A sense of entitlement? Fathers, mothers and organizational support for family and career

Abstract

The influential work of Suzan Lewis has played an important part in shaping understandings of parenting, work–life integration and gendered values and practices in organizations. Below, we offer a brief outline of how Suzan's work has influenced the work–life research field. We focus particularly on her observations about career advancement, gender and a sense of entitlement (or otherwise) among employed fathers and mothers. In particular, we build on Lewis's [(1997). ‘Family friendly’ employment policies: A route to changing organizational culture or playing about at the margins? Gender, Work & Organization, 4, 13–23] notion of ‘entitlement’ among and between employed parents regarding access to family friendly and/or flexible working and personal career advancement. We extend Lewis's ideas through developing a framework which reflects the relative sense of entitlement (or lack thereof) between fathers and mothers in relation, respectively, to ‘support for family needs’ and ‘equity in career development’ (1997, p. 15). We then advance and update this framework through suggesting that a sense of entitlement among today's fathers, regarding access to family friendly working, may be undergoing a social shift. Drawing upon Lewis's important contribution to the work–life field, the paper thus explores how understandings of fatherhood are changing. We then consider what future research agendas might be.

El influyente trabajo de Suzan Lewis ha jugado un papel importante para cambiar la comprensión sobre la crianza de los hijos, la integración entre trabajo y vida y los valores de género y sobre las prácticas dentro de las organizaciones. A continuación presentamos un breve resumen acerca de la forma como el trabajo de Suzan ha influido en el campo de las investigaciones sobre trabajo y vida. Nos enfocamos principalmente en sus observaciones acerca del sobre el ascenso laboral, el género, y el sentido de derecho (o la ausencia del mismo) entre las madres y padres trabajadores. En particular, partimos del concepto Lewis (1997) sobre ‘sentido del derecho' entre padres de familia empleados y que hace referencia al acceso de estos a un ambiente laboral amigable para con la familia y/o trabajo flexible y que favorezca el ascenso laboral. Extendemos las ideas de Lewis desarrollando un esquema que refleja el ‘sentido de derecho' (o la falta del mismo) entre los padres y madres en relación con el ‘apoyo a las necesidades de la familia' y la ‘equidad en el desarrollo de carrera' (1997, p. 15). A partir de allí avanzamos y actualizamos este esquema al proponer que el ‘sentido de derecho' de los hombres, en relación a un ambiente laboral más amigable para con la familia, puede estar cambiando. Inspirado en la importante contribución de Lewis al estudio de la relación trabajo-vida, este artículo explora cómo la comprensión de la paternidad está cambiando. Entonces consideramos algunas implicaciones para investigaciones en el futuro.

Keywords:

• sense of entitlement
• work–life integration
• fatherhood

Palabras claves:

• sentido de derecho
• integración entre trabajo y vida
• la paternidad

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on Contributors

Caroline Gatrell is Professor of Management Studies at Lancaster University Management School. Caroline's research centres on work, family and health. From a socio-cultural perspective, Caroline examines how working parents (both mothers and fathers) manage boundaries between paid work and everyday lives. In so doing she explores interconnections between gender, bodies and employment, including development of the concept ‘Maternal Body Work’. Her work is published in journals including: Human Relations; British Journal of Management; Gender, Work and Organization; Social Science and Medicine; International Journal of Management Reviews and International Journal of Human Resource Management. She is Co-Editor in Chief, International Journal of Management Reviews and Chair of NARTI (Northern Advanced Research Training Initiative).

Cary L. Cooper is the author and editor of more than 125 books and is one of Britain's most quoted business gurus. He is The 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. He is the President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a founding President of the British Academy of Management, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and one of only a few UK Fellows of the (American) Academy of Management, past President of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and President of RELATE. He was the Founding Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior, former Editor of the scholarly journal Stress and Health and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Management; now in its third edition. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation, ILO, and EU in the field of occupational health research and well-being, was Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Chronic Disease of the World Economic Forum (2009–2010, and currently a member of the Global Agenda Council on mental health of the WEF) and is Immediate Past Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences (comprising 47 learned societies in the social sciences and 90,000 members). He was awarded the CBE by the Queen in 2001 for his contributions to organizational health and safety; and in 2014 he was awarded a Knighthood for his contribution to the social sciences.

Notes on Contributors

Caroline Gatrell is Professor of Management Studies at Lancaster University Management School. Caroline's research centres on work, family and health. From a socio-cultural perspective, Caroline examines how working parents (both mothers and fathers) manage boundaries between paid work and everyday lives. In so doing she explores interconnections between gender, bodies and employment, including development of the concept ‘Maternal Body Work’. Her work is published in journals including: Human Relations; British Journal of Management; Gender, Work and Organization; Social Science and Medicine; International Journal of Management Reviews and International Journal of Human Resource Management. She is Co-Editor in Chief, International Journal of Management Reviews and Chair of NARTI (Northern Advanced Research Training Initiative).

Cary L. Cooper is the author and editor of more than 125 books and is one of Britain's most quoted business gurus. He is The 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. He is the President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a founding President of the British Academy of Management, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and one of only a few UK Fellows of the (American) Academy of Management, past President of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and President of RELATE. He was the Founding Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior, former Editor of the scholarly journal Stress and Health and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Management; now in its third edition. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation, ILO, and EU in the field of occupational health research and well-being, was Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Chronic Disease of the World Economic Forum (2009–2010, and currently a member of the Global Agenda Council on mental health of the WEF) and is Immediate Past Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences (comprising 47 learned societies in the social sciences and 90,000 members). He was awarded the CBE by the Queen in 2001 for his contributions to organizational health and safety; and in 2014 he was awarded a Knighthood for his contribution to the social sciences.