Attitudes Toward and Outcomes of Organizational Work-Family Balance Policies

Abstract

Organizations that implement family-friendly policies, such as maternity or parental leave, help to reduce work-family conflict that might appear, especially surrounding the birth of a child. Parental leave policies, specifically maternity leave, are common in organizations across many parts of the world, and these policies benefit families, in terms of reducing stressors surrounding the birth of children, and organizations, in terms of attracting and retaining employees, as well as helping employees to reduce work-family conflict. In the present symposium, we present four papers that provide a more nuanced understanding of how leave policies positively and negatively affect employees. Issues such as perceptions of equity, discrimination, career wage growth, and spousal spillover effects are explored. We also provide practical recommendations for organizations considering the implementation of family-friendly workplace policies. Strategies to reduce hiring discrimination against parents Presenter: Amanda J Anderson; George Mason U. Presenter: Eden King; George Mason U. Understanding attitudes toward parental leave policies Presenter: Wendy J. Casper; The U. of Texas at Arlington Presenter: Dynah A Basuil; The U. of Auckland Does parental leave positively impact wages over time? The impact of workers’ socioeconomic Status Presenter: Grace Lemmon; DePaul U. Presenter: Jenny M. Hoobler; U. of Illinois at Chicago A dynamic inter-spousal spillover model for understanding post-maternity workforce reentry Presenter: Anthony R. Wheeler; U. of Rhode Island Presenter: Laura M. Little; U. of Georgia