Parental Leave of Absence: Some Not So Family‐Friendly Implications¹

Abstract

This experiment examined the effects of ratee gender, type of leave of absence, and level of performance on perceptions of organizational commitment, work commitment, family commitment, and recommendations for organizational rewards. The proposed 3‐way interactions between gender, type of leave of absence, and performance level were not supported; however, main effects and 2‐way interactions were revealed. Moreover, perceived organizational commitment and work commitment were found to moderate the relationship between performance level and reward recommendations. The findings also indicated that men who were depicted as taking a leave of absence from work for parental reasons were less likely to be recommended for rewards than were males who had not taken a leave of absence.

Family Influences on the Career Life Cycle

“…This reluctance may be justified. Allen and Russell (1999) found that men who took parental leave of absence were less likely to be recommended for organizational rewards than were men who did not take leave, while a laboratory experiment conducted by Butler and Skattebo (2000) demonstrated that men who reported missing work to care for a sick child were given lower performance ratings and lower recommendations for quarterly bonuses than were women reporting the same absences.…”

Making the link between work-life balance practices and organizational performance

“…An experiment conducted by Allen and Russell (1999) found that employees who used work-life balance practices were perceived by co-workers as having lower levels of organizational commitment, which was thought to affect the subsequent allocation of organizational rewards such as advancement opportunities and salary increases. Rogier and Padgett (2004) conducted an experimental study among 107 working MBA students, in which participants were given a packet of materials designed to simulate the personnel file of a female employee in an accounting firm who was seeking a promotion to senior manager.…”

A model of work-family dynamics of hotel managers

“…Another dimension of an organization's work-family culture is the career consequences linked with work-family policies, such as leaves of absence. For example, generally, leaves of absence are associated with fewer subsequent promotions, smaller salary increases, and lower performance ratings (Judiesch and Lyness 1999), especially for men (Allen and Russell 1999). The last of Thompson et al's (1999) dimensions of work-family culture is organizational time expectations, which is very similar to the idea of ''paying your dues,'' (because this factor is so prevalent in this business, it is discussed separately).…”