Abstract
Access to paid time off in the United States is limited compared to most other nations due to lacking federal paid leave policies. Within the labor market access is unequal, with workers with less racial, class, and gender privilege having less access. In the absence of federal policy, most research compares the experiences of those with and without paid time off, building an argument for this important policy. However, research examining the experiences of workers with paid time off who are relatively unlikely to have it is lacking. Applying a critical ecological framework, the current study draws from interviews with 21 single parents working low paying healthcare jobs to extend the literature by examining how they experience workplace paid leave policies. The findings illustrate how the power of a beneficial workplace paid leave policy can be limited by interaction with other workplace policies, policy implementation practices, and the broader social ecology. This interaction transforms this universal policy into a racialized, gendered, and classed policy that can punish low-paid single mothers, who are primarily Black women, for using their earned time for caregiving, thereby contributing to employment instability. The findings of this study add nuance to the available literature and suggests that examining marginalized workers’ experiences of workplace policy implementation can reveal mechanisms by which institutional discrimination is maintained in workplaces.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Due to the detailed and personal nature of the interviews, these data are not publicly available. Anonymized interview transcripts may be made available upon correspondence with the author pending further review and agreement by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board.
Notes
A few parents had romantic partners, but they considered themselves single parents. At least two parents speculated that the use of the term single in recruitment materials may have affected who reached out to participate. Future research should use a variety of terms and/or seek more inclusive terms.
Eligibility criteria for this study invited any single parent to participate and only one father asked to participate. It was not clear he only had his daughter a few days a week until I arrived at the interview. Though he is the only father in the sample, he was included as his insight into his daughter’s mother’s experiences validated comments made by mothers in the sample regarding their experiences co-parenting with their children’s fathers. Additionally, staff in his department had unique ways of dealing with the focal policy of the paper: the point system.
References
A Better Balance. (2022) FACT SHEET: New York’s law addressing abusive attendance policies. https://www.abetterbalance.org/resources/new-york-law-addressing-abusive-attendance-policies/
Abramovitz, M. (1996). Regulating the lives of women (Revised). South End Press.
Acker, J. (2006). Class questions: Feminist answers. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
Addati, L., Cassirer, N., & Gilchrist, K. (2014). Maternity and paternity at work: Law and practice across the world. International Labour Office.
Bakst, D., Gedmark, E., & Dinan, C. (2020). Misled & Misinformed: How some U.S. employers use “No Fault” Attendance policies to trample on workers’ rights (And Get Away With It). A Better Balance. https://www.abetterbalance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Misled_and_Misinformed_A_Better_Balance-1-1.pdf
Ballentine, K. L., Goodkind, S., & Shook, J. (2020). From scarcity to investment: The range of strategies used by low-income parents with “good” low-wage jobs. Families in Society: the Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 101(3), 260–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420929619. Special Issue.
Ballentine, K. L., Woo, J., Tillman, H., & Goodkind, S. (2023). “You have to keep in mind that you’re dealing with people’s lives”: How hospital service workers enact an ethic of care. New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 33(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/10482911231164906
Birks, M., Chapman, Y., & Francis, K. (2008). Memoing in qualitative research: Probing data and processes. Journal of Research in Nursing, 13(1), 68–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987107081254
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
Browne, I., & Misra, J. (2003). The intersection of gender and race in the labor market. Annual Review of Sociology, 29(1), 487–513. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100016
Burawoy, M. (1998). The extended case method. Sociological Theory, 16(1), 4–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/0735-2751.00040
Burawoy, M. (2009). The extended case method: Four countries, four decades, four great transformations, and one theoretical tradition. University of California Press. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520259010/the-extended-case-method
Chesler, M. A. (1987). Professionals’ views of the “dangers” of self-help groups: Explicating a grounded theoretical approach, in: Center for research on social organization working paper series. The University of Michigan (dir.), Ann Arbor.
Choo, H., & Feree, M. (2010). Practicing intersectionality in sociological research: A critical analysis of inclusions, interactions, and institutions in the study of inequalities. Sociological Theory, 28(2), 129–149. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9558.2010.01370.x
Clemans-Cope, L., Perry, C. D., Kenney, G. M., Pelletier, J. E., & Pantell, M. S. (2008). Access to and use of paid sick leave among low-income families with children. Pediatrics, 122(2), e480-486. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-3294
Cole, P. L., & Secret, M. C. (2012). Factors associated with work-family conflict stress among African American women. Social Work in Public Health, 27, 307–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2011.560819
Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Crain, M., Poster, W., & Cherry, M. (2016). Invisible labor: Hidden work in the contemporary world. Univ of California Press.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
Cresswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions (3rd ed.). Sage.
Davies, A. R., & Frink, B. D. (2014). The origins of the ideal worker: The separation of work and home in the United States from the market revolution to 1950. Work and Occupations, 41(1), 18–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888413515893
de Bloom, J., Geurts, S. A. E., Sonnentag, S., Taris, T., de Weerth, C., & Kompier, M. A. J. (2011). How does a vacation from work affect employee health and well-being? Psychology & Health, 26(12), 1606–1622. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2010.546860
Denzin, N. (2007). Triangulation. In The Blackwell encyclopedia of sociology. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405165518.wbeost050
DeRigne, L., Stoddard-Dare, P., & Quinn, L. (2016). Workers without paid sick leave less likely to take time off for illness or injury compared to those with paid sick leave. Health Affairs, 35(3), 520–527. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0965
Detlaff, A. J., & Boyd, R. (2020). Racial disproportionality and disparities in the child welfare system: Why do they exist, and what can be done to address them? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 692(1), 253–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220980329
Dodson, L. (2013). Stereotyping low-wage mothers who have work and family conflicts. Journal of Social Issues, 69(2), 257–278. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12014
Elliott, S., Powell, R., & Brenton, J. (2015). Being a good mom: Low-income, Black single mothers negotiate intensive mothering. Journal of Family Issues, 36(3), 351–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X13490279
Gassman-Pines, A. (2015). Effects of Mexican immigrant parents’ daily workplace discrimination on child behavior and family functioning. Child Development, 86(4), 1175–1190. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12378
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. Basic Books.
Glenn, E. N. (1992). From servitude to service work: Historical continuities in the racial division of paid reproductive labor. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 18(1), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.1086/494777
Goldberg, R. M. (2022). Negotiating family resilience amidst caretaking and employment constraints: A qualitative analysis of African American employed caregivers. Community, Work & Family, 25(3), 279–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2020.1752149
Goodkind, S., Jacobs, L., Branson, D., & Miller, E. (2019). Pittsburgh’s inequality across gender and race [Gender Analysis White Papers]. City of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission. https://www.socialwork.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/pittsburghs_inequality_across_gender_and_race_07_19_20_compressed.pdf
Hays, S. (1996). The cultural contradictions of motherhood. Yale University Press.
Henly, J. R., & Lambert, S. (2005). Nonstandard work and child-care needs of low-income parents. In Work, family, health, and well-being (pp. 473–492). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Henly, J. R., Shaefer, H. L., & Waxman, E. (2006). Nonstandard work schedules: Employer- and employee-driven flexibility in retail jobs. Social Service Review, 80(4), 609–634. https://doi.org/10.1086/508478
Heymann, J., Sprague, A., Earle, A., McCormack, M., Waisath, W., & Raub, A. (2021). US sick leave In global context: US eligibility rules widen inequalities despite readily available solutions. Health Affairs, 40(9), 1501–1509. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00731
Hill, H. D. (2013). Paid sick leave and job stability. Work and Occupations, 40(2), 143–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888413480893
Hruska, B., Pressman, S. D., Bendinskas, K., & Gump, B. B. (2020). Vacation frequency is associated with metabolic syndrome and symptoms. Psychology & Health, 35(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1628962
Jacobs, A. W., & Padavic, I. (2015). Hours, scheduling and flexibility for women in the US low-wage labour force. Gender, Work & Organization, 22(1), 67–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12069
Jean, Y., & Feagin, J. (1998). Double burden: Black women and everyday racism. M. E. Sharpe.
Johnson, R. C., Kalil, A., & Dunifon, R. E. (2012). Employment patterns of less-skilled workers: Links to children’s behavior and academic progress. Demography, 49(2), 747–772. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-011-0086-4
Jones, M. C., & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2009). Shifting: The double lives of black women in America. Harper Collins.
Joshi, P., Baldiga, M., Earle, A., Huber, R., Osypuk, T., & Acevedo-Garcia, D. (2021). How much would family and medical leave cost workers in the US? Racial/ethnic variation in economic hardship under unpaid and paid policies. Community, Work & Family, 24(5), 517–540. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2019.1704398
Kennelly, I. (1999). “That Single-Mother Element”: How white employers typify black women. Gender and Society, 13(2), 168–192.
Khan, K. S. (2022). Racial discrimination against minority healthcare workers in women’s health. Women, 2(2), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/women2020010
Lambert, S. J., Haley-Lock, A., & Henly, J. R. (2012). Schedule flexibility in hourly jobs: Unanticipated consequences and promising directions. Community, Work & Family, 15(3), 293–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2012.662803
Lens, V., Nugent, M., & Wimer, C. (2018). Asking for help: A qualitative study of barriers to help seeking in the private sector. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 9(1), 107–130. https://doi.org/10.1086/696356
Luhr, S. (2020). Signaling parenthood: Managing the motherhood penalty and fatherhood premium in the U.S. service sector. Gender & Society, 34(2), 259–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243220905814
McCorkel, J. A., & Myers, K. (2003). What difference does difference make? Position and privilege in the field. Qualitative Sociology, 26(2), 199–231.
Miles, M., Huberman, A., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications Inc.
Moss, P., & Tilly, C. (2001). Stories employers tell: Race, skill, and hiring in America. Russell Sage Foundation.
Moss Kanter, R. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. Basic Books.
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Sage.
Nadeau, C. A., & Glasmeier, A. K. (2018). Living wage calculator. http://livingwage.mit.edu/
Okechukwu, C. A., Ayadi, A. M. E., Tamers, S. L., Sabbath, E. L., & Berkman, L. (2012). Household food insufficiency, financial strain, work-family spillover, and depressive symptoms in the working class: The work, family, and health network study. American Journal of Public Health, 102(1), 126–133. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300323
Paat, Y.-F. (2011). The link between financial strain, interparental discord and children’s antisocial behaviors. Journal of Family Violence, 26(3), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-010-9354-0
Perry-Jenkins, M., & Gerstel, N. (2020). Work and family in the second decade of the 21st century. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 420–453. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12636
Pichler, S., Wen, K., & Ziebarth, N. R. (2021). Positive health externalities of mandating paid sick leave. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 40(3), 715–743. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22284
Pilarz, A. R. (2021). Mothers’ work schedule inflexibility and children’s behavior problems. Journal of Family Issues, 42(6), 1258–1284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X20940761
Raub, A., Earle, A., Chung, P., Batra, P., Schickedanz, A., Bose, B., & Heymann, J. (2018). Paid leave for family illness: A detailed look at approaches across OECD countries. WORLD Policy Analysis Center.
Rodems, R., & Shaefer, H. L. (2020). Many of the kids are not alright: Material hardship among children in the United States. Children and Youth Services Review, 112, 104767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104767
Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. Liveright Publishing.
Ruhm, C. J. (2017). A national paid parental leave policy for the United States. In D. W. Schanzenbach & R. Nunn (Eds.), Driving growth through women’s economic participation (pp. 107–122). Hamilton Project.
Shepherd-Banigan, M., Bell, J. F., Basu, A., Booth-LaForce, C., & Harris, J. R. (2017). Mothers’ employment attributes and use of preventive child health services. Medical Care Research and Review, 74(2), 208–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558716634555
Smith, R. A., & Hunt, M. O. (2021). White supervisor and subordinate beliefs about Black/White inequality: Implications for understanding and reducing workplace racial disparities. Social Problems, 68(3), 720–739. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spaa014
Snyder, C. R., & Schwartz, M. R. (2019). Experiences of workplace racial discrimination among people of color in healthcare professions. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 26(3), 96–107.
Storer, A., Schneider, D., & Harknett, K. (2020). What explains racial/ethnic inequality in job quality in the service sector? American Sociological Review, 85(4), 537–572. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122420930018
Szymczak, J. E., Smathers, S., Hoegg, C., Klieger, S., Coffin, S. E., & Sammons, J. S. (2015). Reasons why physicians and advanced practice clinicians work while Ssck: A mixed-methods analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(9), 815. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0684
Thébaud, S., & Pedulla, D. S. (2022). When do work-family policies work? Unpacking the effects of stigma and financial costs for men and women. Work and Occupations, 49(2), 229–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/07308884211069914
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Private industry workers with sick leave benefits received 8 days per year at 20 years of service. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/private-industry-workers-with-sick-leave-benefits-received-8-days-per-year-at-20-years-of-service.htm
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022). Labor force statistics from the current population survey. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm
Williams, C. L. (1989). Gender differences at work. University of California Press.
Williams, J. (2006). One sick child away from being fired: When “Opting Out” is Not an Option (SSRN Scholarly Paper 2126303). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2126303
Williams, J. C., Blair-Loy, M., & Berdahl, J. L. (2013). Cultural schemas, social class, and the flexibility stigma: Cultural schemas and social class. Journal of Social Issues, 69(2), 209–234. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12012
Wingfield, A. H. (2019). Flatlining: Race, work, and health care in the new economy. Univ of California Press.
Funding
Funsing was provided by National Association of Social Workers Foundation, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors acknowledge the project is in full compliance with ethical standards. There is no potential conflicts of interest.
Research Involving Human and Animal Participants
This research included human participants and all research processes were was approved and monitored by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board and completed in compliance with this approval and research ethics for qualitative research.
Ethical Approval
All research activities and protocol were approved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board.
Consent to Participate
Informed consent was obtained from all respondents.
Consent for Publication
The author hereby provides consent for publication.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is one of several papers published together in Journal of Family and Economic Issues on the “Special Issue on The Political and Economic Contexts of Families’ Financial Lives”.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Ballentine, K.L. “I'm Not the Kind of Person to Just Call Off”: Workers’ Experiences Navigating Structural Barriers to Paid Time Off. J Fam Econ Iss (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-023-09937-5
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-023-09937-5