What influences fathers' daily work-related worries during parental leave? A diary study

Publication date: Available online 7 January 2020Source: Journal of Vocational BehaviorAuthor(s): Anna M. Stertz, Lisa K. Horvath, Bettina S. WieseAbstractThis research aims to expand the understanding of how fathers' daily parental leave experiences are affected by the interplay of organizational influences and fathers' leave behavior. Using data from a diary study involving fathers on parental leave from Germany and Austria (N = 108), we examined the impact of family-supportive organizational perceptions and length of leave on fathers' daily work-related worries. With regard to within-person effects, we took a closer look at the relationship between fathers' daily contact with other organizational members and their work-related worries. Multilevel analyses confirmed the impact of fathers' family-supportive organizational perceptions on their work-related worries during the leave period. Fathers perceiving their organization as family-supportive were found to have fewer worries than fathers perceiving their organization as family-unsupportive. Remarkably, with respect to the leave duration, our results indicated that fathers who took relatively short leaves of not more than two months worried more intensely regarding the impact of their leave on their work life than fathers who took long leaves. Furthermore, particularly among those fathers who perceive their organization as unsupportive, a short leave was found to be associated with increased work-related worries. With ...
Source: Journal of Vocational Behavior - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research