Brad and Hanna are expecting their third child in a few months. For their first

Question

Brad and Hanna are expecting their third child in a few months. For their first two children, Hanna quit work for five years to raise the kids until they were old enough for preschool. This time off hurt Hanna's career advancement as a graphic design specialist. Hanna has been working now for around six years and her career once again is about to take off. She is very excited about her career. This pregnancy, however, was not planned. Due to Hanna's sacrifices, Brad did quite well in his career. Currently, he is a junior partner in a CPA firm and he's the odds on favorite to get the next senior partner position. If he takes off for an extended period (6 months or more) for this child, he believes the senior partners will see the move as a lack of commitment to the firm. All of the senior partners sacrificed family involvement for their careers, why shouldn't Brad? Senior partnership means much more money and prestige. Hanna and Brad agree that one of them should take time off to raise the child for at least a year, but who? Hanna feels she's sacrificed her career already and now it's Brad's turn. She wants a chance to be successful in her career. He has had his chance. Brad disagrees. Hanna's previous sacrifice has gotten him to where he is today. If he makes this sacrifice, he feels Hanna's sacrifice would be wasted. Therefore, Brad thinks Hanna should stay home with the baby.

Questions:

1) Who should take off: Brad or Hanna? Explain.

2)   Should organizations ask applicants about their family responsibilities or intentions?   Should this information to screen out applicants that may cause problems?

3) What programs or interventions could organizations adopt to reduce/eliminate the conflicts mentioned in the above scenarios?

4)   Should organizations really care about family/work conflict? Should this really be a concern to a company? Explain the pros and cons.

5)    How do you think organizational accommodations for work/family conflicts affect:

a) organizational culture

b) organizational commitment

c) stress

Explanation / Answer

1. Brad should take off as Hanna has already taken off and now it is the turn of Brad. Apart from this for delivering the child Hanna will have to go on leave for some time, so any additional leave should be avoided at her end.

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