IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v8y2019i10p270-d271177.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Helps and What Hinders? Exploring the Role of Workplace Characteristics for Parental Leave Use and Its Career Consequences

Author

Listed:
  • Claire Samtleben

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany
    DIW–German Institute for Economic Research, 10117 Berlin, Germany
    Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany)

  • Julia Bringmann

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany
    Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany)

  • Mareike Bünning

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany)

  • Lena Hipp

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany
    Department of Social Sciences, University of Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany)

Abstract

The division of parental leave among couples today is still unequal—even in countries with progressive leave schemes. Given the gendered nature of the workplace, we examine how organizational characteristics relate to fathers’ uptake and length of parental leave as well as to the perceived career consequences of leave uptake among those fathers who took leave. In our mixed methods study, we draw on unique quantitative and qualitative data on different-sex couples with young children in Germany (2015). We find that the fear of professional repercussions and the lack of a replacement at work inhibit fathers both from taking leave in general and, for those who take leave, from taking it for more than two months. Interestingly, however, the majority of fathers who took leave did not think that their leave negatively affected their professional advancement. This positive evaluation was independent of the length of leave. We compared fathers’ perceived leave consequences to those of mothers, who tended to have a more negative view of the impact of taking leave on their careers. Both fathers and mothers were more likely to report negative career consequences if they worked in organizations that promoted a strong ideal worker norm, that is, where employees thought that they were expected to prioritize paid work over their private life.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Samtleben & Julia Bringmann & Mareike Bünning & Lena Hipp, 2019. "What Helps and What Hinders? Exploring the Role of Workplace Characteristics for Parental Leave Use and Its Career Consequences," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-30, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:10:p:270-:d:271177
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/10/270/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/10/270/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Botsch, Elisabeth & Lindecke, Christiane & Wagner, Alexandra, 2007. "Familienfreundlicher Betrieb: Einführung, Akzeptanz und Nutzung von familienfreundlichen Maßnahmen. Eine empirische Untersuchung," Study / edition der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf, volume 127, number 193, June.
    2. Budig, Michelle J. & Misra, Joya & Boeckmann, Irene, 2016. "Work-family policy trade-offs for mothers? Unpacking the cross-national variation in motherhood earnings penalties," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 43(2), pages 119-177.
    3. Marie Evertsson & Katarina Boye & Jeylan Erman, 2018. "Fathers on call? A study on the sharing of care work between parents in Sweden," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(2), pages 33-60.
    4. Christian Grund & Andreas Schmitt, 2013. "Works councils, wages and job satisfaction," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 299-310, January.
    5. María del Carmen Huerta & Willem Adema & Jennifer Baxter & Wen-Jui Han & Mette Lausten & RaeHyuck Lee & Jane Waldfogel, 2013. "Fathers' Leave, Fathers' Involvement and Child Development: Are They Related? Evidence from Four OECD Countries," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 140, OECD Publishing.
    6. Ruhm, Christopher J., 2000. "Parental leave and child health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 931-960, November.
    7. Chiara Saraceno & Wolfgang Keck, 2011. "Towards an integrated approach for the analysis of gender equity in policies supporting paid work and care responsibilities," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(11), pages 371-406.
    8. Arijit Nandi & Mohammad Hajizadeh & Sam Harper & Alissa Koski & Erin C Strumpf & Jody Heymann, 2016. "Increased Duration of Paid Maternity Leave Lowers Infant Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Quasi-Experimental Study," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, March.
    9. Lawrence M. Berger & Jennifer Hill & Jane Waldfogel, 2005. "Maternity leave, early maternal employment and child health and development in the US," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(501), pages 29-47, February.
    10. Pia S. Schober & Gundula Zoch, 2015. "Change in the Gender Division of Domestic Work after Mummy or Daddy Took Leave: An Examination of Alternative Explanations," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 803, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    11. Sakiko Tanaka, 2005. "Parental leave and child health across OECD countries," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(501), pages 7-28, February.
    12. Florence Jaumotte, 2004. "Labour Force Participation of Women: Empirical Evidence on The Role of Policy and Other Determinants in OECD Countries," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2003(2), pages 51-108.
    13. Rossin, Maya, 2011. "The effects of maternity leave on children's birth and infant health outcomes in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 221-239, March.
    14. Bernhardt, Janine & Hipp, Lena & Allmendinger, Jutta, 2016. "Warum nicht fifty-fifty? Betriebliche Rahmenbedingungen der Aufteilung von Erwerbs- und Fürsorgearbeit in Paarfamilien," Discussion Papers, Junior Research Group Work and Care SP I 2016-501, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    15. Reich, Nora, 2010. "Who cares? Determinants of the fathers' use of parental leave in Germany," HWWI Research Papers 1-31, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hipp, Lena & Schlüter, Charlotte & Molina, Stefania, 2022. "The role of employers in reducing the implementation gap in leave policies," Discussion Papers, Junior Research Group Work and Care SP I 2022-502, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    2. Juliane Hennecke & Astrid Pape, 2022. "Suddenly a stay-at-home dad? Short- and long-term consequences of fathers’ job loss on time investment in the household," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 579-607, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "The long-run impacts of paid maternity leave on height and educational attainment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Julia M. Goodman & Janne Boone-Heinonen & Dawn M. Richardson & Sarah B. Andrea & Lynne C. Messer, 2018. "Analyzing Policies Through a DOHaD Lens: What Can We Learn?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Lauber, Verena & Thomas, Lampert, 2014. "The Effect of Early Universal Daycare on Child Weight Problems," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100399, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Samtleben, Claire & Bringmann, Julia & Bünning, Mareike & Hipp, Lena, 2019. "What Helps and What Hinders? Exploring the Role of Workplace Characteristics for Parental Leave Use and Its Career Consequences," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 8(10), pages 1-1.
    5. Khanam, Rasheda & Nghiem, Son & Connelly, Luke, 2016. "The effects of parental leave on child health and postnatal care: Evidence from Australia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 17-29.
    6. Colin Cannonier, 2014. "Does the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Increase Fertility Behavior?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 105-132, June.
    7. Charles L. Baum II & Christopher J. Ruhm, 2016. "The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(2), pages 333-356, April.
    8. Maya Rossin-Slater, 2017. "Maternity and Family Leave Policy," NBER Working Papers 23069, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Huebener, Mathias & Kuehnle, Daniel & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2019. "Parental leave policies and socio-economic gaps in child development: Evidence from a substantial benefit reform using administrative data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    10. Wen-Jui Han & Christopher Ruhm & Jane Waldfogel, 2009. "Parental leave policies and parents' employment and leave-taking," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 29-54.
    11. Avendano, Mauricio & Berkman, Lisa F. & Brugiavini, Agar & Pasini, Giacomo, 2015. "The long-run effect of maternity leave benefits on mental health: Evidence from European countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 45-53.
    12. Reed, Joshua & Vandegrift, Donald, 2016. "The Effect of New Jersey’s Paid Parental Leave Policy on Employment," MPRA Paper 74794, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Jessica Pac & Ann P. Bartel & Christopher Ruhm & Jane Waldfogel, 2019. "Paid Family Leave and Breastfeeding: Evidence from California," Working Papers 2019-031, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    14. Feng Chen, 2023. "Does paid family leave save infant lives? Evidence from California's paid family leave program," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 319-337, April.
    15. Chuard, Caroline, 2023. "Negative effects of long parental leave on maternal health: Evidence from a substantial policy change in Austria," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    16. Aline Bütikofer & Julie Riise & Meghan M. Skira, 2021. "The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on Maternal Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 67-105, February.
    17. Broadway, Barbara & Kalb, Guyonne & Kühnle, Daniel & Maeder, Miriam, 2015. "The Effect of Paid Parental Leave on Child Health in Australia," IZA Discussion Papers 8978, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Ahmed, Salma & Fielding, David, 2019. "Changes in maternity leave coverage: Implications for fertility, labour force participation and child mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    19. Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2017. "Maternity and Family Leave Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 10500, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Barbara Broadway & Guyonne Kalb & Daniel Kuehnle & Miriam Maeder, 2017. "Paid Parental Leave and Child Health in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93(301), pages 214-237, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:10:p:270-:d:271177. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.