Moving from “balancing” to “blending”: The role of identity integration for working parents

Abstract

Successful identity integration processes are fundamental for the well-being of working parents during stressful circumstances. In two studies we analyzed the associations between Parent–Work Identity Integration (PWII), workload, care-load, and parents’ work problems in a sample of individual working parents in Italy ( N = 326 individuals; Study 1), and those between work–life conflict, task-sharing between partners, PWII, and parents’ intention to leave their job and mental health in a sample of mixed-sex working couples with school-aged children ( N = 97 couples, Study 2). Finally, we examined gender differences in all the above associations. Study 1 results showed that parents dissatisfied with care-load distribution within the couple and those with higher workload also reported more problems at work, and these effects were fully mediated by PWII. Moreover, Study 2 showed that care-load distribution is only associated with women’s PWII and, indirectly, their well-being and their intention to leave their job. Moreover, parents’ lower work-life conflict was associated with higher PWII and, in turn, to better mental health and lower intention to leave their job. The effects of work-life conflict were also found to cross-over onto the partner’s well-being. Promoting working parents’ ability to harmoniously blend their work and parental identities, in addition to balance conflicting demands between work and life, appears crucial for intervention.

Multiple social identities and well‐being: Insights from a person‐centred approach

“…Note that in our perspective affective and cognitive states of identity integration could derive not only from the alignment between personal preferences and organizational pressures but also from cultural aspects such as stereotypes (see Manzi et al., 2018; Von Hippel et al., 2011), family factors (see Reverberi et al., 2022) and work and family loads (see Manzi et al. 2023, Study 1).…”