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What Helps and What Hinders? Exploring the Role of Workplace Characteristics for Parental Leave Use and Its Career Consequences

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  • Claire Samtleben

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany
    DIW–German Institute for Economic Research, 10117 Berlin, Germany
    Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany)

  • Julia Bringmann

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany
    Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany)

  • Mareike Bünning

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany)

  • Lena Hipp

    (WZB–Berlin Social Science Center, 10785 Berlin, Germany
    Department of Social Sciences, University of Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany)

Abstract

The division of parental leave among couples today is still unequal—even in countries with progressive leave schemes. Given the gendered nature of the workplace, we examine how organizational characteristics relate to fathers’ uptake and length of parental leave as well as to the perceived career consequences of leave uptake among those fathers who took leave. In our mixed methods study, we draw on unique quantitative and qualitative data on different-sex couples with young children in Germany (2015). We find that the fear of professional repercussions and the lack of a replacement at work inhibit fathers both from taking leave in general and, for those who take leave, from taking it for more than two months. Interestingly, however, the majority of fathers who took leave did not think that their leave negatively affected their professional advancement. This positive evaluation was independent of the length of leave. We compared fathers’ perceived leave consequences to those of mothers, who tended to have a more negative view of the impact of taking leave on their careers. Both fathers and mothers were more likely to report negative career consequences if they worked in organizations that promoted a strong ideal worker norm, that is, where employees thought that they were expected to prioritize paid work over their private life.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Samtleben & Julia Bringmann & Mareike Bünning & Lena Hipp, 2019. "What Helps and What Hinders? Exploring the Role of Workplace Characteristics for Parental Leave Use and Its Career Consequences," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-30, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:10:p:270-:d:271177
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Juliane Hennecke & Astrid Pape, 2022. "Suddenly a stay-at-home dad? Short- and long-term consequences of fathers’ job loss on time investment in the household," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 579-607, June.
    2. Hipp, Lena & Schlüter, Charlotte & Molina, Stefania, 2022. "The role of employers in reducing the implementation gap in leave policies," Discussion Papers, Junior Research Group Work and Care SP I 2022-502, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

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