{"title":"Workplace matters: negotiating a sense of entitlement towards taking time off for childcare among Korean fathers working in Sweden","authors":"Yeonju Kim","doi":"10.1332/204674321X16208062367136","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"A gender-equal leave policy for childcare does not necessarily engender a corresponding sense of entitlement in fathers to actually take leave, but few studies have focused on how fathers develop their sense of entitlement at work. This study explores how Korean fathers, accustomed to a work-centred life, changed their sense of entitlement towards childcare leave while working in a father-friendly country, Sweden. Sixteen Korean fathers’ narratives were analysed under two different work settings in Sweden: about half worked in Swedish companies while the other half worked in Korean-owned companies with branches in Sweden. The findings suggest that the fathers working at Swedish companies developed a stronger sense of entitlement to take childcare leave. Three contexts appeared to influence this development: the conceivability of being absent and putting responsibilities on hold, having a horizontal relationship with superiors (daring to refuse), and the social recognition of a father’s responsibilities as a co-parent.","PeriodicalId":45141,"journal":{"name":"Families Relationships and Societies","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Families Relationships and Societies","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1332/204674321X16208062367136","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"FAMILY STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A gender-equal leave policy for childcare does not necessarily engender a corresponding sense of entitlement in fathers to actually take leave, but few studies have focused on how fathers develop their sense of entitlement at work. This study explores how Korean fathers, accustomed to a work-centred life, changed their sense of entitlement towards childcare leave while working in a father-friendly country, Sweden. Sixteen Korean fathers’ narratives were analysed under two different work settings in Sweden: about half worked in Swedish companies while the other half worked in Korean-owned companies with branches in Sweden. The findings suggest that the fathers working at Swedish companies developed a stronger sense of entitlement to take childcare leave. Three contexts appeared to influence this development: the conceivability of being absent and putting responsibilities on hold, having a horizontal relationship with superiors (daring to refuse), and the social recognition of a father’s responsibilities as a co-parent.
期刊介绍:
Families, Relationships and Societies (FRS) is a vibrant social science journal advancing scholarship and debates in the field of families and relationships. It explores family life, relationships and generational issues across the life course. Bringing together a range of social science perspectives, with a strong policy and practice focus, it is also strongly informed by sociological theory and the latest methodological approaches. The title ''Families, Relationships and Societies'' encompasses the fluidity, complexity and diversity of contemporary social and personal relationships and their need to be understood in the context of different societies and cultures. International and comprehensive in scope, FRS covers a range of theoretical, methodological and substantive issues, from large scale trends, processes of social change and social inequality to the intricacies of family practices. It welcomes scholarship based on theoretical, qualitative or quantitative analysis. High quality research and scholarship is accepted across a wide range of issues. Examples include family policy, changing relationships between personal life, work and employment, shifting meanings of parenting, issues of care and intimacy, the emergence of digital friendship, shifts in transnational sexual relationships, effects of globalising and individualising forces and the expansion of alternative ways of doing family. Encouraging methodological innovation, and seeking to present work on all stages of the life course, the journal welcomes explorations of relationships and families in all their different guises and across different societies.