Becoming a Working Mother: Managing Identity and Efficacy Uncertainties During Resocialization

Abstract

The work reentry period following the birth of a first child is a time of uncertainty for a professional woman. During reentry, a new mother is often questioning who she is and how effective she can be as a mother and working professional. In this study, we conceptualize reentry as a period of resocialization as we explore the first‐time mother's changing self‐concept during this time. Specifically, we develop a model that explores the identity and efficacy uncertainties that women experience during resocialization. This model draws attention to the influence organizational context has on the degree of uncertainty women experience and to the adjustment tactics women engage to manage their identity and efficacy uncertainty. We discuss the implications these findings have for both socialization research and work‐life theory and practice. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Retaining professionally employed new mothers: The importance of maternal confidence and workplace support to their intent to stay

“…Our multimethod research design enabled us to discover this counterintuitive finding that may not have been discovered if we did not start with a qualitative study. We found that a key to retaining professionally employed new mothers is encouraging their sense of maternal confidence, which differs from previous research that assumes professionally employed new mothers contemplate leaving their jobs due to work demands and an incompatibility between motherhood and work (Buzzanell et al, ; Gatrell, ; Ladge & Greenberg, ). Indeed, the effects of family/parent‐related stressors on work‐related outcomes may be particularly acute for professionally employed women since they often face intense scrutiny by coworkers and may be falsely perceived as less devoted to their career now that they are mothers (Gatrell, ; Meister, Sinclair, & Jehn, in press).…”

“…The first author conducted interviews with 40 new mothers who returned to their same employer and professional job following maternity leave. The initial broad objective of these interviews was to learn about the experiences of professionally employed new mothers as they transitioned back to work, an area where little prior empirical research has been conducted (Ladge & Greenberg, ). Through our inductive analytic process, the findings revealed that a woman's confidence in her new maternal role was important to her perceived ability to manage work and family demands and her intent to continue working now that she is a mother.…”

“…However, in referring to the literature, we could not find studies that linked maternal confidence to career experiences or outcomes. Rather, the existing literature on professionals becoming mothers has tended to focus on the impact of work on parenting identity (Ladge et al, ; Ladge & Greenberg, ), disclosure of pregnancy and impression management (Little et al, ), and breastfeeding and privacy challenges in the workplace (Gatrell, , ). Therefore, given the apparent gap in the literature, we decided to further investigate how maternal confidence affects professionally employed new mothers’ experiences in returning to work and their career decisions.…”

“…We focus on professionals since articles in the academic and popular press have lamented over the apparent rise in turnover of this group of women despite having achieved significant career accomplishments (Fondas, ; Mainiero & Sullivan, , ; Schulte, ; Stone, ). Our work builds on recent research that suggests that such women engage in intense self‐scrutiny when returning to work after the birth of a child (Ladge & Greenberg, ), with many struggling to gain a sense of confidence in their new role as a parent (Buzzanell et al, ; Gatrell, ; Ladge & Greenberg, ). We consider how these intrapersonal experiences may shed light on new mothers’ work–family conflict (WFC) and subsequent intent to stay with their organization after childbirth.…”

“…Some women feel pressure not to talk about their new baby or motherhood at work (Gatrell, ) and perceive biases and disapproval from their organization, which triggers insecurities about their roles as mothers and professionals (Ladge & Greenberg, ). Research suggests that feelings of insecurity as a parent and questions about one's identity begin during pregnancy (Hennekam, ; Ladge, Clair, & Greenberg, ; Little, Major, Hinojosa, & Nelson, ) and intensify through maternity leave and reentry (Buzzanell et al, ; Ladge & Greenberg, ), suggesting that a new mother's ability to gain confidence in her parenting role may be a key factor in her decision to leave or stay with her organization. As they return to work and start to navigate their career as a working mother, they may therefore begin to ask themselves, “Am I a good mother?” This question reflects a mother's maternal confidence, which we define as a mother's perception of her ability to care for and meet the needs of her child.…”