Korean Journal of Child Care and Education Policy
[2019. 13-2] Family-Friendly Policies in Fathers
Abstract
Family-Friendly Policies in Fathers' Workplaces and Subjective Happiness of Fathers, Mothers, and Children
Jieun Choi and Hyoun K. Kim
The present study aimed to provide empirical evidence for beneficial effects of family-friendly policies (FFPs) in fathers’ workplaces on families’ wellbeing by examining whether the presence of diverse FFPs and fathers' use of such policies would affect perceived happiness of fathers, mothers, and children directly or indirectly through enhanced paternal involvement with children. Fathers, mothers, and their 7-year-old children from 1,365 families from the 8th wave of the Panel Study on Korean Children were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Multigroup analyses and subsequent Wald tests were performed to examine the moderating roles of dual- versus single-earner families. Findings showed that the number of FFPs increased paternal involvement with children, and subsequently led to increased subjective happiness of fathers in dual-earner families. The indirect effects from the number of FFPs to mothers’ subjective happiness were significant across the whole sample. Fathers' use of FFPs enhanced subjective happiness of fathers, mothers, and children via increased paternal involvement with their children, regardless of whether they were of dual- or single-earner families. Findings indicated that the implementation as well as the utilization of FFPs in fathers' workplaces enhanced psychological wellbeing of family members. Implications of and strategies for facilitating FFPs for men were discussed.
Keyword: fathers' workplace, family-friendly policies for men, paternal involvement with children, subjective happiness