Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T17:45:46.017Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Maternity Journey in an Organisational Context: A Case Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2012

Beth M. Costa ,
Arlene Walker ,
Lucy Zinkiewicz ,
Hannah Berman ,
Amy Cartledge  and
Susan Nheng
Beth M. Costa*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Australia
Arlene Walker
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Australia
Lucy Zinkiewicz
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Australia
Hannah Berman
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Australia
Amy Cartledge
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Australia
Susan Nheng
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Australia
*
address for correspondence: School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong Waterfront Campus, Geelong VIC 3217, Australia. Email: beth.costa@deakin.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

The transition to motherhood is a significant life event impacting on all spheres of a woman's life. In an organisational context, changes to women's relationships with their employer and to their social identity occur as they adjust to their new role. A case study was undertaken to describe and compare the workplace experiences of three female employees from one health organisation who were either preparing to commence, currently on or recently returned to work from maternity leave. At all stages of the maternity journey, women expected flexibility from their employer in negotiating their return to work and managing parenting responsibilities. Women's obligations to their employer included being open about their capacity to work and parenting situations which may interfere with their work, as well as maintaining their work performance. Within a supportive work environment that included a shared identity with managers who were also mothers, women's social identity as a worker was not significantly threatened and did not change. Social identity change may be most apparent during the transition to first-time motherhood.

Keywords

maternal transitionemploymentpsychological contractsocial identity change
Type
Articles
Information
The Australasian Journal of Organisational Psychology , Volume 5 , December 2012 , pp. 43 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashforth, B.E., & Mael, F. (1989). Social identity and the organization. Academy of Management Review, 14, 20–39.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2010). Labour force status by sex— seasonally adjusted (Cat. No. 6202.0). Retrieved from http//abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6202.0May%202010?OpenDocumentGoogle Scholar
Bailey, L. (2000). Bridging home and work in the transition to motherhood: A discursive study. European Journal of Women's Studies, 7, 53–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brough, P., O'Driscoll, M., Kalliath, T., Cooper, C.L., & Poelmans, S.A.Y. (2009). Workplace psychological health: Current research and practice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coulson, M., Skouteris, H., Milgrom, J., Noblet, A., & Dissanayake, C. (2010). Factors influencing the planning undertaken by women during pregnancy for their return to work after maternity leave. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Organisational Psychology, 3, 1–12.Google Scholar
Demirdjian, J.N. (2009). Mentors help new moms transition back to work at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 28, 27–33.Google Scholar
Dick, P. (2010). The transition to motherhood and part-time working: Mutuality and incongruence in the psychological contracts existing between managers and employees. Work, Employment and Society, 24, 508–525.Google Scholar
Haslam, S.A. (2004). Psychology in organisations: The social identity approach (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Haslam, S.A., Postmes, T., & Ellemers, N. (2003). More than a metaphor: Organizational identity makes organizational life possible. British Journal of Management, 14, 357–369.Google Scholar
Haynes, K. (2008). Transforming identities: Accounting professionals and the transition to motherhood. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 19, 620–642.Google Scholar
Hogg, M.A. (2005). All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others: Social identity and marginal membership. In Williams, K., Forgas, J.P., & von Hippel, W. (Eds.), The social outcast: Ostracism, social exclusion, rejection and bullying (pp. 243–261). New York: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Iyer, A., Jetten, J., Tsivrikos, D., Postmes, T., & Haslam, S.A. (2009). The more (and the more compatible) the merrier: Multiple group memberships and identity compatibility as predictors of adjustment after life transitions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 48, 707–733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelerman, J.A., & Leibowitz, A. (1999). Job continuity among new mothers. Demography, 36, 145–155.Google Scholar
Lane, N. (2000). The management implications of women's employment disadvantage in a female-dominated profession: A study of NHS nursing. Journal of Management Studies, 37, 705–731.Google Scholar
Lyness, K.S., Thompson, C.A., Francesco, A.M., & Judiesch, M.K. (1999). Work and pregnancy: Individual and organizational factors influencing organizational commitment, time of maternity leave, and return to work. Sex Roles, 41, 485–508.Google Scholar
Millward, L.J. (2006). The transition to motherhood in an organizational context: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 79, 315–333.Google Scholar
Parzefall, M., & Hakanen, J. (2010). Psychological contract and its motivational and health-enhancing properties. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25, 4–21.Google Scholar
Rigotti, T. (2009). Enough is enough? Threshold models for the relationship between psychological contract breach and job-related attitudes. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 18, 442–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rousseau, D.M. (1990). New hire perceptions of their own and their employer's obligations: A study of psychological contracts. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11, 389–400.Google Scholar
Suazo, M.M., Turnley, W.H., & Mai-Dalton, R.R. (2005). The role of perceived violation in determining employees’ reactions to psychological contract breach. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 12, 24–36.Google Scholar
Watts, J.H. (2009). ‘Allowed into a man's world’ meanings of work-life balance: Perspectives of women civil engineers as ‘minority’ workers in construction. Gender, Work and Organization, 16, 37–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, T.D., Wheatley, T.P., Meyers, J.M., Gilbert, D.T., & Axsom, D. (2000). Focalism: A source of durability bias in affective forecasting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 821–836.Google Scholar
Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Zhao, H., Wayne, S.J., Glibkowski, B.C., & Bravo, J. (2007). The impact of psychological contract breach on work-related outcomes: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 60, 647–680.Google Scholar