Abstract
American organizations have been actively implementing work and family programs to meet employees' family demands. However, few comprehensive efforts to include the specific needs of pregnant employees into work and family programs have been taken. According to women who are or have been pregnant while employed, organizations must provide greater understanding and flexibility to pregnant employees. Women report mixed messages received from both co-workers and company policies. Based on the reports of pregnant women, recommendations are given which will guide co-workers on maintaining appropriate interactions with pregnant peers and help companies to better incorporate the concerns of pregnant employees into work and family initiatives.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bureau of National Affairs. (1990). Training corporate managers to ease work and family conflicts, Bureau of National Affairs Special Report #28, April.
Cramer, K. and Pearce J. (1990). Work and family policies become productivity tools, Management Review, 42-44.
Drach, R. L. (1992). Making reasonable accommodation under ADA. Employment Relations Today, 19(2), 167-175.
Halpert, J. A., Wilson, M. L. & Hickman, J. L. (1993). Pregnancy as a source of bias in performance appraisals. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14, 649-663.
Hamer, B. (1989, January/February). When the boss becomes pregnant. Psychology Today, 23, 14, 16.
Vroom, V. H. & Yetton, P. W. (1973). Leadership and Decision Making. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Halpert, J.A., Burg, J.H. Mixed Messages: Co-Worker Responses to the Pregnant Employee. Journal of Business and Psychology 12, 241–253 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025078319958
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025078319958