The outcomes of perceived work-based support for mothers : a conceptual model

With the increase in the proportion of women holding leadership positions work-based support has been identified as an important issue in female workers’ job performance and their decisions to have children and to return to work after giving birth. Nonetheless, we need to better understand how mothers develop these perceptions about support at the workplace and how these perceptions in turn affect their decisions and behavior. Job performance (both task and contextual), work attitudes, and retention of female workers with children are influenced by the psychological contract expectations reflected in the perceived level of support provided by organizational, supervisor, and peer sources. Based on an integrative literature review, we propose a comprehensive model linking perceived multi-dimensional work-based support for motherhood with different work-related outcomes in order to more fully explain the decisions and behaviors of working mothers and how organizations might better accommodate the specific needs of this important contingent of the workforce.