“Well, I’m going to have a baby”: Navigating Safety, Stakeholders, and Strategy in Workplace Pregnancy Disclosures

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores how 92 women disclosed their pregnancies in the workplace. Examining workplace pregnancy disclosure broadly rather than taking a dyadic approach (e.g. employee to supervisor) highlighted tensions and outcomes associated with simultaneously navigating disclosures to multiple colleagues and supervisors. Data analysis revealed four themes: (b) timing safely, (c) diffusing selectively, (d) controlling gatherings, and (e) crafting conversational tones. Findings situate workplace pregnancy disclosure as a dynamic multi-stakeholder process. Women’s accounts suggest that risk is understood as linked to potential future disclosures and the importance of emotion in crafting disclosure interactions.