properties indicating that the subscale 'effort' is based on one latent factor and the subscale 'reward' is composed of four dimensions: 'intrinsic value of family and household work', 'societal esteem', 'recognition from the partner', and 'affection from the child(ren)'. About 19.3% of mothers perceived lack of reciprocity and 23.8% showed high rates of overcommitment in terms of inability to withdraw from household and family obligations. Socially disadvantaged mothers were at higher risk of ERI, in particular with respect to the perception of low societal esteem. Gender inequality in the division of household and family work and work-family conflict accounted most for ERI in household and family work. Analogous to ERI in paid work we could demonstrate that ERI affects self-rated health, somatic complaints, mental health and, to some extent, hypertension.ConclusionsThe newly developed questionnaire demonstrates satisfied validity and promising results for extending the ERI model to household and family work.

Highlights

This paper reports on results of a newly developed questionnaire for the assessment of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) in unpaid household and family work
Among women who working full time more than one in every two (55.7%) reported to bear the main burden of household and family work whereas this applied to only 4.8% of men
The application of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) to household and family work provides an access to information on work at home similar to what was reported for paid work

Summary

Introduction

This paper reports on results of a newly developed questionnaire for the assessment of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) in unpaid household and family work. The health-related impact of qualitative psychosocial work characteristics has been amply demonstrated, but research has predominantly focused on paid labour. In this context, a variety of studies have examined the health-related impact of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) [1]. A variety of studies have examined the health-related impact of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) [1] This model postulates that work characterized by high effort and low reward reflects a state of failed reciprocity between ‘costs’ and ‘gains’. In the long run students’ psychosocial stress and its association with self-rated health in adolescents These studies provided first evidence that the ERI model may be important outside the work-life

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Discussion

Conclusion