Beyond the Clock: Uncovering the Relation between Working Overtime and Paid Parental Leave Uptake

Flore Debruyne , Stockholm University

The transition to parenthood perpetuates gender inequality, impacting mothers' labour market participation and fathers' involvement in caregiving roles. This study investigates the workplace's role in this inequality, focusing on the influence of working overtime, signalling a strong ideal worker norm. Does the ideal worker norm discourage parents from spending time with their child and taking up parental leave? Using administrative register data from Sweden, I examine whether working overtime predicts parental leave uptake. The administrative data covers the entire Swedish population and is collected annually. Preliminary findings showed that in couples where fathers worked overtime, fathers would take less leave than their non-overtime counterparts. Working overtime predicted mothers’ leave uptake to a lesser extent. Further analyses will explore this relationship and will include factors such as overtime within the workplace and organisation, shedding light on the complex relationship between the gendered workplace culture and gendered parenting roles. This study contributes to understanding the hurdles fathers face in taking parental leave due to an unsupportive workplace culture, ultimately highlighting the need for a more equitable approach to parental leave policies and work cultures.

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 Presented in Session 118. Work and Family