Mother’s Reentry: A Relative Contribution Perspective of Dual-Earner Parents’ Roles, Resources, and Outcomes

Abstract

The reentry period after maternity leave can be a stressful but important transition for mothers, their significant others, and their organizations. In the present study, we integrate conservation of resources theory, the crossover model, and the relative contribution model to understand the influence of perceived organizational support during reentry on both mothers’ and their significant others’ home stress and, ultimately, workplace experiences. Beyond actor effects, we investigate the relationship between each parent’s perceived organizational support on their partner’s home stress via three crossover mechanisms: (1) direct; (2) indirect; (3) shared stressor. Notably, we offer a theoretically novel lens through which to view the shared stressor mechanism. Drawing upon the relative contribution model, we conceptualize dual-earner parents as a team and argue that because mothers are the critical members during this period, their resources will directly influence both parents’ home stress. Findings yielded by this multi-stage, multi-source field study demonstrate the importance of supporting mothers as critical members of the family during reentry, as organizational support that is perceived as inadequate directly affects home stress and indirectly influences workplace experiences that can impede successful transitions and threaten career outcomes for both parents.