Family-friendly practices and mental health of working early childhood caregivers in Bolivia

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the dynamics of work-family balance with adverse effects on mental health. Firms had to take steps to prevent the spread of the virus by promoting a set of labour and sanitation policies. The labour policies that favour work-life balance are known as family-friendly policies (FFPs). Research exploring the links between the FFPs, and mental health is very scarce, and even less research exists on the mental health of working mothers in developing countries. The current research addresses this gap by analyzing the impact of FFPs during the COVID-19 pandemic on female caregivers' mental health with children under six. This work explored various dimensions of FFPs and their associations with anxiety, stress, and depression among female caregivers employed in the formal sector (N = 256) in Bolivia. The results showed that depression and anxiety are significantly associated with the poor implementation of FFPs, mainly with informal employment contracts, maternity leave, and breastfeeding schedules. The absence of these practices affects women's mental health. Therefore, firms need to accomplish FFPs mostly in developing countries, where female employment is underrepresented in the formal labour market. Employment without FFPs can be an incentive to remain in the informal sector without social protection, generating a virtuous circle for responsible infant care. It is recommended that future research employ longitudinal methodologies to better assess causal effects.