Although work-family benefits are increasingly important organizational policies, limited research addresses the impact of communication on benefit utilization. However, communication is significant because the perceived appropriateness of work-family benefits emerges through interaction. For example, when coworkers complain about "picking up the slack" for those using family leave, their discourse may impact future decisions of other workers regarding whether they utilize the workfamily benefits available to them. We apply Giddens' (1984) Structuration Theory to examine organizational members' discursive responses to conditions (and contradictions) present in utilizing workfamily benefits in a governmental organization. We argue the daily discursive practices of individuals can either reinforce or undermine formally stated work-family initiatives, and in turn discuss the implications of this "structuration" of policy.No one talked to me directly and said, "Gee, I resent the fact that you were on maternity leave," but I know that people felt that way.People don't understand that when I had six weeks off [for maternity leave], I needed six weeks off. I didn't sit there and play cards, you know what I mean, go shopping every day.

No abstract

This study explores the metaphor of managing diversity and its related discourses that dominate current business communication about the changing workforce. We examine the language employed in practitioneroriented texts and consultant websites on diversity. We first illustrate the characteristics of the managerial metaphor, including the emphasis on achieving competitive advantage and a "quick-fix" orientation toward improving managerial competencies regarding diversity. We then analyze the implications of the managerial metaphor in terms of (a) whose interests are emphasized by the metaphor, (b) whose interests are (potentially) marginalized by the metaphor, (c) how the metaphor system relates to power and economic interests, (d) how different metaphors present alternative positions, and (e) implications for business communication. We contend that language that constitutes individuals as resources emphasizes managerial and economic interests and potentially marginalizes human and ethical aspects of diversity.n the 15 years since the publication of Workforce 2000 (Johnston & Packer, 1987), diversity has emerged as an increasingly important issue in management circles. Diversity, workforce diversity, and managing diversity are now frequently used terms in and about business, and managers have been presented with a plethora of materials in the popular press on how to handle a diverse work force (Ferris, Frink, & Galang, 1994). The persistent messages about the need to address the phenomenon of a changing workforce and consumer base have motivated managers and organiza-

No abstract

This interpretive study focused on messages reported by commuter wives from social network members concerning unpaid family labor, including domestic work and relational work with spouses and children, and wives' subsequent communication about the accomplishment of such labor within their marriages and families. We conducted a thematic analysis of interview transcripts with commuting wives from five focus groups (n = 25) and 50 individual interviews through the lens of gendered role expectations. We found commuter wives received messages from social network members portraying men as incapable of family labor and expressing traditional gendered expectations for wives to perform caregiving. Commuting wives discussed how they and their families implemented several strategies for accomplishing the domestic chores of family labor. In addition, many couples needed to negotiate new strategies for relational maintenance, and communication emerged as a discrete form of caregiving labor. In spite of the fact that these wives were resisting cultural expectations for married women by commuting to pursue their own careers, the findings of this study illustrate tensions in the (re)production of traditional gendered expectations for unpaid family labor for commuter wives.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract