Professional Image Maintenance: How Women Navigate Pregnancy In The Workplace
The Academy of Management Journal
Published online on April 28, 2014
Abstract
Women now comprise a significant portion of the workforce, making the effects of pregnancy on professional image (others' perceptions of competence and character at work) more salient. Accordingly, opinions as to how pregnant women should manage others' impressions abound (e.g., Noveck, 2012). However, scholars have not substantiated these views because very little research has explored the impression management strategies used by pregnant women or the outcomes of using such strategies. In this paper, we present three studies that develop and test a model of social identity-based impression management (SIM) techniques used by pregnant workers. In Study 1 (N=35), we utilized qualitative methods to identify the motives and strategies used by pregnant women to manage their professional images. In the second study we collected two samples (N=199 and N=133) to develop and validate two scales based on the motives and strategies identified in Study 1. In Study 3 (N=200), we employed a time-lagged design to examine how SIM motives and strategies affect important workplace outcomes: perceived discrimination, burnout, and returning to one's job after maternity leave. Our findings demonstrate both positive and negative outcomes of the motives and strategies women use to manage their images at work when pregnant.