The Effect of Gender on Work-family Guilt mediated by Career Gains and Family Losses

Abstract

This correlational survey study examined the effect of gender on work-family guilt mediated by career gains and family losses. Participants included 218 mothers and 103 fathers from The Netherlands. Evidence is found for the hypothesis that women experience more work-family guilt than men do. Furthermore, this effect seems to be mediated by the perception that family suffers more from the mother’s absence than from the father’s absence. As a result of these gender differences in work-family guilt, women may take higher strain than men, which possibly leads to gendered differences in work-related decisions and to negative health outcomes in mothers.