The phenomenal feminisation of the South African labour force since the first democratic elections in 1994 is a result of the new democratic government’s efforts to transform South African society into a just, non-discriminatory and non-sexist society. This has, however, heightened several serious psychosocial problems facing working women, especially single working mothers, as they struggle to balance work and home responsibilities. The study was undertaken, firstly, to develop a valid and reliable measuring instrument to survey the problems and pressures experienced by single mothers in management and professional occupations in South Africa and, secondly, to obtain data on single working mothers’ perceptions about the resources they believe would assist them to mitigate the negative effects of the work-home conflict. To achieve these objectives, an exploratory, sequential, mixed method design was employed within a feminist perspective: First, based on the information obtained from theoretical and empirical data about the problems and perceived support of working mothers, semistructured interviews were held with 17 women in management and professional occupations (ten women in dual-career families and seven single working mothers). Then, on the basis of the interviews, a questionnaire was developed that was piloted among 30 experts and developed according to Lawshe’s principles. This questionnaire was called the Work-Family Pressure and Support Questionnaire (W-FPSQ). It was used in conjunction with the Overall Stress Index (OSI) and the Coping Behaviour Index (CBI) to determine the relationship and effect of supportive resources and coping behaviour on the work-family pressure and stress experienced by a purposive convenience sample of 104 single and 101 dual-career mothers (n=205). For the purposes of this study, descriptive, comparative, associational and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data, using SPSS for Windows, Release 17. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with varimax rotation, was employed to explore the internal structure and validity of the W-FPSQ, the OSI, and the CBI. The reliability of the questionnaires was determined by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for each scale of the measures. The results indicated that the three questionnaires were sufficiently reliable and valid to capture the present sample of working mothers’ experience of work-family pressures and stress and to discover the resources they perceived as supporting them in coping with work and family demands. The comparison of the 104 single working mothers with the 101 married working mothers showed that the single mothers’ mean rank scores were significantly lower than those of their married counterparts on the five support scales and on the coping behaviour scale, and significantly higher on the workfamily pressure and stress scales. The computed logistic regression model indicated that management support, organisational flexibility, time for family interaction, work-family pressure and stress were a set of variables that distinguished reliably between the single and married mothers in the sample. The study has clearly confirmed Gill and Davidson’s (2001:397) proposition that single working mothers are a ‘distinct group facing unique problems and pressures, and deserve to be recognized as such’. The problems they face as captured in this study demand a multi-pronged approach requiring organisations to provide management support, opportunities for personal growth and career development, work flexibility, time for family interaction and childcare facilities. These resources and a work-family-friendly environment will improve their work attitudes, job performance and well-being. Considering the proportion of single mothers in the society and the impact of their status on their children’s development, the issue of single working mothers and their needs deserves urgent attention. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Many single working mothers are challenged with the task of balancing work and home demands. Prolonged exposure to stress can threaten individuals' physical and emotional health and well-being. Listening to music is one commonly used positive coping mechanism for stress management and relief. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of single working mothers who regularly listen to New Age music for stress relief. Participants were single working mothers, 30-45 years old, with self-reported stress, who were employed at least part time and who had at least 1 child under 18 years of age in the home. Participants were interviewed on their experiences with home and work-related stress, motherhood, and listening to New Age music for stress relief. This inquiry was guided by feminist theory, and data was analyzed using Moustakas' modification of Van Kaam's method of data analysis. The responses from these interviews identified the stress factors experienced by these single working mothers, which included finances, workplace stress, childcare, transportation, and working mother stereotypes. Participants also described the calming effects of New Age music on self-reported symptoms of physical and emotional stress. These reported effects include the promotion of mental focus and an immediate physical and emotional release from stress. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change by highlighting the benefits of listening to New Age music as an alternate means of stress management and relief; this implication could indirectly save employers considerable expense in stress-related health care and missed work. These findings may serve as a basis for future quantitative research into the use of music for stress relief.