It's `Give and Take': Maternity Leave as a Conflict Management Process

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2007

Keywords

bosses and supervisors, conflict, family leave, family policies, negotiation

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726707076688

Abstract

To examine maternity leave as a gendered conflict management process, we analyzed a sample of interviews (from a larger data set of 102 interviews) with 26 women who reported feeling discouraged (n = 15) or encouraged (n = 11) about their employment status and career opportunities at the times of their leaves. Whereas these two groups of women converged on perceptions of a) incompatible (individual and organizational) goals and b) increased stress, they diverged on perceptions of a) interdependence, and b) use of negotiation strategies. Although this study is exploratory, findings indicate the need for additional research on perspective taking and influence tactics as ways of handling potential gendered conflict interactions for female workers and their bosses.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

No

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Human Relations, v. 60, issue 3, p. 463-495

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