| Abstract | Research interest
Becoming a parent is one of the most impactful processes in a person’s working life course. For many expectant and new parents, this time of excitement is accompanied by worries about how best to combine their new parenting role with work. At the same time, smaller employers in particular often feel overwhelmed by the need to support pregnant staff and new parents while continuing to run their business on a day-to-day basis. Although SMEs account for more than 90% of the global business population, most research on the experiences of pregnancy or parenthood and employment focuses on large firms and thereby excludes the experiences of the majority of (parental) workers and their employers. The management of new parenthood in smaller workplaces is different from large firms as they often operate with scarce resources and lack a dedicated Human Resources department and written maternity/paternity policies. This 3-year mixed-methods study seeks to address this knowledge gap by developing recommendations for the management of maternity and paternity in SMEs which work for both parents and employers. Theoretical background
In our analytical framework, we embed maternity/paternity management in theory about gendered organizations (Acker, 1990) and SME management (Stumbitz et al., 2018a), conceptualising adaptions to maternity/paternity as a process of mutual adjustment (owner-/manager and employee ad hoc bargaining) and dynamic capability (owner-/manager re-visioning and reorganization of resources into renewed capabilities). Smaller employers tend to adopt an informal management style, emergent from the absence of formal human resource management expertise and policies, owner desire for autonomy and flexibility, and close spatial and relational working relationships that create a shared sense of belonging, interdependence and ‘family-ness’ (Ram and Edwards 2003; Ram et al. 2001, 2007). Methodological approach
Our study includes in-depth interviews with 35 SME employers and employees (respectively) at different time points over a 12-month period, and two large-scale cross-sectional surveys of employees and employers working in SMEs. In addition, the involvement of potential beneficiaries and users (i.e. employers, employees, support organisations and policy makers) in all key stages of the project ensures the research meets their needs and is targeted. We will present interim findings based on our surveys, and in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with employers and employees (both expectant and new parents). Preliminary results
Our presentation will present both common challenges of managing maternity/paternity in resource-scarce environments, as well as good practice examples which demonstrate that supporting new parents at work does not have to be an unreasonable financial and administrative burden. How does the research relate to the conference topic or session?
Our project addresses a global problem: SMEs are under-researched despite employing the majority of (parental) workers worldwide. Findings will inform key policy debates and business practices related to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, particularly equality of opportunity and pay and the reduction of maternal and infant mortality. Furthermore, we will develop targeted, context-sensitive, low-cost and scalable solutions that support both owner-/managers and employees in the transition process. |
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