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Work Engagement Among Child-Care Providers: An Application of the Job Demands–Resources Model

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Abstract

Background

As the demand for child care continues in the United States, the well-being of the child care workforce is an important consideration as well. Child care providers have job-related stresses, which affect their physical and mental health, ultimately can lead to a variety of concerns including, high turnover and overall quality of services.

Objectives

The purpose of the study is to examine the level of work engagement among child care workers. Specific attentions were paid to examine factors associated with work engagement using job demands–resources model.

Method

A cross-sectional design was used to analyze a total of 393 child care workers to examine the factors associated with their work engagement.

Results

Results of hierarchical linear regression analysis suggested that job resources, psychological rewards, and job control are significantly associated with child care workers’ work engagement. The study findings also confirm the buffering effect of job resources (perceived positive feelings about their job) on the relationship between job demands and work engagement. When there was low level of psychological rewards, there was a high negative relationship between job demands and work engagement; while when there was high level of psychological rewards, the job demands had no relationship with work engagement.

Conclusions

Overall, the findings show a link between having a high level of positive feelings and child care providers’ engagement at work. Developing strategies to reinforce employees’ positive feelings toward work may help to develop and maintain an engaged workforce. Studies testing such strategies are needed.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health (JRG-085, PI: Dnika Travis, Ph.D). Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Hogg Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, PO Box 730, Kutztown, PA, 19530, USA

    Ahyoung Lee

  2. Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, School of Social Work, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    HaeJung Kim

  3. Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Monica Faulkner

  4. School of Social Work, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, USA

    Paula Gerstenblatt

  5. Catalyst Research Center for Corporate Practice, New York, NY, USA

    Dnika J. Travis

Authors
  1. Ahyoung Lee
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  2. HaeJung Kim
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  3. Monica Faulkner
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  4. Paula Gerstenblatt
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  5. Dnika J. Travis
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Correspondence to Ahyoung Lee.

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Lee, A., Kim, H., Faulkner, M. et al. Work Engagement Among Child-Care Providers: An Application of the Job Demands–Resources Model. Child Youth Care Forum 48, 77–91 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9473-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9473-y

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