Leadership in family-friendly organizations: how policies shape managerial decisions

Purpose This study aims to examine how leadership roles and symbolic capital influence the adoption, perception and sustainability of family-friendly workplace policies. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological concepts – particularly symbolic capital, social space and habitus – combined with behavioral economic insights, the research investigates how organizational hierarchy shapes leaders’ strategic framing and employees’ interpretations of family-friendly initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The study employs a quantitative survey conducted in Hungary among 201 certified family-friendly organizations. The data were disaggregated by organizational roles (senior managers, middle managers and employees) and analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, ANOVA and chi-square tests. The theoretical framework integrates Bourdieu’s field theory and behavioral decision-making constraints. Findings Results reveal that senior leaders are significantly more likely to perceive family-friendly policies as strategic priorities and associate them with core organizational values. Their symbolic capital reinforces policy legitimacy and cultural alignment. However, middle managers report practical challenges related to implementation and resource constraints. A structural gap persists between top-level symbolic commitment and operational realities. The study also highlights how leadership credibility and internal coherence are central to policy sustainability. Originality/value This research offers a novel interdisciplinary contribution by bridging sociological and behavioral economic theories to explore symbolic and cognitive dimensions of leadership. It addresses a critical gap in the literature by focusing on the internal dynamics – hierarchical positioning, symbolic legitimacy and implementation constraints – that influence family-friendly workplace transformations.