Work, family and intentions to withdraw from the workplace

In this article, municipal workers’ experience of the relationship between family and work in Finland is analysed. The relationship between the reconciliation of family life and work, and intentions to change jobs or industry or to withdraw from work, are also investigated. Results show that the negative effect of work on family life is more common than the spillover effect of family life on work. Demanding jobs, job insecurity, working as a supervisor, having children, being a single parent, and having informal care responsibilities were found to be risk factors for the challenge of reconciling work and family. Difficulties in reconciling work and family were found to be connected to plans to change jobs or industry and intentions to withdraw from work. It can be concluded that the work−family relationship is an important determinant of the supply of labour.