Poor employment conditions can have a significant impact on the
mental health of Australian mothers who return to work before their
child turns one, new research shows.
The findings, by Murdoch Childrens and the Parenting Research
Centre, show that issues in the workplace such as lack of access to
paid parental leave, inflexible hours and job insecurity are linked
to psychological distress in mothers of young children.
The study collected data from 1300 mothers who took part in the
Federal Government's Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.
It found only one in five mothers returned to jobs that provided
optimal conditions for balancing their work and family commitments.
Women who had the least favourable employment conditions were one
and a half times more likely to report psychological distress than
women with the most optimal employment conditions.
Co-author A/Professor Jan Nicholson said the findings showed
poor employment conditions further undermined mothers' wellbeing at
a time when they and their children were particularly
vulnerable.