Fathers at Work: A Ghost in the Organizational Machine

Abstract

This article first provides a review of fatherhood in the gender and organization literature on work and family, and the body and (in)visibility. It observes how organizational assumptions which frame fathers as breadwinners, ignoring their paternal role, remain extraordinarily persistent because policies (no matter how long established) do not necessarily change social attitudes and behaviours. The article then draws upon original qualitative data to demonstrate how while male workers may feel valued as employees, they often feel invisible at work in their paternal role. Fathers perceive that, while family‐friendly policies might in theory be available to ‘parents’ these are in practice targeted at working mothers. The article considers why working men's paternity is so often ignored, as though fathers are a ghost in the organizational machine. A recommendation for the establishment of a fatherhood and motherhood passport is made.

¿Hacia un nuevo modelo de paternidad? Discursos sobre el proceso de implicación paterna en la España urbana

“…The institutional contexts related to child custody and paternity leave, in addition to the typical division of care of newborn children, contribute to limiting their exercise of fatherhood and lead to a perception of a "deficit." This is similar to the findings of Bailey (2015) and Burnett et. al (2013).…”

“…Los contextos institucionales relativos al régimen de custodias y a los permisos de paternidad, así como el reparto de los cuidados de los hijos recién nacidos, contribuyen a limitar el ejercicio de la paternidad y a generar una percepción de «déficit». Hallazgos similares se encuentran en Bailey (2015) y Burnett et al (2013). (4): Entonces, cuando estás solo te encuentras que los días que los tienes pues, claro, este tiempo disponible se va disminuyendo porque, claro, tienes también que atender las tareas del día a día (GD6).…”

How do male managers narrate their female spouse ' s role in their career?

“…For organizations it might be profitable to encourage managers to feel that their family and family responsibilities are not a barrier to being a competent manager, especially where male managers are concerned. This might have the practical consequence that organizations would better accept the presence of family issues in the lives of their employees, and it would be more possible to raise family matters at work Burnett et al, 2013). In practice, it might be beneficial, for example, to arrange training for managers on how they can, together with their spouse, combine family life with demanding careers.…”

¿Una paternidad no tan nueva? Los discursos de jóvenes y padres sobre la implicación paterna: una comparación

“…De este modo se explica que las preocupaciones y las expectativas de los padres han virado, por lo menos parcialmente, hacia un modo de implicación más directa con la familia y los hijos (Gatrell, et al, 2015). Algunos trabajos recientes señalan incluso la disparidad entre las expectativas de implicación paterna y las dificultades socio-institucionales encontradas a este respecto (Burnett, et al, 2013;Miller, 2010). Este modelo de "nueva paternidad", pese a los lí-mites que acarrea como modelo social, estaría más focalizado en el cuidado de los hijos que el modelo tradicional.…”