April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: A Feminist Organizational Approach to Examining FMLA Leave Conversations Between Employees and Supervisors
In 2022, there were 76.6 million women in the workforce (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Parental leaves afforded by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are crucial for promoting the well-being of employees and their families. Yet, women in the position to start a family must first understand how FMLA works and then navigate challenging conversations with their supervisors (Billottee & Buzzanell, 2022) to make informed choices for their health. This study explores female [university] employees’ understanding of FMLA policies and their perceptions of conversations with their supervisors about their leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child. This study offers recommendations for better facilitating communication between female employees applying for FMLA leave and their supervisors.
I employed Buzzanell’s (1994) framework for feminist organizational communication theorizing. Buzzanell’s (1994) framework is well-suited to examine gendered interactions in organizations, as this perspective analyzes the sociocultural construction of patriarchal power by critically examining current practices and language. This approach helps uncover the subtle ways organizations control thinking – empowering individuals to better understand their feelings, values, and needs. Embracing a feminist standpoint enables researchers to conduct a detailed examination of the diverse experiences and identities of women, particularly in organizational processes like maternity leaves. By prioritizing women's insights, researchers can generate theories that authentically capture and reflect women's experiences, rather than imposing external frameworks (Buzzanell et al., 2017). Guided by this feminist organizational communication framework, my research question (RQ) asked: What are the experiences of female employees [university] when discussing parental leave with their supervisors, and how do these gendered interactions reflect the sociocultural construction of patriarchal power?
Data were collected from March-April 2021 from five adult female [university] employees who had given birth, adopted, or started fostering a child within the past two years and had discussed parental leave with a supervisor. In-depth interviews, which asked participants to share their experiences regarding parental leave, were conducted both face-to-face and via Zoom lasting 45-to-60 minutes each and transcribed verbatim, yielding 150 pages of typed text. All participants were female and working in administrative or teaching roles at [university]. Data were analyzed via thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). I began by immersing myself in the data, after which I identified initial codes, units of meaning. Then, I grouped these initial codes into higher-order themes, patterns of meaning. Finally, I defined and labeled my themes and selected evocative and representative exemplars.
Although data analysis is ongoing, preliminary themes revealed operations of patriarchal power as female employees denoted unsupportive supervisors and human resources (HR) departments, as well as limited available information concerning their organization’s process for accessing parental leave via FMLA. Similarly, female employees noted continued expectations for engagement in work while on parental leave, and a toxic organizational culture. Due to these operations of patriarchal power, female employees reported a “self-inflicted” pressure to return to work due to fears of being labeled incompetent. Implications for theory and organizational practices for implementing parental leave policies are forthcoming.
I employed Buzzanell’s (1994) framework for feminist organizational communication theorizing. Buzzanell’s (1994) framework is well-suited to examine gendered interactions in organizations, as this perspective analyzes the sociocultural construction of patriarchal power by critically examining current practices and language. This approach helps uncover the subtle ways organizations control thinking – empowering individuals to better understand their feelings, values, and needs. Embracing a feminist standpoint enables researchers to conduct a detailed examination of the diverse experiences and identities of women, particularly in organizational processes like maternity leaves. By prioritizing women's insights, researchers can generate theories that authentically capture and reflect women's experiences, rather than imposing external frameworks (Buzzanell et al., 2017). Guided by this feminist organizational communication framework, my research question (RQ) asked: What are the experiences of female employees [university] when discussing parental leave with their supervisors, and how do these gendered interactions reflect the sociocultural construction of patriarchal power?
Data were collected from March-April 2021 from five adult female [university] employees who had given birth, adopted, or started fostering a child within the past two years and had discussed parental leave with a supervisor. In-depth interviews, which asked participants to share their experiences regarding parental leave, were conducted both face-to-face and via Zoom lasting 45-to-60 minutes each and transcribed verbatim, yielding 150 pages of typed text. All participants were female and working in administrative or teaching roles at [university]. Data were analyzed via thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). I began by immersing myself in the data, after which I identified initial codes, units of meaning. Then, I grouped these initial codes into higher-order themes, patterns of meaning. Finally, I defined and labeled my themes and selected evocative and representative exemplars.
Although data analysis is ongoing, preliminary themes revealed operations of patriarchal power as female employees denoted unsupportive supervisors and human resources (HR) departments, as well as limited available information concerning their organization’s process for accessing parental leave via FMLA. Similarly, female employees noted continued expectations for engagement in work while on parental leave, and a toxic organizational culture. Due to these operations of patriarchal power, female employees reported a “self-inflicted” pressure to return to work due to fears of being labeled incompetent. Implications for theory and organizational practices for implementing parental leave policies are forthcoming.