Introduction
Motherhood is a major life milestone that is accompanied by incredible happiness; however, it also comes with physical and mental health risks. The postpartum period is the most valuable timeframe for the recovery of the mother and to advance the bonding process of the newborns. It is nonetheless true that inadequate maternity leave regulations, which prevail in many countries, can aggravate the problems rather than ameliorate them, leaving women with negative health outcomes. Under conflict theory, the paper analyzes why maternity leave policies carry the risk of serving as a perpetrator of societal power imbalances, causing gender inequality in the workplace. It also highlights some of the measures that companies could adopt to encourage maternal health within an organization.
Maternal Leave Policies and Their Effects on Women’s Health
Policies regarding maternity leave may exhibit striking differences between countries and adversely impact women’s health in more than one way. Here are some examples of different maternity leave policies and their potential effects on women’s health:
Paid Maternity Leave: Some countries like Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have initiated a system where mothers get up to one year or more of paid maternity leave. Such can also give women the chance to go on maternity leave to heal from childbirth, bond with their babies, and feed their babies breast milk without going through a financial crisis. In research, paid maternity leave is shown to improve the mental health outcomes of the mother, reduce cases of postpartum depression, and increase rates of breastfeeding, which all support the general good health of women (Bergemann & Riphahn, 2023).
Unpaid Maternity Leave: In some countries, the duration of paid maternity leave can be very limited, or there may be no payment at all. To cite the case of the United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) makes it possible for eligible employees to take unpaid leave for as long as 12 weeks due to childbirth or adoption (Bergemann & Riphahn, 2023). On the one hand, numerous women do not have the choice of unpaid leave because of financial difficulties, which may result in stress at even times, definitely when health issues are top of the priority list.
Mandatory Maternity Leave: Some countries apply a legislative tool that obligates all working women to a certain duration of maternity leave. For instance, China offers 98 days of maternity leave as mandated. Berrigan et al. (2021), while the time on maternity leave certainly allows women to rest after childbirth and provides care for the newborn, it may be too short for some women – particularly those persons who had complications during pregnancy or difficulties in breastfeeding.
Flexible Maternity Leave: In Canada and Great Britain, maternity leave policies can be flexible and allow women to choose for themselves how to distribute their leave before and after the birth of the baby. This adaptability can be tailored to individual requirements and the health of women, especially by permitting women to spend more time before childbirth if they have pregnancy-related issues.
Shared Parental Leave: Countries like Sweden and Iceland introduce shared parental leave that not only allows the mother to take a leave from work but also allows the father to take care of the newborn baby. It provides an equal footing in helping to alleviate women’s burden of caring, which also supports women’s health when they can return to work if they desire (Berrigan et al., 2021). However, this allows parents to give childcare in an equal fashion.
Extended Maternity Leave: Germany is one country that provides maternity leave of 6 months and longer periods beyond the initial times after having a child. This assists women in embarking on work in a gradual manner and in a way that allows them to still get time to care for their children. Prolonging maternity leave can be helpful in ways such as reducing stress and anxiety that could come with the desire to get back to work too quickly after delivery. The well-being of the mother will be enhanced as a consequence of this.
Conflict Theory and Maternal Leave
Conflict theory is one of the sociological perspectives that sees society as a form of permanent conflict for scarce resources, as well as that power relations are the key factors underlying social structures and institutions. When examining maternity leave through the lens of conflict theory, several key points can be highlighted:
Power Dynamics: Conflict theorists will emphasize power differences that are evident in the analysis of classes, gender, or racial/ethnic groups in society (Best, 2021). Unequal power relations appear in such cases through policy and practice provisions that tend to make certain groups better off while others suffer a dissonance. For instance, women who are in the higher socioeconomic class and have a higher-paid job will be able to utilize many resources like maternity leave payments, but women who are of the lower-income class may be deprived of such resources.
Economic Inequality: According to the conflict perspective, maternity leave policies would be viewed as merely mirroring and perpetuating economic gaps. It is a widespread phenomenon that maternity leave benefits are dependent on a woman’s work status and are most lucrative among those employed in the higher-paying brackets (Kramer et al., 2019). This is exemplified by the fact that low-income female workers could experience comparatively more financial difficulty than their other colleagues during the initial days of having a child. This could be compounded by the already existing inequalities in the economy.
Gendered Division of Labor: Conflict theory also touches on the gender division of work in the general society through which women are often expected to assume family care mostly (Best, 2021). Maternity leave policies can contribute to the reinforcement of traditional gender roles by assuming that women will be the main caregivers, thereby obstructing women from achieving further career advancement and strengthening the gender imbalance in the workplace.
Employer Control: Conflict theorists, in line with their approach, would try to understand how employers affect making maternity leave rules and practices. In many cases, employers put their interests first – minimizing expenses and keeping workers more productive – this totally denies their responsibility to workers’ health and welfare. Maternity benefits, for example, may be inadequate, or there can be a culture in place somewhere that discourages employees from taking long leave.
Improving Support for Maternal Health in the Workplace
Equalizing Maternity Leave
Employers need to put in place fair maternity leave provisions that give mothers enough time to complete the processes of physical recovery, build relationships with their newborns, and return to work in the most natural manner possible. This approach cuts off the contention between the personal and professional lives of staff and leads to visionary workplace facilitation. Studies show that mothers with longer maternity leave tend to have better health as well as improvements in the health of their babies (Crear-Perry et al., 2021). Such health outcomes include reduced rates of postpartum depression and increased rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration. Through implementing maternity leave policies that are more in favor of the employees, employers show that employee wellness comes first. This, in the end, leads to employees’ loyalty and happiness.
Similarly, gender-neutral maternity leave policies allow men and women to share the responsibility of caregiving, thus challenging traditional gender norms and creating a more equitable workplace environment. According to conflict theory, companies should strive to overcome conflict at different levels, such as weakening power imbalances, dismantling the occult scheme of inequality, and bringing about solidarity and cooperation among employees. By doing so, companies can benefit the employees’ mental health as well as the general productivity of the company (Crear-Perry et al., 2021).
Flexible Work Arrangements
Implementing work flexibilities, e.g., telecommuting and flexible working hours, assists mothers in building their own work-life balance. According to conflict theory, the employer must address the employees’ needs so that they can have a more satisfying and productive relationship that leads to greater happiness for both sides. According to the research, it has been established that flexible working arrangements are positively related to work-family balance and the improved job satisfaction among the working mothers (Regmi & Wang, 2023). Flexibility in work schedules and locations is a key factor that helps employees take care of their family members by being at the workplace and meeting their professional goals, eventually overcoming stress and enhancing mental health.
Besides, a flexible job that allows time management with family tasks and other non-working activities can usually be used to retain valuable labor, especially for women who struggle to balance life and job. According to conflict theory, when companies invest in policy initiatives that help employees ease situations triggered by conflicts between organizational objectives and individual interests, they can avert this problem and, therefore, stabilize and increase workers’ productivity (Gordon & Rauhaus, 2019).
Child Support
Organizations may furnish indoor childcare facilities or offer financial support (subsidies) for external childcare services so that working mothers do not feel burdened with spending money on them. According to Zhang and Rodrigue (2023), when employers acknowledge the integrated demands of work and childcare, they show how they care about maternal health and lessen the deconstruction between people’s care responsibilities and work commitments. The study suggests that the availability of affordable child care will positively impact maternal employment and career advancement. Through the provision of childcare support, employers not only enhance employee recruitment and job satisfaction but also ultimately pave the way for gender equality in the workforce by helping women enter the labor market.
Furthermore, onsite childcare facilities lead to improved productivity because of reduced absenteeism and turnover rates, which allow the parents to do the work and family responsibilities efficiently. According to conflict theory, companies can create a positive workplace culture and climate by identifying the structural factors that ironically hinder women’s participation, and consequentially, the company and employees will eventually benefit from this, too (Best, 2021).
Sensitivity Training and Diversity Education
Managers’ and employees’ sensitivity training should be arranged to promote gender discrimination and bias in the workplace. According to conflict theory, the existence of power disparities contributes to the continued dominance of systemic injustices (Van Niel et al., 2020). Therefore, disregarding these norms enables companies to foster a relatively more fulfilling and nurturing environment for mothers.
Research has shown that diversity training should be able to reduce gender biases as well as improve attitudes about women in the workplace (Van Niel et al., 2020). Human relationships are built on empathy, which leads to understanding each other’s emotions and needs. Thus, by incorporating empathy as a core value in employment among employees, a business can build a more inclusive work environment. The employees will share each other’s emotions and feelings, and conflicts will be reduced, which will also promote collaboration among the staff of the business. Besides, equality learning helps women demand their rights and, consequently, dismantle discriminatory practices in the workplace. Conflict theory implies that with the establishment of a communal environment and collective struggle, firms can authorize employees to deal with systemic injustice and eventually bring about positive change in the organization. These injustices include unfairness when dealing with cases of maternal leave.
Conclusion
Maternity leave policies are not just about time off for mothers with newborns; they are more related to the value of society and power roles. The conflict theory stands out as a window to the reality that maternity leave division is a portrayal of a constant fight for female rights and the commodification of reproduction work. Through the adaptation of comprehensive and inclusive policies, companies have an opportunity to make a significant contribution to maternal health promotion and the struggle against inequality, where division into groups is the heart of the problem. Besides being from an ethical perspective, it is also the first key part of the battle to fight for equality and have a supportive working environment.
References
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Crear-Perry, J., Correa-de-Araujo, R., Lewis Johnson, T., McLemore, M. R., Neilson, E., & Wallace, M. (2021). Social and structural determinants of health inequities in maternal health. Journal of women’s health, 30(2), 230-235.
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Regmi, K., & Wang, L. (2023). Maternity Leave. Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics, 1-40.
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Zhang, T., & Rodrigue, C. (2023). What if moms quiet quit? The role of maternity leave policy in working mothers’ quiet quitting behaviors. Merits, 3(1), 186–205.
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