Organizational support: Policy structures shaping workplace culture and attenuating the commitment penalty for leave-taking

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  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 12: Policy and Family

Abstract

Despite the benefits of parental leave-taking for parents and children, employees who take leave continue to face workplace penalties because they defy ideal worker norms. But the organizational context in which leave is taken can vary greatly, and little research has examined the organizational factors that allow workers to take leave without harming their careers. Drawing on organizational support theory, this study examines whether more generous organizational leave policies signal supportive workplace cultures and, in turn, buffer the penalties typically associated with parental leave-taking.

We argue that organizational policies function as cultural signals. When employers offer generous leave, they communicate that leave-taking is normative and legitimate, leading employees to view leave-takers more favorably. We further investigate whether these dynamics operate equally across workers' gender and family structure, including single parents and workers in same-gender versus different-gender marriages.

We test these arguments using a large survey experiment (N = 2,979) with a between-subjects factorial design. Participants read HR meeting notes between a worker and HR professional discussing parental leave policies before the worker has a child and (potentially) takes parental leave, then rate their perceptions of both the worker and organization. We experimentally manipulate the worker's (1) gender (man or woman), (2) family type (single, heterosexual/different-gender marriage, or gay-lesbian/same-gender marriage), and (3) the organization's parental leave policies.

Results support our hypotheses. More weeks of leave offered, higher wage replacement levels, workplaces where leave-taking is normative, and supportive workplace rhetoric all increase perceptions of organizational support. In turn, workers who take leave in supportive workplaces are rated as more committed, demonstrating that a supportive organizational culture can meaningfully attenuate the commitment penalty for leave-taking. We also find that gendered leave policies (maternity/paternity leave) boost perceived commitment relative to general "parental leave" policies for men. These findings underscore that organizational policies are not merely administrative tools but active cultural signals that shape workplace inequality.

Authors

• Trenton D. Mize, Purdue University

• Shagun Sethi, Purdue University

• Gayle Kaufman, Davidson College

• Richard J. Petts, Ball State University

• Reilly Kincaid, University of Arkansas