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Kwon, Kim, Park, and Kim: Utilization of Work-Family Balance Support Policy and Factors Associated with Retention Intention among Married Female Officers with Preschool Children
Original Article

Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing 2019; 25(3): 329-344.

Published online: 17 September 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2019.25.3.329

Utilization of Work-Family Balance Support Policy and Factors Associated with Retention Intention among Married Female Officers with Preschool Children

Jo Eun Kwon1, Gwang Suk Kim2, Jeongok Park3, Sue Kim2

1Nursing Officer, Korean Armed Forces Goyang Hospital, Goyang, Korea.

2Professor, College of Nursing, Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

3Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Sue Kim. College of Nursing, Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2228-3276, Fax: +82-2-2227-8303, suekim@yuhs.ac

Received 16 August 2019       Revised 5 September 2019       Accepted 7 September 2019

© 2019 Korean Society of Women Health Nursing

Korean Society of Women Health Nursing

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to identify utilization of the work-family support policy (WFSP) and factors affecting retention intention among Korean female military officers.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey recruited 103 married female officers from the Korean Army, Navy, and Air force with preschool-aged children through convenience and snowball sampling. Via online surveys from June to November, 2018, the participants self-reported retention intention, work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and utilization of the WFSP. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression.

Results

Retention intention (22.29±5.98) was reported at the mid-level, lower than scores reported in the literature for female workers. Work-family conflict (32.51±5.29) and job satisfaction (63.10±7.45) were above the midpoint levels. Use of maternity leave (100.0%) and parental leave (92.2%) was high, especially compared to the rates of child-care day off (20.4%) and parenting time (20.4%). ‘Noticeable increases in childcare services within the army’ (22.8%) was reported as the supportive measure needed the most by female military officers. Job satisfaction (β=.43, p≤.001), the use of parenting time (β=−0.29, p=.002), living type (β=−.18, p=.043), and service type (β=−.16, p=.035) significantly influenced retention intention.

Conclusions

The findings highlight the priority areas of importance within the WFSP and suggest that a family-friendly culture can improve female officers' retention intention. Accordingly, policy changes at the Ministry of National Defense improving the system to enhance a family-friendly culture in the military is expected to strengthen the retention intention of female officers and contribute to excellence in the military workforce.

Keywords: Retention, Intention, Military, Work, Family

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Participants' Use of Work-Family Balance Support Policy (N=103)

kjwhn-25-329-i001
Categories Yes, n(%)
Maternity leave 103 (100.0)
Parental leave 95 (92.2)
Fetal examination (or Menstrual) leave 77 (74.8)
Duty working exemption 71 (69.0)
Maternity protection time 58 (56.3)
Flexible working 28 (27.2)
Child-care day off 21 (20.4)
Parenting time 21 (20.4)
Table 2

Differences in Retention Intention by General Characteristics (N=103)

kjwhn-25-329-i002
Characteristics Categories M±SD t or F p
Group Army 2.49±0.69 1.13 .328
Navy/Marine 2.63±0.58
Air force 2.29±0.61
Age 20s (n=16) 2.36±0.61 0.37 .692
30s (n=86) 2.50±0.68
40s (n=1) 2.22
Education level College 3.17±0.24 1.15 .322
University/Military academy 2.45±0.66
Postgraduate 2.49±0.67
Family income (million won) 2–2.99 2.56±0.42 0.31 .820
3–3.99 2.36±0.66
4–4.99 2.42±0.74
≥5 2.52±0.66
Spouse's status Soldier 2.50±0.67 0.55 .584
Civilian 2.42±0.66
Number of children 1 2.42±0.58 0.71 .494
2 2.58±0.75
3 2.44±1.05
Living type With spouse 2.52±0.69 0.59 .559
Without spouse 2.44±0.65
Military rank Major 2.38±0.70 0.22 .807
Captain 2.50±0.66
First lieutenant 2.50±0.79
Total experience (year) 4–6 2.59±0.62 0.49 .693
7–10 2.41±0.62
11–15 2.50±0.86
>15 2.67±0.67
Branch Medical branch 2.31±0.52 1.62 .189
Combat branch 2.51±0.74
Technical branch 2.74±0.72
Administrative branch 2.53±0.69
Service area Forward area 2.63±0.58 1.66 .099
Rear area 2.40±0.69
Service type Extended service 2.52±0.66 1.75 .083
Long-term service 2.19±0.62
M±SD=mean±standard deviation.
Table 3

Differences in Retention Intention by Use of Work-Family Balance Support Policy (N=103)

kjwhn-25-329-i003
Categories Use M±SD t p
Parental leave Yes 2.49±0.67 0.63 .528
No 2.33±0.68
Flexible working Yes 2.63±0.76 1.48 .141
No 2.42±0.62
Fetal examination (or Menstrual) leave Yes 2.46±0.68 −0.43 .667
No 2.52±0.62
Parenting time Yes 2.79±0.60 2.47 .015
No 2.40±0.66
Maternity protection time Yes 2.49±0.73 0.17 .862
No 2.46±0.58
Child-care day off Yes 2.46±0.81 −0.13 .899
No 2.48±0.63
Duty working exemption Yes 2.51±0.72 −0.79 .430
No 2.40±0.54
M±SD=mean±standard deviation.
Table 4

Correlations among Retention Intention and Job Satisfaction, Work-Family Conflict, Ease of Use of the Policies (N=103)

kjwhn-25-329-i004
Variables Retention intention Job satisfaction Work-family conflict Maternity leave Parental leave Flexible working FEML Parenting time Maternity protection time Child-care day off
r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p)
Job satisfaction .38 (.001) 1
Work-family conflict −.01 (.937) −.30 (.002) 1
Maternity leave −.05 (.616) .28 (.004) −.14 (.157) 1
Parental leave −.12 (.227) .10 (.336) −.17 (.086) .18 (.070) 1
Flexible working .28 (.004) .31 (.002) −.28 (.005) −.06 (.543) .33 (.001) 1
FEML .12 (.225) .25 (.010) −.16 (.102) .02 (.075) .17 (.087) .40 (.001) 1
Parenting time .18 (.068) .37 (<.001) −.23 (.020) .01 (.917) .18 (.077) .54 (.001) .48 (.001) 1
Maternity protection time .11 (.278) .25 (.012) −.33 (.001) .11 (.275) .26 (.007) .52 (.001) .33 (.001) .59 (.001) 1
Child-care day off .05 (.588) .36 (.001) −.29 (.003) .20 (.045) .26 (.008) .37 (.001) .34 (.001) .33 (.001) .35 (.001) 1
Duty working exemption −.01 (.933) .14 (.149) −.22 (.024) .21 (.035) .39 (.001) .25 (.010) .23 (.019) .15 (.144) .31 (.001) .31 (.002)
FEML=Fetal Examination (or Menstrual) Leave.
Table 5

Factors Affecting Participants' Retention Intention (N=103)

kjwhn-25-329-i005
Variables β B SE t p
Total years of experience −.15 −.14 .08 −1.62 .109
Number of children .07 .09 .11 0.83 .410
Job satisfaction .43 .85 .18 4.65 <.001
Use of parenting time† −.29 −.47 .15 −3.16 .002
Ease of using flexible working .12 .07 .06 1.25 .214
Living type‡ −.18 −.24 .12 −2.05 .043
Service type§ −.16 −.35 .16 −2.14 .035
R2=.32, Adj. R2=.27, F=6.38, p<.001
β =standardized coefficients; Adj. R2=adjusted coefficient of determination R2.
†Reference=yes, ‡Reference=with spouse, §Reference=extended service.

Notes

Other This manuscript is a condensed form of the first author's master's thesis from Yonsei University.

Conflict of Interest The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Author Contributions

  • Conceptualization: Kwon JE, Kim S.

  • Formal analysis: Kwon JE, Kim S.

  • Writing - original draft: Kwon JE, Kim S.

  • Writing - review & editing: Kim S, Kim GS, Park J.

Summary Statement

  • • What is already known about this topic?

  • Factors that affect married women's intention to continue work include job satisfaction, total years of experience, number of children, current status, and education level.

  • • What does this paper adds?

  • This study identified a different set of factors influencing female military officers' retention intention. Although the importance of job satisfaction was comparable to literature reports, other factors, such as the use of parenting time, living with a spouse, and military service type were found to be important.

  • • Implications for practice, education and/or policy

  • Policy improvements regarding work-family balance support and enhancing the family-friendly culture of the military can contribute to better retention intention of female military officers.

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ORCID iDs

Jo Eun Kwon
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0760-4475

Gwang Suk Kim
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9823-6107

Jeongok Park
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4978-817X

Sue Kim
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3785-2445

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