Browsing by Subject "supervisor support"

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    Exploring managers' and supervisors' experiences of supporting breastfeeding at work: A qualitative study among clothing factory workers in South Africa
    (2021) Junglee, Bibi Sharfa; Jaga, Ameeta
    This study focuses on understanding supervisors' and managers' experiences of supporting breastfeeding support at work in the context of clothing factories in the Western Cape, South Africa. Return to full-time employment after maternity leave is the leading cause affecting mothers' breastfeeding decisions. A qualitative, exploratory research design was used. Secondary qualitative data from 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews with supervisors and managers were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Three major themes emerged: Influence of supervisors' socio- cultural beliefs and personal experiences on support orientation; Navigating productivity, mothers' breastfeeding needs, and co-worker emotions; and the nature of maternity and breastfeeding conversations. Drawing from the study findings, implications for managerial practices and policy recommendations are proposed to advance managerial and supervisory support for breastfeeding at work in low-income workplaces.
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    Social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa: the relationship between social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa
    (2025) Walters, Alexandra; Bagraim, Jeffrey
    Although most workers are challenged by competing work and family demands, lowincome workers are under-represented in work-family research. Work-family conflict (WFC) dynamics differ for low-income workers, who generally differ in access and resources available to higher-wage workers inside and outside of the workplace. Little is known about the support resources low-income workers draw on to manage WFC. Without formal organisational support, low-income workers tend to rely on interpersonal relationships in the workplace, family and community; the latter have attracted little research attention. The prevailing understanding, rooted in resource-based stress theory, is that support has a direct ameliorative effect on WFC. This study investigates the direct and interactive predictive effect of collegial, organisational, family, and community support on the WFC of low-income workers. It also examines how organisational support for family mediates the effect of supervisor support on WFC. Data was collected using a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional research design using self-report questionnaires. Participants were front-line, low-income workers in cleaning, catering, and security functions employed across multiple sites at a large outsourcing company (N= 339). The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the WFC experiences of low-income workers, a group that has been underrepresented in research. By focusing on this demographic within a specific organisational context in South Africa, the study aims to uncover the unique challenges front-line, low-income employees face in balancing work and family responsibilities. The differential experiences of support among low-income workers highlights the need to understand the effect and interaction of different sources of support. Research results indicate that collegial support has a significant negative relationship with work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, while organisational support for family had a significant negative relationship with family-to-work conflict and not work-to-family conflict. However, community and family support were not seen to have a significant relationship with WFC. The results on the mediating effect of organisational support for the family were not significant. The implications for these findings are discussed.