Francis Annor

Managing Work and Family Demands: The Perspectives of Employed Parents in Ghana

This chapter presents the results of a qualitative study examining the lived experiences of employed parents juggling work and family demands in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews conducted with staff of the University of Ghana showed that majority of employed parents experienced conflict in navigating the work–family interface. Heavy job demands, inadequate remuneration, parental demands and extended family responsibilities had profound negative influences on individuals’ ability to combine work and family roles. In the absence of formal support from government and employers, majority of employed parents relied extensively on immediate and extended family relatives, house helpers and informal sources of support at the workplace in managing the dual demands of work and family roles. Comparisons are made with previous research and implications for research and organisations are discussed.

Linking commuting stress to job satisfaction and turnover intention: The mediating role of burnout.

ABSTRACT This study uses structural equation modelling to test a model that posits that commuting stress would have direct and indirect effects (through burnout) on employee job satisfaction and turnover intention. Based on a sample (N = 336) of employees from diverse occupations in Ghana, the results partly supported the authors’ hypothesized model. Commuting stress was positively related to burnout and turnover intention but had no direct relationship with job satisfaction. In addition, commuting stress was indirectly related to job satisfaction and turnover intention via burnout. These results were found to be invariant for men and women. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed.

Work–family demands and support: Examining direct and moderating influences on work–family conflict

ABSTRACT This study examined the direct and moderating influences of work and family demands and support on work–family conflict among employees (N = 154) in a public university in Ghana. Results showed that work pressure positively predicted work-to-family conflict, whereas family pressure positively predicted work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict. Contrary to expectation, work support was not significantly related to work–family conflict, whereas family support positively predicted both directions of work–family conflict. The results also suggested limited moderating effects of work and family support on the relationship of work and family demands with work–family conflict, with social support strengthening the impact of work–family demands on work–family conflict. Implications for work–family research and policy in the Ghanaian and sub-Saharan African contexts are discussed.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of two scales of work–family conflict among Ghanaian employees

Abstract This study examines the psychometric properties of Carlson, Kacmar, and Williams’ (2000) multidimensional scale of work–family conflict and Matthews, Kath, and Barnes-Farrell’s (2010) abbreviated version of the instrument in Ghana. Five hundred and forty-one (541) employees selected from different organizations responded to structured questionnaires administered in English. Results from confirmatory factor analysis supported the six-dimensional factor structure of Carlson et al.’s (2000) measure. The instrument was found to have good internal consistency, adequate convergent validity and discriminant validity, as well as invariance of factor structure across gender. The results also supported the two-dimensional factor structure of Matthews et al.’s (2010) abbreviated version of the work–family conflict scale. The dimensions of work–family conflict on the abbreviated measure correlated strongly with respective dimensions of the original multidimensional version. Latent mean comparisons suggested that men reported more work–family conflict than women on both measures. The study demonstrates the applicability of both the six-dimensional work–family conflict scale and the abbreviated work–family conflict measure for research in Ghana.

Psychologists in Ghana : analysis of the standing register

The maiden register of the Ghana Psychological Council published in September 2015 represents the first national official standing register of psychologists in Ghana. Drawing on this maiden register, this paper presents a seminal analysis of the distribution of psychologists in Ghana in terms of categories of specialisation, gender composition, areas of employment, location of practice, and institutions of training. A copy of the gazette of registered psychologists was obtained from the office of the registrar of the Ghana Psychological Council and quantitative content analysis was conducted on the list of registered mainstream psychologists. Among other things, the analysis shows that there are 166 (largely Ghanaian-trained) psychologists categorised into six main subfields in the country. Females represent the majority in terms of gender composition. Colleges/polytechnics/universities are the main areas of employment; the practising locations of 69.9% of the psychologists are in Accra, with no psychologist registered from the Brong-Ahafo and Upper East regions. Despite the challenges with the maiden register of psychologists in Ghana, the register does provide a good database for reflections on the availability, diversity and distribution of psychologists in Ghana.

Juggling family and professional caring: Role demands, work-family conflict and burnout among registered nurses in Ghana

Juggling work and family responsibilities remains an important concern for both employees and organizations. This study aimed at examining work and family demands as predictors of work–family conflict and the relationship between work–family conflict and burnout among registered nurses in Ghana.

The Burden of Care: Psychosocial Experiences and Coping Strategies among Caregivers of Persons with Mental Illness in Ghana

Abstract This study investigated psychosocial experiences and coping strategies of caregivers of persons with mental illness in a psychiatric hospital in Ghana. The study adopted a qualitative design in which 20 participants (10 psychiatric nurses and 10 family caregivers) were sampled from the hospital and interviewed. Using thematic analysis, the results showed that stress was common with both psychiatric nurses and family caregivers, which impact on their physical health. Both groups of caregivers reported experiences of stigma, with psychiatric nurses being stigmatized mainly by other health workers whereas family caregivers reported stigma from the public, particularly neighbors. Coping strategies differed between family caregivers and psychiatric nurses, in that nurses mostly used avoidance strategies and humor in dealing with stress and stigma associated with their work whereas family caregivers used emotion-focused coping. The implications of these findings include the need for counseling services to help caregivers manage negative experiences and psychoeducation of caregivers on adaptive coping strategies as well as training strategies targeting the public and healthcare workers on measures to reduce the stigma associated with caring for persons with mental illnesses.