Managing the transition to parenthood in small and medium-sized workplaces – pathways to good practice [Presentation]

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 sometimes 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 SMEs is different from large firms as they often 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. 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 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with employers and employees (both expectant and new parents).