The Impact of Parenthood, Support, and Short-Term Contracts on Work-Family Conflict of Female and Male Residents' Career

Abstract

Work factors and work-family interference play an important role in physicians leaving clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to examine residents' work-family conflict and family-work conflict in association with parental status, perceived support, and short-term contracts. Data acquisition was carried out within the multi-centric and prospective "KarMed" study in Germany at the end of the postgraduate training in 2016 (N=433). The Work-Family Conflict and Family-Work Conflict scales were used. Further independent variables were gender, parental status, short-term contracts, and perceived support from partner. Results Female physicians with children interrupted postgraduate training five times more often then female physicians without children and 18 times more often than male physicians with children. Female as well as male physicians with children showed greater family-work conflicts, and female physicians without children scored higher on work-family conflict. Male physicians did not show significant results on work-family conflict. Neither short-term contracts nor perceived support from the partner had a significant influence on work-family or family work conflict. There is a need to reduce work-family conflicts and their associated factors in female resident physicians.