Are the ideal worker and ideal parent norms about to change? The acceptance of part-time and parental leave at German workplaces

ABSTRACT

This study examines the extent to which the use of part-time work and parental leave is accepted at German workplaces. Is there evidence for a weakening of ideal worker and ideal parent norms? Interviews were conducted with 95 employees in different status positions in hospitals, police stations and industrial companies. The results indicate that even though ideal worker norms and ideal parent norms still prevail, especially in higher-status positions and typical male professions, they have shifted partially for some employees. Partial change can be observed for mothers in high-status positions (part-time) and for men up to mid-level positions (parental leave). There is greater acceptance of fathers’ parental leave, mainly due to the reform of the German parental leave legislation. Part-time for women in upper-level positions has become more accepted due to work-life balance policies at the company level. Norm changes, however, have stalled at the halfway mark. Fathers are still expected to prioritize their career and to schedule parental leave according to their organization’s business needs. Part-time working mothers in high-status positions are expected to deliver performance similar to that of full-time workers. Moreover, norm changes are hindered by economic constraints, mainly staff shortages.

RESUMEN

Este trabajo examina hasta qué punto se acepta el uso de empleo a tiempo parcial y de licencias parentales en puestos de trabajo en Alemania. ¿Hay un debilitamiento del ideario normativo con respecto al trabajador ideal y al padre o la madre ideal? Se llevaron a cabo 95 entrevistas con empleados en posiciones de diferente prestigio de hospitales, comisarías de policía y empresas industriales. Los resultados indican que se mantienen vigentes las normas sobre el trabajador ideal y sobre el padre o la madre ideal, particularmente en posiciones de mayor prestigio y ocupaciones típicamente masculinas. Un cambio parcial se observa entre madres en posiciones de alto prestigio (tiempo parcial) y entre hombres en posiciones de hasta prestigio medio (licencias parentales). Hay mayor aceptación del uso paterno de licencias parentales, debido en su mayor parte a la reforma legislativa alemana en la materia. El empleo a tiempo parcial de mujeres en posiciones de alto prestigio es más aceptado como consecuencia de las políticas de conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar al nivel de la empresa. Sin embargo, el cambio normativo se ha encallado a mitad de camino. Todavía se espera que los padres den prioridad a sus carreras y ajusten la toma de licencias parentales a las necesidades organizativas de las empresas. Se espera que las madres en posiciones de alto prestigio empleadas a tiempo parcial rindan tanto como aquellas empleadas a tiempo completo. Además, el cambio normativo se ha visto agraviado por obstáculos de carácter económico, principalmente la escasez de personal.

KEYWORDS:

• Part-time work
• parental leave
• ideal worker norms
• ideal parent norms
• social change

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Empleo a tiempo parcial
• licencias parentales
• normas sobre el trabajador ideal
• normas sobre el padre o la madre ideal
• cambio social

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the reviewers for their extremely helpful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Yvonne Lott is researcher at the Hans-Böckler Foundation, Germany. Her main research interests are the effects of flexible work arrangements for employees and their families, the role of flexible work for social inequality, and intra-household inequality. Her research has been published in the European Sociological Review, the European Journal of Industrial Relations and Social Policy & Society.

Christina Klenner is researcher at the Hans-Böckler Foundation, Germany. Her research focuses on gender inequality with regard to working time and income.