‘Good for him.’
That’s the reaction most men can expect from their bosses and colleagues when they take time off to look after their children.
And according to a new study examining the complexities associated with how men experience fatherhood in the context of their work, the positive reaction means men are less likely to volunteer to cut their hours or work part time following the birth of a child. Why? Because they don’t have to.
The study of 970 working fathers, published in the latest issue of the Academy of Management Perspectives revealed that men are more likely to leave a little earlier than usual without formally applying for time off or alerting management.
Working fathers who spent time with their children even felt greater job satisfaction in general.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, study author Jamie Ladge, an associate professor of management and organisational development at Boston’s Northeastern University said: “Men just don’t think about [work-life conflict] as much as women do because they don’t experience the stigma,”
Meanwhile, the latest research shows that pregnant women continue to be discriminated against in the workplace, which ultimately causes a significant percentage to leave their jobs after they become mothers.
