Understanding men's utilization of paid parental leave: an identity perspective

Purpose Most new fathers in the US take less than 2 weeks off when their children are born. While some men take little to no leave because of the financial barriers associated with unpaid leave, many others who do have access to paid leave take fewer days than allotted. In this research, we draw on identity theory to explain why this underutilization may occur, proposing that men's utilization of leave is affected by what it means to them to be good parents and good employees. We also explore the moderating effects of spouses' expectations and workplace leave-taking norms. Design/methodology/approach Following scale development and validation studies, we test the proposed theoretical model in a time-separated survey design with 234 expecting fathers. Findings Results showed that men's parental identities were unrelated to leave use intentions, regardless of their spouses'/partners' expectations. In contrast, the extent to which men identify as ideal workers was negatively related to leave use intentions, such that a single point increase in ideal worker identification was associated with five fewer planned days of leave. However, this negative effect was mitigated when men's leave use was normative in their organization. Originality/value This research addresses recent calls to better understand men's utilization of parental leave, going beyond demographic and policy-level (e.g. length of leave) predictors of leave-taking behavior. We contribute to research on ideal worker norms, examining how leave-taking is affected when fathers endorse and internalize expectations associated with “ideal workers.”