"The policy exists but you can't really use it": communication and the structuration of work-family policies
- 1 January 2002
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Journal of Applied Communication Research
- Vol. 30 (1), 50-77
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00909880216577
Abstract
Although work-family benefits are increasingly important organizational policies, limited research addresses the impact of communication on benefit utilization. However, communication is significant because the perceived appropriateness of work-family benefits emerges through interaction. For example, when coworkers complain about "picking up the slack" for those using family leave, their discourse may impact future decisions of other workers regarding whether they utilize the work-family benefits available to them. We apply Giddens' (1984) Structuration Theory to examine organizational members' discursive responses to conditions (and contradictions) present in utilizing work-family benefits in a governmental organization. We argue the daily discursive practices of individuals can either reinforce or undermine formally stated work-family initiatives, and in turn discuss the implications of this "structuration" of policy.Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- ‘Family Friendly’ Employment Policies: A Route to Changing Organizational Culture or Playing About at the Margins?Gender, Work & Organization, 1997
- The Structuration of Group DecisionsPublished by SAGE Publications ,1996
- Employer Involvement in Eldercare: An Organizational Adaptation PerspectiveThe Academy of Management Journal, 1995
- Institutional Pressures and Strategic Responsiveness: Employer Involvement in Work-Family IssuesThe Academy of Management Journal, 1994
- Structuration Theory as an Ontology for Communication ResearchAnnals of the International Communication Association, 1993
- Understanding the use of Group Decision Support Systems: The Theory of Adaptive StructurationPublished by SAGE Publications ,1990
- Sources of Conflict Between Work and Family RolesAcademy of Management Review, 1985