Fathers’ Use of Parental Leave in a Canadian Law Enforcement Organization

Abstract

Prior to 2018, Canadian parents had access to 35 weeks of parental leave; but leave use is persistently gendered. We examine employee, employment, and organizational characteristics that influence use of parental leave by men in a Canadian law enforcement organization. Data from 97 managers and 234 male employees were analyzed using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. Employees received a top up to 93 percent of their salary when on leave, therefore illuminating factors, other than income loss, that influence fathers’ leave use. Logistic regression analysis showed that men who were younger, more educated, had a partner who was not in the labor force, and who had a positive attitude toward leave use were more likely to take parental leave. Managers’ were less positive than employees about men’s leave use. Thematic analysis of comments revealed a gendered perception, negative impact on the workplace, and concerns over misuse of parental leave.

Keywords

parental leave fathers law enforcement managerial support organizational culture Canada

Introduction

New parents struggle to adjust to their work and family demands while adapting to their new roles as parents. Both mothers and fathers must navigate their new responsibilities and reshape their lives to meet the needs and expectations of both their families and their employers. One of the most consequential decisions prior to and following the arrival of a child is parents’ choice to use or share parental leave. Employers of expectant mothers assume that they will take time off, but use of parental leave by fathers is neither assumed nor expected (Daly et al., 2008; Gartzia et al., 2018). For male employees, the use of leave is often seen as discretionary, and requests to use leave receive more scrutiny or opposition from employers than requests from female employees (Harvey & Trembley, 2020; Gartzia et al., 2018).

Internationally, men take parental leave less often than women (Karu & Trembley, 2018; Miyajima & Yamaguchi, 2017; Williamson et al., 2019), and understanding the reason for this is important. Research has shown a number of benefits of early father engagement and leave use: for men, the expansion of social networks that improve health and well-being (Ravanera & Hoffman 2012), and the development of parenting skills and confidence (Rehel, 2014; Romero-Balsas et al., 2019); for children, contributing to child development outcomes (Allen, et al., 2012), perceived father-child closeness and communication (Petts et al., 2020), and sustained father involvement as the child ages (Pragg & Knoester, 2017); and for strengthening marriages, increasing men’s contributions to household labor (Meil, 2013), and improving partner support and communication (Tokhi, et al., 2018). Given these important benefits, it is crucial to explore the employer barriers that fathers face when making choices regarding leave use.

Organizational norms surrounding parenthood and involvement in childcare responsibilities can vary greatly (Sallee, 2013) and can be strongly related to gender role expectations and the perception of masculinity. Berdahl and Moon (2013) found that employed men who were highly involved in childcare activities were seen as insufficiently masculine, and they reported the highest levels of harassment and co-worker backlash at work (Berdahl & Moon, 2013), compared to those with a traditional division of childcare. These involved fathers were treated in a derogatory manner because they were breaking gender role norms and were accused of not being “man enough” (Berdahl & Moon, 2013). For men, using parental leave may be seen as behaving outside the organization’s cultural norms (McKay et al., 2012), especially in organizations that are predominantly male and built on traditionally masculine norms (Findlay & Kohen, 2012; Murgia & Poggio, 2013), such as law enforcement (Romero-Balsas et al., 2019).

Aim of the Study

This research investigates the use of parental leave by male employees and the factors that influence leave use in a Canadian law enforcement organization. This article contributes to the knowledge of fathers’ use of parental leave by offering a multi-level, mixed-method design to explore both parental leave use and attitudes surrounding parental leave use by male employees in a Canadian law enforcement organization.

The organization in this article is predominantly male, not unionized, offers a generous top up to the nationally available Employment Insurance (EI) benefits through which parental leaves are funded, and reports high levels of parental leave usage by male employees, which makes it an important case study. The higher than national average leave use allows participants from this organization to discuss their perceptions of parental leave support and use from a position of experience, rather than one of conjecture. In addition, understanding fathers’ leave use in specific occupations was identified by McKay et al. (2012) as a gap requiring attention in the leave literature.

One of the most common reasons men do not take leave is loss of income (Kaufman, 2018; McKay et al., 2012; Narvi & Salmi, 2019), as EI benefits do not fully replace wages (Government of Canada, 2020), unless topped up by the employer. Due to a substantial EI top of 93 percent of their salary for the duration of leave, loss of income is much less a concern for employees in this organization, and other factors that contribute to leave use can be explored.

Also, the policing literature has historically focused on female officers’ management of work and family responsibilities (Agocs et al., 2015; Langan et al., 2017; Langan et al., 2018). Recent Canadian research has focused broadly on men’s work-life experiences in law enforcement (Duxbury & Halinski, 2018; Tremblay & Genin, 2010). In Europe, more research has focused on work-life experiences and leave-taking of fathers in law enforcement (Fusulier et al., 2013; Romero-Balsas et al., 2019), but more focus on the use of parental leave by Canadian fathers in law enforcement (outside Quebec) is needed.

Using an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach, we analyze both quantitative survey data from male employees with children and qualitative survey responses from managers and male employees. We aim to answer the following questions:

What personal, employment, and organizational characteristics influence the parental leave use by male employees in law enforcement?

How do managers’ and male employees’ attitudes about male employees use of parental leave compare?

What kinds of observations and beliefs influence the attitudes of managers’ and male employees’ support for leave use by male employees in this organization?

The answers to these questions can help us to understand the unique challenges faced by men in predominantly male work places.

Canadian Parental Leave Policy

At the time of data collection (2012), all Canadian parents who met the minimum qualification requirements were eligible for a maximum of 35 weeks of parental leave and EI benefits paid at 55 percent of their income to a maximum of $543 a week (Government of Canada, 2020).¹ To be eligible for EI benefits in Manitoba, the site of data collection, applicants needed 600 hours of paid work in the last 12 months or to have worked continuously for one employer for seven months (Service Canada, 2017).

Unlike maternity leave (17 weeks), which is for birth mothers only, parental leave (35 weeks) can be shared between parents in two-parent families or can be taken in full by either parent. Employees’ jobs are protected while they are on leave, and the employer must hold the employee’s role or equivalent upon their return (Employment Standards, 2019). However, only a small percentage of Canadian fathers living outside the Province of Quebec take advantage of parental leave. Outside Quebec, just 9.4 percent of fathers took or intended to take parental leave in 2011 (Statistics Canada, 2013a) compared to 83 percent of mothers (Findlay & Kohen, 2012).² Fathers’ leave use intention had risen to just 12 percent by 2016 (Department of Finance Canada, 2018).

Fathers’ leaves are also on average much shorter than mothers’ leaves, with Canadian mothers taking an average of 44 weeks of leave (maternity plus parental) and fathers an average of just 2.4 weeks of leave (Findlay & Kohen, 2012) despite having access to 35 weeks. The law enforcement organization we studied reported high use of leave, with 12 percent of managers and 37 percent of male employees reporting leave use, over three times the national average, which is likely a result of access to the EI employer top up of 93 percent of their salary for 35 weeks. The justification for the top up is unclear, but it is presumed the top up was negotiated by the unionized, administrative employees in this organization and was then extended to the law enforcement officers.

Theoretical Context

Role theory, our theoretical framework, holds that social expectations are embedded in norms that drive the behavior of individuals. Role theory posits that people working in groups take on roles or scripts that are created by the social structures, expectations, and feedback from other group members. These expectations are formalized and internalized, which ensures conformity (Ritzer, 2005) and reinforces culture (Sallee, 2013). Given that law enforcement has strong role ideologies, traditional masculine culture (Loftus, 2010), and the risks associated with law enforcement work (Kop et al., 1999), role theory will help us understand the choice to take leave and how social roles, at home and work, and influences in the officers’ environment impact that choice. Role theory would suggest that fathers in a predominantly male workplace with a masculine culture might face heightened scrutiny for breaking gender norms by taking leave.

Literature Review

Managerial Support

Why are more men not taking leave? There are often barriers within the organization that discourage men from utilizing leave (Haas & Hwang, 2009; Marshall, 2008; Petts & Knoester, 2018; Wells & Sarkadi, 2012). A manager’s explicit or implicit disapproval can discourage leave use despite the existence of the law and presence of a family-friendly corporate culture. Trembley (2015) found some male employees in Quebec who took leave returned to unsupportive managers and faced repercussions, such as demotions. A manager’s support, or lack thereof, for leave-taking by male employees may be rooted in the managers’ own gendered views (Narvi & Salmi, 2019) or in the gender role expectations reinforced by organizational culture. Trembley et al. (2011) found that managerial support is important, but cited the additional need for coworker support for leave.

Family-supportive Organizational Policies and Culture

Family-friendly policies offered by employers can support their employees’ efforts to juggle work and family responsibilities, which benefits both the employee and employer. Some companies supplement government legislated maternity and parental leave benefits by topping up the wage replacement, offering extended leaves, or other supports. However, the existence of family-friendly supports is not enough; for men to use parental leave, both it and supplemental policies must be explicitly supported and promoted by management (Sallee, 2013; Trembley & Genin, 2010; Wells & Sarkadi, 2012; Whitehouse et al., 2013). Despite the availability of policies, fathers can face an unsupportive culture. Romero-Balsas et al. (2019) found fathers in Spanish law enforcement who took parental leave reported being teased, or facing jokes and assumptions they were “doing nothing” or simply “on holiday” (p. 8). Conversely, seeing coworkers take parental leave is important for increasing men’s leave use (Kaufman, 2018; Narvi & Salmi, 2019; Trembley, 2015) because it models acceptable behavior (Romero-Balsas et al., 2019).

The loss of income while on parental leave is a primary concern for fathers and families, especially if the father is the primary or sole breadwinner. For example, 35 percent of eligible Canadian fathers who did not claim parental leave benefits cited finances as the main reason for not doing so (McKay et al., 2012), and it is also a common reason offered by European fathers (Kaufman, 2018; Narvi & Salmi, 2019). For example, using data from Belgium, Fusulier et al. (2013) found law enforcement officers used the best-paid options available to them when children were born. High wage replacement or the availability of an employer top-up can minimize the negative financial impact of fathers’ leave use and, as a result, increase their leave use (Beglaubter, 2017; Karu & Trembley, 2018; Kaufman, 2018). However, the most recent available figures indicate that less than 20 percent of Canadian employers offer an EI top up (Marshall, 2010), and they do so more often for maternity leave than for parental leave (Pettigrew, 2020).

In conclusion, the gendered use of leave perpetuates the idea that parental leave is “women’s leave.” Some Canadian research has explored men’s use of leave and decision-making relating to leave use (Beglaubter, 2017; Karu & Trembley, 2018; McKay & Doucet, 2010), but this work provides an important extension of the literature by focusing on the factors influencing parental leave use of male employees in a predominantly male, law enforcement organization.

Data and Methods

This research utilized a multi-level, mixed method approach. The multi-level data were collected from the organizational, managerial, and employee levels of a single law enforcement organization. We analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data from manager and employee questionnaires in an explanatory sequential mixed method design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018).

This combination of data levels and types of data allows us to not only analyze what influences male employees’ leave use but also illuminate the organizational context within which fathers are making the decision to take leave. While the quantitative data provides more generalizable data about the influences on leave-taking, the analysis of the qualitative data offers insight into the voices behind those choices, highlighting the organizational culture. The advantage of the multi-level data is that rather than relying solely on the perceptions of employees, we also analyze data from managers, which provides the richness of multiple perspectives regarding men’s leave use, especially managerial views that can be an influential force in decision making around leave.

Recruitment

Participant recruitment began after ethics approval from the University of Manitoba Joint-Faculty Research Ethics Board. A human resources (HR) executive at the law enforcement organization was approached to recruit the organization’s participation as part of a larger research project (Pettigrew, 2014), and the HR executive agreed to the organization’s participation and signed the consent form. Pettigrew and Duncan (2017) offer more detail regarding the recruitment process.

In the province of Manitoba, this organization employs administrative staff and law enforcement officers; however, while administrative staff are unionized, the law enforcement officers are not. Only law enforcement officers were sampled from this organization, given that they face unique constraints when taking parental leave. Managers were identified by the organization and represented those who had supervisory duties, were responsible for employees, or evaluated the performance of subordinates.

All managers (male and female) and all male employees who engaged in law enforcement duties in this organization were solicitated for participation. Because male employees report to both male and female managers, including the voices of all managers gives us a clearer understanding of the context within which male employees decide whether or not to take leave.

Data Collection

Data were collected at three levels within this organization.

Structured interview

At the organizational level, a structured interview with the organization’s HR representative was used to record policies, programs, or benefits offered by the organization, as well as organizational demographic information.

Self-administered questionnaires

Data collection at the manager and employee levels used two questionnaires: one for managers and one for male employees. The managers’ questionnaire assessed exposure to parental leave, overall support for parental leave, perception of their organization’s family supportiveness, personal use of parental leave, perception of their company’s attitudes about leave use, and demographic information. The employee questionnaire addressed the same questions as the managers, but included employees’ perception of manager’s family supportiveness. For both questionnaires, participants were provided with space to give open-ended explanations for their dichotomous responses to several attitudinal questions.

Two emails were sent by the organization: one to all managers and the other to all male employees. Each email included a brief description of the project, an invitation to participate, and a link to the electronic survey, which including the consent form. The consent forms and self-administered questionnaires were then completed electronically by participants within Fluid Survey, and the responses were forwarded directly to the researcher and held within a password-protected database on a Canadian server. No incentives were offered for participation and a reminder email was sent two weeks following the initial invitation. The questionnaires included both closed and open-ended questions.

Sample

All managers (male and female) and all male employees engaged in law enforcement duties in this organization were sampled. Ninety-seven of the 367 managers receiving the invitation to participate completed the survey, a response rate of 25.6 percent. Of the 561 male employees approached, 234 completed the survey at a response rate of 41.7 percent. The managerial response rate is lower than the reported average of 48.6 percent in officer surveys conducted using face-to-face data collection methods (Nix et al., 2017), but the online format aided in reducing social desirability response and facilitated data collection from a large number of participants over a larger geographic area.

Measures

Dependent Variable

Personal use of parental leave was assessed by the question ‘Have you ever used parental leave benefits?’, with employee responses of “yes” (2) or “no” (1).

Independent Variables

Personal characteristics

Managers were asked if they identified as male or female and all employees were male. All managers and employees were asked their age in years, used in continuous format. All participants were asked Statistics Canada’s question, “People in Canada come from many racial or cultural groups. You may belong to more than one group on the following list” (Statistics Canada, 2007, p. 371), and respondents chose from 13 options. This question was then recoded into a dichotomous variable, “Is respondent member of visible minority group?”—”yes” (2) or “no” (1). Highest level of education included three dummy variables: “some post secondary” (i.e., some university, college, or technical degree); “certificate, diploma or bachelors degree”; and “advanced degree. Each had a “yes” (2) or “no” (1) answer. Total number of children was a count of the number of children reported by the participant. For partner’s employment status, there were three dummy variables: partner not employed, partner employed part-time, and partner employed full-time, coded 2 for “yes” and 1 for “no.” Participants were asked their attitude towards parental leave use, “What is your general attitude about male employees taking parental leave?,” with “in favor” (2) or “not in favor” (1) as possible responses. Following this question, participants were able to explain their answer with an open-ended comment using the following prompt, “If you would like to briefly explain your response, please do so in the space provided below.”

Employment characteristics

Employees’ perceived supervisory family support was measured with the Perceived Supervisory Family Support (PSFS) scale (Thompson, et al., 2004). This scale includes six statements on a seven-point Likert scale and possible scores range from 6 to 42, the higher the score the more supportive the perception of the manager. A sample statement is “If one of my supervisor’s subordinates missed work due to a sick dependent, my supervisor would understand,” (Thompson et al., 2004, p. 552). Jahn et al. (2003) also used this scale (Cronbach’s alpha =.90). The Chronbach’s alpha for the PSFS scale in this sample was .92.

To assess their experience with male employees’ parental leave use, managers were asked “Of those employees who have taken leave while under your supervision, were any fathers?” with possible responses of “yes” (2) or “no” (1).

Organizational context

The Family Supportive Organizational Perception (FSOP) scale is a 14-item index that measures employees’ perceptions of organizational support, with strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .91; Lapierre et al., 2008). The Chronbach’s alpha for the FSOP scale in this sample was .89. The scale includes questions such as “It is assumed that the most productive employees are those who put their work before their family life” (Allen, 2001, p. 423). Negatively worded items were reverse coded so that higher scores reflected the employee’s perception of a more family-friendly organization (Haar & Roche, 2009). Index questions are on a five-point Likert scale from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5); therefore, possible scale scores ranged from 14 to 70.

Career impact of parental leave for men was assessed by asking: “Are men who work for your employer able to take time off work when they become fathers without negatively impacting their jobs?,” which was adapted from Voydanoff (2004). Responses were coded “yes” (2) or “no” (1).

Analysis

We use an explanatory sequential mixed-method design to analyze both the quantitative and the qualitative data from the manager and employee surveys. Logistic regression was used to explore leave use by the subset of male employees who were fathers, followed by a thematic content analysis of both managers’ and employees’ long answers to the open-ended question on attitude toward leave use.

Logistic regression

In addition to descriptive and bivariate statistics, logistic regression modeling was used to determine the predictors of parental leave use by male employees. The data were assessed to ensure they met the assumptions for logistic regression analysis, and there was no multicolinearity in the model. The final model included 141 of the 234 male employees in this sample, because only employees who reported having children were asked if they had taken parental leave. Thus, the sample for this model included only male employees who were parents, which enabled the exploration of the factors associated with parental leave use.

Thematic content analysis

Analysis of opened ended comments utilized thematic content analysis, and manual coding was conducted (Anderson, 1997). The process involved direct analysis or counting the responses (Freitas et al. 1998). The comments were reviewed, initial themes emerged, and codes were assigned to themes. Multiple iterations of these steps were conducted to confirm the themes and adjustments were made as needed (Anderson, 1997).

Sample Description

Eighty-five percent of this organization’s workforce was male. All of the employees were male, but roughly 20 percent of managers were women (Table 1). On average, managers were 47.5 years old and 10 years older than the employees. More managers reported having a partner and children than employees.

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics for Managers, Male Employees, and Employed Fathers.

	Total Sample				Sample for Logistic Regression Model
	Managers (n = 97)		Male Employees (n = 234)		Employed Fathers (n = 141)
Categorical Variables	n	Percent	n	Percent	n	Percent
Personal characteristics
Sex
Male	77	80.2	234	100.0	141	-
Female	19	19.8	0	0.0	0	-
Partner status
No	11	11.6	45	19.7	16	11.3
Yes	84	88.4	183	80.3	125	88.7
Highest level of education
High school or less	12	12.8	0	0.0	0	0
Some post-secondary	30	31.9	27	12.1	20	14.4
Bachelor’s degree	49	52.2	83	37.2	49	35.3
Advanced degree	3	3.1	113	50.7	70	50.3
Partners’ Employment Status
Employed full-time	63	76.0	99	54.7	59	47.2
Employed part-time	8	9.5	38	21.0	28	22.4
Not employed	12	14.5	44	24.3	38	30.4
Have Children
No	12	12.6	87	38.2	0	-
Yes	83	87.4	141	61.8	141	-
Took Parental leave
No	73	88.0	88	62.4	88	62.4
Yes	10	12.0	53	37.6	53	37.6
Length of Parental leave taken
Less than 1 week	1	10	1	2.0	1	2.0
1 to 3 weeks	0	0	10	19.6	10	19.6
4 to 6 weeks	0	0	11	21.6	11	21.6
7 to 10 weeks	1	10	5	9.8	5	9.8
11 to 20 weeks	1	10	9	17.6	9	17.6
21 to 30 weeks	2	20	3	5.9	3	5.9
31 to 35 weeks	5	50	12	23.5	12	23.5
Parental leave attitude: men’s use
No	39	40.6	58	24.8	36	25.5
Yes	57	59.4	176	75.4	105	74.5
Organizational context
Career impact of parental leave for men
No	10	10.3	60	25.8	38	27.0
Yes	87	89.7	173	74.2	103	73.0
Continuous Variables	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
Personal characteristics
Age	47.52	11.66	37.39	13.98	38.37	8.87
Number of children	1.85	1.11	1.28	1.22	2.06	.88
Employment Characteristics
Perceived supervisory family support scale	-	-	33.09	8.67	33.43	8.52
Organizational context
Family supportive org. perception scale	48.70	10.42	40.74	11.64	40.96	11.39

Sixteen percent of managers and 12 percent of employees reported being members of a visible minority group, and of these participants the group most frequently chosen was Indigenous (i.e., Aboriginal, Metis, or Inuit; 18 employees and 13 managers; see Table 1). Eighty-eight percent of employees and 55 percent of managers held a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.

The participants earned above average salaries compared to the Canadian average for all occupations. Managers and employees reported average annual earnings of $112,365 and $91,421, respectively, almost 30 percent higher than the Canadian averages in 2012 (Statistics Canada, 2013b). Managers had been with the organization an average of 21 years and employees an average of 8 years, and both groups reported similar work hours per week. Comparing the demographics of this sample (i.e., proportion of female managers, members of visible minority groups, Indigenous representation, and pay) to the demographics for both Manitoba law enforcement and the Canadian law enforcement sector’s nationally (Connor et al., 2019), this sample is representative; therefore, results can be inferred generally to the Canadian law enforcement sector. However, the generalizability would exclude Quebec, as Quebec has different parental leave polies than the rest of Canada’s provinces and territories.

Results

This section will begin with a description of the use of leave in this organization, and the support for parental leave use by both managers and male employees will be highlighted. We will then move on to the multivariate and qualitative content analyses results.

Parental leave policies and use

Ten managers (12 percent) reported having used parental leave. and six of those leave takers were female managers (Table 1). Therefore, only 5 percent male managers (4) in this study had taken parental leave, compared to 38 percent of male employees (53). Of the male employees who reported leave use, 42.6 percent took 6 weeks or less and 23.5 percent took 31 to 35-week parental leaves, which is the maximum length available to fathers. Forty-three percent of those employees reporting leave use had partners who were not employed in the labor market, which was significant (X ² = 11.667, df = 1; p < .005), though no relationship was found between leave-taking and partner’s part-time or full-time employment.

Parental leave use by male employees in this organization is much higher than the national average (outside Quebec; Statistics Canada, 2015), and managers in this organization have extensive experience with managing parental leave use by employees (Pettigrew, 2014). For example, 74 percent of managers had managed an employee, either male or female, who had taken parental leave, and 68 percent had managed a male employee leave-taker.

Parental leave attitude

We asked how managers’ and male employees’ attitudes about male employees use of parental leave compare, and part of the answer is provided by the descriptive statistics on attitude toward parental leave. Managers in this organization are significantly less supportive than male employees of parental leave use by male employees: 75 percent of male employees supported leave use by male employees, compared to 59 percent of managers (X ² = 8.228, df = 1; p < .05; see Table 1). However, there was no significant difference in the support of female and male managers for the use of leave by male employees. However, managers and employees seemed to disagree on the impact that leave use might have on men’s careers. Though both were relatively positive, managers were more optimistic than employees: almost 90 percent of managers, but only 74 percent of male employees, said that men in their organization could take parental leave without negatively impacting their careers.

Multivariate Results: Use of Parental Leave

To answer the question of what personal, employment, and organizational characteristics influence the parental leave use by male employees in law enforcement (Research Question 1), we ran a logistic regression model predicting parental leave use. Predictor variables representing personal, employment, and organizational characteristics were chosen for inclusion in the model based on the leave use literature and theory. The model performed well, explaining 30.9 percent of the variance in the use of parental leave by male employees. Four of the male employees’ personal characteristics were significant: age (OR = .879, p < .01), holding a bachelors degree compared to those with advanced education (OR = .356, p < .05) having a partner who is not in the paid work force compared to those with a partner employed full-time (OR = 3.417, p < .05), and personal attitude about leave use (OR = 4.855, p < .05; see Table 2). The findings suggest that for every additional year of age, there is a decrease of 0.12 in the odds of taking leave. Employees’ with a stay at home partner, compared to those whose partners worked full-time, had a 3.4 times greater odds of taking parental leave. Employees with a positive personal attitude about parental leave were 4.8 times more likely to have taken leave than those who held negative parental leave attitudes.

Table 2.

Logistic Regression Analysis of Predictors of the use of Parental Leave Use by Male Law Enforcement Employees.

	B	SE(B)	OR	95% CI
Personal Characteristics
Age	−.129	.042	.879**	[0.809, 0.954]
Number of children	.046	.261	1.047	[0.627, 1.747]
Some post secondary	−.708	.685	.493	[.129, 1.886]
Bachelors degree	−1.034	.485	.356*	[.138, .919]
Advanced degree (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Partner not in workforce	1.229	.532	3.417*	[1.205, 9.692]
Partner employed part-time	.685	.580	1.985	[.637, 6.183]
Partner employed full-time (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Parental leave attitude	1.580	.618	4.855*	[1.446, 16.302]
Employment Characteristics
Perceived supervisory family support scale	.025	.029	1.025	[0.969, 1.085]
Organizational Characteristics
Family supportive organizational perception scale	−.052	.023	.949*	[0.907, 0.993]
Career impact of parental leave for en	.181	.541	1.199	[0.415, 3.464]
Constant	2.058	2.632	7.828
Cox & Snell R²		.309
-2 Log likelihood ratio		133.440***

Note. N = 141. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

The employment characteristic of perceived supervisor family support scale was not found to be a significant predictor of male employees’ leave use. Of the two variables related to organization characteristics, family supportive organizational perception was significant (OR = .949, p < .05). For every one-unit increase in the family supportive organizational perception scale score, the odds of taking leave decreased by a factor of 0.06 (see Table 2) and the reason for this unexpected result is unclear.

Thematic Analysis: Parental Leave Attitudinal Comments

In order to fully explore the attitudes present in the workplace and to illuminate the quantitative findings, we analyzed the open-ended answers for managers and male employees who explained their general attitudes about men’s use of leave in their workplace (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). Of those completing the surveys, 46 managers and 110 male employees chose to explain their attitude about leave-taking.

To answer the second and third research questions regarding attitudes toward parental leave and the influences on those attitudes, we begin by broadly addressing positive and negative attitudes about men’s use of leave mentioned in their comments. We then discuss the thematic analysis results, which revealed three key themes: gendered attitudes of leave use, negative impact of fathers’ leave use on the organization and coworker workload, and suspected misuse of parental leave by male employees.

Attitudes about Fathers’ Leave-taking

Positive attitudes

We asked, how do managers’ and male employees’ attitudes about male employees use of parental leave compare (Research Question 2)? A larger proportion of employees provided positive comments (55 percent) than did managers (35 percent). Some employees who reported positive attitudes recognized the importance of family in child development and the eventual community impact. Comments that reflected a positive attitude included advocacy for father engagement, the policy’s support for families as a whole, and acknowledgement of the importance of family bonding at the beginning of a child’s life. Thirty-eight employees and nine managers raised the importance of early family connection and bonding. Male employee comments such as “It encourages a strong beginning for new families,” “Parenting is a big commitment and I personally believe in active/shared responsibility,” “I believe that a happy home life makes for a happy work life so if taking parental leave will help a family it is a good thing,” and “The child needs both parents present for the familial bond” exemplified those who had a positive attitude about leave use by male employees. A 36-year-old male employee, married, with two school-aged children, alluded to the importance of family within the community context:

In my 11 years as a [law enforcement] officer I’ve come to the conclusion that our most troubled youth generally have very limited parental supervision or a weak relationship with their parents. Parental leave gives parents an opportunity to spend quality time with their newborn, older children, and the family as a whole.

Some recognized how challenging the transition to parenthood is and that parental leave allows families to better manage this period of intense demands. One male manager’s comment typified the comments addressing this perspective.

It is the most stressful and challenging time of parenthood and our employees have the opportunity to reduce that through this time to support their family. It’s a good thing. (Married, 51-year-old, with no children).

One employee who supported leave-taking highlighted the role of family for law enforcement officers’ well-being. A 33-year-old employee, who does not have children, but plans to in the future, commented:

Just because we are [law enforcement] officers it doesn’t mean we are only [law enforcement] officers. Family keeps you grounded [,] which is the most important aspect of one’s life. It keeps officers from drinking, etc.

Negative attitudes

Not all managers and male employees held positive attitudes about men’s use of parental leave in their organization. Sixty-five percent of the comments provided by managers were negative toward use of leave by male employees, compared to 45 percent for employees. Some managers held strong opinions, for example, a 31-year-old married manager with no children stated:

This [parental leave] is a leftist/socialist scheme, like many of the leftist/socialist ideas, let other people pay while they sit on their ass. I would love to sit home, finger paint or swan dance and get paid.

A married employee, with two grown children, similarly stated:

During my time when we had children the female was the only one entitled to the leave. This is now provided to both and if there is an extra cost to the taxpayers then I feel it should not be offered.

Beyond simply positivity and negativity of comments, a number of themes emerged in the analysis of the comments, including the gendered attitudes around leave and childcare, impact of leave use on coworkers and the employer, and the observed misuse of parental leave by fathers in this organization.

Thematic Analysis

To answer the third research question, what kinds of observations and beliefs influence the attitudes of managers’ and male employees’ support for leave use by male employees in this organization, we explore the thematic analysis results.

Gendered attitudes about leave use

As evidenced by a previous quote, one theme that emerged was the perception that women were better suited to manage an infant and therefore should be the natural parent to take leave. Such comments took two directions. First, comments perceived women as innately suited for or biologically better prepared for parenting infants in a way that men are not. Fifteen of the 46 managers and 21 of the 110 employees who commented, affirmed this gendered view of leave-taking. A 27-year old, married, male employee with no children simply stated, “Men can’t breast feed.” While another married employee in his 50s with two grown children also felt women were more suited to care for children and stated:

Woman have been having children for years, maternity leave I have no problem with but 37 weeks for parental leave is excessive, and a burden on the tax dollars. Males taking [parental] leave is wrong.

This gendered view of care and seeing women as the rightful users of parental leave leads to participants questioning fathers’ use of leave, which means that men’s use of leave within this organization faces more scrutiny (Harvey & Trembley, 2020; Gartzia et al., 2018). This additional scrutiny supports an assumption of role theory—that men in masculine workplace cultures who break gender role expectation norms will face pushback or repercussions. For example, one manager stated:

For males, I would only be in favor in certain circumstances rather than a blanket approach. In terms of females taking parental leave, I would support it unconditionally.

Therefore, for men’s use to be justified, there has to be a reason why the mother is unavailable to parent, such as illness or return to work. Eleven manager and seven employee comments cited this conditional approval of men’s leave use and reflected a belief that fathers’ leave-taking was unacceptable if a mother was home full-time. For example, this comment clearly demonstrates the gendered perception of parental leave use:

I have an issue with male [officers] taking parental leave in circumstances where the wife has no health issues and is unemployed at the time of the parental leave. (47-year-old, married, male manager, father of two teenagers).

An employee expressing similar sentiment was a father of two teenagers and did not take time off work after their arrival:

I don’t believe that both parents should be able to take the parental leave at the same time if the mother is unemployed. Totally against it.

Negative Impact of Leave Use

Understandably, employees might be less supportive of men’s parental leave use when its use negatively impacts their workload or work hours. In addition, being shorthanded or understaffed when the nature of work involves potential for personal harm might also heighten feelings of resentment and frustration when absences are prolonged. Roughly 22 percent of managers’ and 14 percent of employees’ comments addressed the workplace challenges leave use creates and the potential resulting coworker resentment. An employee, a married father who recently took one to three weeks off after the arrival of his child, commented:

In favour of both woman and men taking leave, but it does put a lot of stress on the remaining employees. . .as the positions are not backfilled. This leaves the remaining employees to take on more work. This can create animosity especially towards men who take the leave.

One manager suggested the length of parental leave taken can negatively impact the workplace:

I do agree with it, but not for the length involved. If [officers] make as much away from work while on parental leave, which they do, why wouldn’t they take the full 37 weeks. This hurts busy [workplaces] immensely. Cut the pay after a month, and they would have to make their own decision at that point. (Married father of four4 school-aged children who took less than 1 week off work after child’s arrival).

As referenced in a previous comment, one key reason why leave use increased coworker workload was that the organization tended not to backfill (e.g., bring in a temporary replacement) employees on leave. Working short staffed is potentially harder on employees and would have more impact on coworkers when leaves are longer. Not backfilling for short leaves may be understandable, but not doing so for a 35-week leave would increase coworker workload and frustration. A 30-year-old employee with three school-aged children addressed this concern:

Parental leave often leaves positions short staffed (which are already typically short to begin with) as these spots do not get filled in the law enforcement world like they often do in other jobs.

A 57-year-old, married, male manager also weighed in on the challenge of backfilling:

The issue as a manager is the amount of time allowed and the position is not back filled. Causes hardship on the unit for resources.

In addition to the demands that leave use placed on workloads, there was additionally a sense that male employees were not using leave for the purpose for which it was intended.

Misuse of parental leave

The perception of parental leave use as an imposition on this organization is compounded by a common perception that parental leave is misused. This belief seems rooted in the gendered view of parental leave as a maternal benefit, leaving fathers’ use suspect. Role theory suggests that organizational norms suggesting women are leave takers and men are breadwinners may increase suspicion of fathers’ motivation to take leave. Participants reported the frequent observation of misuse of leave, defined as fathers not using leave to care for their child or support their partner, but instead to pursue recreational activities, personal priorities, or simply using leave as an extended paid vacation often during the summer months. Thirty-eight percent (13) of managers’ and 11 percent (10) of employees’ comments expressed this theme of misuse of leave by fathers. Since there is minimal financial loss for fathers utilizing parental leave, they may be more inclined to take leave than if there were a substantial financial penalty. One male employee, who did not have children, elaborated on the perceived misuse and its subsequent impact on workloads:

In my opinion, parental leave was started to allow husbands to take some time off of work to assist with the newborn, but it has been my experience with 95% of the males, that parental leave is viewed as a paid holiday as they typically request the leave over the summer months, which leaves a shortage within the [unit] and pushes my workload up.

Another 51-year-old employee, who took no time off after the arrival of his now teenage son, had a very strong attitude about the misuse he had observed, stating:

I support a father taking parental leave if his spouse is going back to work. If she is a stay-at-home mom, then I think he should get his lazy ass back to work. I have seen a lot of misuse of this where the mom is home raising the children and the dad is out having fun doing whatever while on paid leave.

Managers also report observing fathers on leave use their time for activities other than parenting.

I believe that a lot of employees abuse this benefit. One employee I know took the time to build a house. A much shorter period would be more acceptable. (50-year-old manager, father of 2 pre-teens).

Managerial comments often highlighted the use of leave during summer months, which made them feel that leave was an opportunity for longer periods of paid vacation, rather than for childcare.

I believe parental leave for males is sometimes a very good thing depending on the circumstances in each household [,] which is different. I however seen a number of people stay at home with their spouse, go golfing or other activities but not child care. I have also seen occasions where the parental leave is only taken in the summer. (39-year-old manager, married father of two young children)

A mother should be allowed time with her new born…. Males have used this as a tool to secure ‘leave’ that would have otherwise been denied due to the current depressed staffing level. i.e., give me the month of July off, or I will take 6 months of Pat [parental] leave. (51-year-old manager, married, father of two grown children)

These reported observations of misuse were common, and it is clear that perceived misuse had negatively shaped the level of support for leave use, especially for managers.

Discussion

Influences on Leave Use

Exploration of the factors influencing men’s personal leave use revealed some key results. The logistic regression analysis showed that male employees who had partners who were not employed in the labor market had significantly higher odds of taking parental leave compared to those whose partners were employed full-time, which supports McKay et al. (2012) who found that men took longer leaves when their partners were not eligible. There are a number of possible interpretations of this finding. Because the parental leave policy requires women to be employed prior to the arrival of the child to qualify, those women not engaged in the labor force do not qualify for maternity or parental leaves, or EI. That men whose partners were not employed were more likely to take parental leave than men whose partners were employed full-time supports previous research (Marshall, 2008; McKay et al., 2012), indicating that when women do not have access to their own parental leaves, it makes room for fathers’ leave usage and disrupts the gendered perception of entitlement to leave (Beglaubter, 2017). Research has found that mothers’ leave use influences men’s access (McKay et al., 2012), because women are more likely to use the full duration of available leave, which limits fathers’ access.

This result could also indicate that when fathers are the sole breadwinners, employer EI top ups offer fathers the opportunity to take leave without negative financial impacts. At the time of data collection, EI paid a maximum of $543 a week for 35 weeks of leave (Government of Canada, 2020); therefore, using the average employee income in this sample, a father would normally earn a salary of roughly $61,000 over 35 weeks, but income would drop to roughly $19,000 on EI alone on leave for the same period. This loss of income, without an EI top up, would make leave-taking practically impossible without extensive financial planning. This organization’s top up of 93 percent of salary for 35 weeks is generous by national standards, as a minority of employers offer EI tops (Marshall, 2010), but often for shorter periods (six weeks) and with lower wage replacements (75%) (Pettigrew, 2020). Offering a large EI top up for the duration of leave almost entirely removes the wage penalty of leave-taking for fathers in this sample, which supports previous findings (Beglaubter, 2017; Karu & Trembley, 2018; Kaufman, 2018; McKay et al., 2012) and also explains the higher than national leave use in this sample.

However, given the frequent reports of perceived misuse of leave by fathers explored in the thematic analysis, an alternative interpretation could be made. If claims of misuse are founded, fathers in this organization could be choosing to take leave when their partners are at home full-time because it allows flexibility for fathers to pursue a range of activities, rather than take over the sole responsibly for childcare. Per role theory, fathers may have internalized the roles and expectations of a sole breadwinner, with more traditional division of household labor. This is certainly a less generous interpretation of fathers’ leave use intentions, but exemplifies a manager-helper parenting dynamic discussed by Rehel (2014), where the mother manages childcare and the father is viewed as “helping out.” Using parental leave for reasons other than caring for children would certainly not support one of the intentions of Canadian parental leave policy: to promote gender equality. In addition, fathers taking leave to care for children alone is viewed as an effective way to improve visibility of fathering in predominantly male work environments (Romero-Balsas et al., 2019). Finally, since previous research also found male officers taking leave were met with assumptions of taking vacation or doing nothing (Romero-Balsas et al., 2019), future research could help us to understand if claims of misuse are substantiated or if those with a gendered view of leave entitlement were more likely to perceive misuse.

For employees, a positive attitude toward parental leave use by male employees was positively associated with leave use. Not surprisingly, a person who feels positively about a benefit will be more likely to use it than someone who does not. Given the strength of some of the comments, it is understandable that employees making negative comments would likely not elect to take parental leave and vice versa.

For men in this law enforcement organization, managerial support as measured by the perceived supervisory support scale did not significantly predict the use of parental leave, but the perception of the organization did significantly influence leave use, which supports previous findings that law enforcement officers perceive strong support for work-life issues (Fusulier et al., 2013). Despite the negative attitudes expressed by managers, employees generally viewed their managers as supportive of their family needs; however, this perception did not significantly influence employees’ leave use. In this organization, it is common for employees to make multiple moves during their careers. This career mobility may mean that perception of leave-taking at the organizational level is more important than the attitude of one’s current manager on career trajectory.

Brandth and Kvande’s (2019) discovered employers’ implementation of legislated policy is crucial for fathers’ usage of leave. In addition, male employees who perceive their organizations as supportive are better able to navigate their work-family roles than those who do not (Allard, Haas & Hwang, 2011). Therefore, organizations that are invested in the work-family lives of their employees should begin by ensuring employees are aware of not only the legislated parental leave policy but also the additional organizational supports available, and they should increase their explicit support of employees. Tremblay et al.’s (2011) research in Quebec suggests the necessity of proactive, formal and informal policies and practices for employees balancing work-life issues in law enforcement. By offering EI top ups, but not backfilling roles, the organization studied here is sending mixed signals to employees about the accessibility of leave and is introducing fertile ground for coworker and managerial scrutiny, and resentment of leave-taking.

Attitudes Regarding Fathers’ Use of Leaves

Understanding the complexity of attitudes around men’s leave use is helpful to interpret the results from the logistic regression and illuminate the culture within which men choose to take leave in this organization. In both the descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, managers expressed less support than employees of leave use by male employees. Managers reported extensive experience with managing leave use, which meant that managers in this sample gave opinions based on experience rather than speculation. The lower level of managerial support expressed for men’s leave use suggests either that predominantly male organizations may be less supportive or that exposure to more frequent parental leave use by men negatively influences support. If one is generally supportive of men’s leave-taking, but then repeatedly observes misuse of leave, does their support wane?

Influences on Attitudes

Both managers and employees, but more managers, reported the inconvenience of leave use to the organization, the administrative struggle (e.g., replace and train a leave replacement, required paperwork), loss of productivity, and the increased workload that results when the organization chooses not to backfill a position while an employee is on leave. Fleischmann and Sieverding (2015) found that in Germany, longer leaves were not associated with increased peer backlash, but in this organization failure to backfill those on leave, especially when leaves are 35 weeks long, appears to increase frustration, as it has a direct and problematic increase on coworkers’ workload. This frustration is compounded when absences mean more shifts and exposure to physical threat.

Parental leave use in this organization is higher than the national average and can be attributed to the EI top up offered by the organization, but there is clearly a gendered perception of leave. A predominantly male and masculine organizational culture may contribute the gendered view of leave and the perception that taking leave is not in line with masculine norms. Role theory would suggest that fathers in a predominantly male workplace with a masculine culture face heightened scrutiny for breaking gender norms by taking leave. That said, some managers and employees felt that women could use leave without question, but men’s use was suspect, which is in line with Fusulier et al.’s (2013) finding that, in Belgium, female law enforcement officers’ parental status was taken into consideration more often when scheduling shifts than men’s, which indicates fatherhood is not as visible as motherhood in the workplace. When men take leave, it is seen as not masculine and a breach of gender norms in the eyes of some coworkers and managers and, per role theory, these men may face backlash or disapproval. If men aren’t seen as primary caregivers and parental leave is seen as a woman’s benefit, it can contribute to the perception that men are taking leave for invalid reasons, for example to extend a vacation (Bittman et al., 2007; Gartzia et al., 2018; Harvey & Trembley, 2020; Romero-Balsas et al., 2019). If misuse is perceived, it will negatively impact those taking leave for the right reasons. Finally, if this organization backfilled its leaves, it would likely reduce managers’ and coworkers’ concerns about intent.

Limitations

There are two limitations in our analysis. First, the data in this research are cross-sectional. Participants’ parental leave attitude had a significant and positive effect on leave use, but reverse causation is possible. There is clearly an association between parental leave attitude and parental leave use, and it is possible that taking leave increases the likelihood of a respondent having a positive attitude abut leave. Second, age was found to significantly influence men’s leave use. Male employees who were older were less likely to report parental leave use, which may be an indication that younger men may hold less traditional gender role ideologies. However, lower usage reported by older employees may also be a result of the changes to parental leave policy through the years, meaning that older men may not have had access to or the same length of access as younger men (Pettigrew, 2014). Future research should tease out variations in access to leave due to legislative changes as these variations relate to reported leave use.

Conclusion

In Canada, parental leave and EI benefits are available to new parents who meet the eligibility criteria. However, women are far more likely than men to take parental leave following the arrival of a child, despite the evidence that both fathers and children benefit from greater father involvement in children’s early lives (Allen et al., 2012; Petts & Knoester, 2018; Petts et al., 2020). This research has explored the personal, employment, and organizational factors that influence the decision to use parental leave by the male employees in a law enforcement organization in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Use of leave by male employees in this sample was higher than the national average, and managerial exposure to managing leave was also high; however, support for leave use was lower for managers than employees.

This sample from an organization that is predominantly male, with highly educated, high earning employees, who have access to a generous EI top up, higher father leave usage, and who are engaged in high-risk work makes this research an interesting case study and a contribution to the literature. This sample permits the consideration of the importance both of top ups and of factors other than income loss on leave use by fathers and also gives insights into leave use in predominately-male workplaces.

This law enforcement organization offers a top up to EI payments to 93 percent of the employees’ salaries, which likely increased parental leave usage in this sample. Organizations that are keen to support fathers within their workforce should consider offering a top up to alleviate financial loss as a deterrent to leave use. However, organizations should be careful to review their policies surrounding parental leave as a whole. For example, this organization supports leave and offers a top up, but also has the tendency not to back fill employees on leave, which places an undue burden on remaining employees and may increase resentment toward both the policy and leave users. In this case, the organization should conduct a review of its practices related to leave use to improve both the family-supportive culture and the perception of leave usage, and minimize backlash for leave takers.

This research contributes to the literature by identifying that partners’ work arrangements, and resulting access to leave, have an impact on fathers’ reported leave use. Men were more likely to take parental leave when their partners did not qualify for their own leaves. This finding supports previous research that showed that fathers defer decision-making around leave use to maternal preferences (McKay et al., 2012). Using the lens of role theory, our findings contribute to the understanding of the relational dynamics surrounding leave use, with fathers more likely to take leave when their partners are not employed and therefore fathers’ leave use would not impinge on partners’ leave. In addition, perceptions of leave misuse indicate that a broader conversation is needed around the intent of parental leave policy, the promotion of gender equality, and whether the policy is encouraging sharing childcare responsibilities. Future research should examine the factors that influence the negotiation of leave use and engagement in childcare within couples, fathers’ childcare intentions while on leave, and the influences on fathers leave use as solo parent.

In this sample of male employees, the perception of the organization as family-friendly is a significant factor influencing leave use, but the perception of the family-friendliness of one’s manager is not. This is a noteworthy finding because previous research suggests that an unsupportive manager can trump even the most family-friendly organization (Mauno et al., 2012). Our results suggest the opposite, with perception of organizational family-friendliness as more influential than managerial support on male employees’ leave use, which was a surprising result that requires more research. However, researchers cannot assume that managerial support is always more important than organizational support when it comes to use of family-friendly policies.

In conclusion, by examining the factors influencing the use of parental leave within a law enforcement organization, this research makes an important contribution to understanding the use of parental leave by male employees when a substantial EI top up is offered. Offering such a top up may increase usage of parental leave (Beglaubter, 2017), but, as evidenced in the thematic analysis, it does not guarantee that the attitudes of the organization, managers, or employees will be positive toward its use. To support employed fathers’ parental leave usage, both organizations and managers need to explicitly support parental leave use by male employees. Organizational support must be reflected in organizational policies and practices as well as managers’ and employees’ behavior, which, as role theory predicts, will solidify the cultural norms surrounding parental leave usage.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Rachael N. Pettigrew

Notes

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