• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.87-109
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• 2017

Objectives: While employed mothers' use of maternity and parental leave has increased, the contexts that facilitate or hinder mothers' leave policy use have been under examined. The purpose of this study was to explore mothers' experiences of using maternity and parental leave. Method: Twenty-two mothers with young child under age three participated in this study. Results: All 22 mothers used maternity leave and 12 mothers used parental leave. Three main themes were identified: different experiences of maternity leave, experiences of parental leave, and skepticism about the leave policy but with some hope that it will improve. Regarding the mothers' experiences of maternity leave, the mothers thought that maternity leave was easily accessible but some mothers still felt guilty for using maternity leave. They also prepared for their work gap before the leave to avoid harming their colleagues. Accessibility to parental leave varied according to the characteristics of the organizations (i.e., family-friendly organization culture, supportive supervisor) and family contexts (i.e., availability of child care from family members, financial issues). The mothers perceived that while parental leave helps working mothers coordinate their family and work life, it is not as accessible as maternity leave in Korea. They suggested extending the maternity leave duration and improving accessibility to parental leave. Conclusions: These findings suggest that policy support is warranted to help employed mothers with young children remain in the workforce. This study also has implications for supporting employed mothers' work and family life.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.47-88
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• 2010

Focusing on the Korean experience, particularly a recent amendment which extends maternity leave and increases financial benefits during maternity and childcare leave, this paper evaluates how such an expansion of benefits affects the employment and the hourly wages of young wages of childbearing age. Empirical results from a difference--in-difference-in-differences model having older warren, older men, and young men simultaneously as the control group suggest that neither the employment nor the hourly wages of young women are affected. This implies that the law change does not cause shifts in the labor supply curve and the labor demand curve for young women.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.396-407
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• 2023

Background: This study investigated the awareness and utilization of maternity protection and work-family balance support policies among dental hygienists in dental hospitals and clinics. Methods: We surveyed 200 dental hygienists. Twenty-two who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded, leaving 178 participants for analysis. The self-administered 48-item questionnaire gathered information on demographics, workplace details, policy awareness, government knowledge, and suggestions for improvement. Results: Awareness of maternity and family support programs significantly differed with age, marital status, number of children, and clinical experience. Dental hygienists in general hospitals and university hospitals reported greater ease of utilizing these policies compared to those in dental clinics. Among the participants, 27.7% took pre- and post-maternity leave, 26.6% took parental leave, 16.9% had reduced working hours during pregnancy, 15.8% had reduced working hours during childhood,and 8.5% during family leave. To promote program uptake, participants suggested mandatory implementation across workplaces (68.4%), expanded support for substitute workers (48.6%), and increased education and promotion of government support (42.4%). Conclusion: While most dental hygienists were aware of the Maternity Protection and Work-Family Balance Assistance Policy, utilizing it proved challenging due to several factors. Organizational policies or practices may not fully implement this policy, while workplace culture could discourage its use. Unfair treatment and the lack of available substitutes further hindered access. To prevent career interruptions for dental hygienists due to pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, and family care, and to maintain career continuity, the dental community and government should establish a multifaceted social support system. This system should prioritize several key areas: strengthening policy promotion, fostering a family-friendly atmosphere, improving management and supervision of policy implementation and developing a robust support system for substitute personnel.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.79-98
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• 2016

This study empirically estimates the determinants of career interruption by married women. Using the survey of economic activities related to women's decision for career interruption, we consider the effect of maternity leave in workplace as well as individual characteristics on determining women's decision out of labor force. We found out that both existence and use of maternity leave in workplace seems to play an very important role in reducing women's career interruption.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2020

Background: Childbirth represents a significant transition for women, with physical and psychological sequelae. Reentry to the workplace during the postpartum period is understudied, with implications for maternal well-being and job-related outcomes. This study's aim was to examine selected pregnancy, childbirth, and return-to-work correlates of overall self-rated health within the first month of work reentry after maternity leave. Methods: Between December 2016 and January 2017, we surveyed women employed at a large, public Midwestern university who had given birth in the past five years (N = 249) to examine self-rated overall health in the first month of work reentry. Using ordinal logistic regression, we examined whether physical or psychological health problems during pregnancy, childbirth complications, length of maternity leave, and depression and anxiety at work reentry were related to overall health. Results: Women who experienced depression (odds ratio [OR] = 0.096 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 0.019 to 0.483, p = 0.004]) and anxiety (OR = 0.164, [95% CI = 0.042 to 0.635, p = 0.009]) nearly every day reported worse health at work reentry than those with no symptoms. Controlling for demographics and mental health, women who experienced medical problems during pregnancy (OR = 0.540 [95% CI = 0.311 to .935, p = 0.028]) were more likely to report poor health, while taking a longer maternity leave (OR = 14.552 [95% CI = 4.934 to 42.918, p < 0.001]) was associated with reporting better health at work reentry. Conclusion: Women who experience medical complications during pregnancy, return to the workplace too soon after birth, and experience mental health symptoms are vulnerable physically as they return to work.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.531-546
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• 2005

This study is to examine current child care support policies and their limitations and to make some suggestions by means of statistics and previous literature. Major findings are as follows: First, As the women have younger children, the effect is more negative. Second, a maternity leave of Korea is 90 days, which is below ILO standard. Moreover, it is not well supported by the companies they work for. Third, the increasing number of men has spent a paternity leave since the pertinent law was enforced in 2001. The rate of spending the leave, however, is not as high as expected, because it has not yet been decided whether the leave would be paid or not. Lastly, the number of the employer-supporting child care center is rather few due to the legal standard of the facility and the expense that a company should cover. Only 46.5% of the companies that has been appointed to obligatorily establish the center now operate the facility. Therefore, child care support policies should be reformed or improved to help reduce married women's child care burden obviously hindering women from being employed, and this will consequently promote their economic activities. It is also urgently required to expand the application of the parental leave in terms of both object and scope. It is important that employers and employees get ready to compromise each other on the wage issue during the leave. In addition, the flexibility in period and form of the parental leave and the connection of working places with local community for better child care service must be taken into consideration.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.97-118
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to provide background information to help develop family-friendly policies which aid in the ability for employees to balance family and work, and to increase the effectiveness and feasibility of these policies at work sites. We surveyed the performance and usage of work-family balance policies among working mothers with young children. We also examined the factors influencing the job satisfaction of working mothers. The study sample consisted of 237 working mothers with young children. We found that family economic status, working mother's experience of family leave or maternity leave, and easiness of policy use are important factors in a working mother's job satisfaction. Especially when individual and job characteristics are controlled, the most influential factor on working mothers' job satisfaction was the experience of family leave or maternity leave. In addition, the easiness of family-friendly policy use was a significant factor in working mothers' job-satisfaction.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.245-254
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• 2015

This research aims to look into correlation between Korea's childbirth promotion policy caused from women's maternity leave and economic activity. For the purpose, 300 surveys were distributed to mothers using postnatal care centers located in Seoul. Listed postnatal care centers such as Babe Glory, Shinsegae, Happy, Miznomall and out of 260, 222 surveys were selected for the research. Several advanced studies regarding child birth promotion policy backed up by current government and related domestic and overseas documents were used as reference. Decisive factors including social insurance, tax, cost for child birth and rearing service, social culture were derived as trait elements for child birth promotion. Mentioned factors along with economic activity by childbearing women were used when setting up the research model and hypothesis. Relation with material leave was employed as parameter for this study of which purpose lies in empirical analysis and investigation.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.71-79
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• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the status of maternity protection in the industries for the development of educational database used by occupational health nurses (OHNs). Method: 100 OHNs were purposively sampled and they were charged in the occupational health manager of their own industries. Data were collected by the postal mail, the response rate was 53.0%, and analysis rate was 43.0%. Result: The results were as follows; 1. Most of subjects responded there was the institutionalization of a special holiday for woman workers (97.7%) and 90 days maternity leave (95.4%). Otherwise, the numbers of industry were smaller in the case of providing the breast-feeding time, temporary rest from office for child raring, restriction of hazard job, night job, and over time. The application rates were lower than the rate of institutionalization of all maternity protection items. 2. There were significant differences in institutionalization of maternity protection by the activity of the trade union. And the numbers of the industry applying the maternity protection were significantly different by the area and the types of industry. 3. Most OHNs responded 17 subjects were needed to the maternity protection education for women workers. Conclusion: It would be needed to develop the maternity protection education database in base of the status of maternity protection in the industries and the need of maternity protection education. The role of OHNs for maternity protection was expected to activate.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.48-54
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• 2017

Public holidays are periods set aside by nations or states to observe particular events like national days, independence anniversary or religious festivals. These days are different from the usual periods of statutory leave or vacation provided for workers in the collective agreement or rule of engagement at the point of entry. These periods of leave enjoyed by workers include annual vacation, casual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave and others as may be recognized within an establishment. Individual worker's period of leave is personal and at the discretion of the worker or the organization as the case may be, but public holidays involve the stoppage of work by the entire workforce within the period it would last. Nigeria observes many public holidays some of which, at times, are unplanned for by the people. This has attracted arguments for and against on the basis that these holidays are too many and detrimental to productivity and the national economy. Using secondary data, this paper examines the issue and opines that there is the need to review these public holidays with a view to halting their negative effects on the nation's economy. Also, measures to manage these holidays in line with constitutional provisions are espoused.