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The maternity journey in an organisational context : a case study

Costa, Beth M., Walker, Arlene, Zinkiewicz, Lucy, Berman, Hannah, Cartledge, Amy and Nheng, Susan 2012, The maternity journey in an organisational context : a case study, Australian and New Zealand journal of organisational psychology, vol. 4, pp. 43-49.

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Title The maternity journey in an organisational context : a case study
Author(s) Costa, Beth M.
Walker, Arlene
Zinkiewicz, Lucy
Berman, Hannah
Cartledge, Amy
Nheng, Susan
Journal name Australian and New Zealand journal of organisational psychology
Volume number 4
Start page 43
End page 49
Total pages 7
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Place of publication Cambridge, England
Publication date 2012-12
ISSN 1835-7601
Keyword(s) maternal transition
employment
psychological contract
social identity change
Summary The transition to motherhood is a significant life event impacting on all spheres of a woman's life. In an organisational context, changes to women's relationships with their employer and to their social identity occur as they adjust to their new role. A case study was undertaken to describe and compare the workplace experiences of three female employees from one health organisation who were either preparing to commence, currently on or recently returned to work from maternity leave. At all stages of the maternity journey, women expected flexibility from their employer in negotiating their return to work and managing parenting responsibilities. Women's obligations to their employer included being open about their capacity to work and parenting situations which may interfere with their work, as well as maintaining their work performance. Within a supportive work environment that included a shared identity with managers who were also mothers, women's social identity as a worker was not significantly threatened and did not change. Social identity change may be most apparent during the transition to first-time motherhood.
Language eng
Field of Research 170107 Industrial and Organisational Psychology
Socio Economic Objective 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2012, The Authors
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30048284

Document type: Journal Article
Collections: School of Psychology
Higher Education Research Group
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Created: Tue, 04 Sep 2012, 15:27:56 EST by Jane Moschetti