Progressive or pressuring? The signaling effects of egg freezing coverage and other work–life policies.

What is it about?

We investigated the signaling effects associated with offering egg freezing coverage, a novel work-like policy, to employees. In contrast to most work-life policies, egg freezing coverage signals the organization is encouraging personal life sacrifice and thus elicits more negative reactions in employees, both relative to other policies and in an absolute sense. We also find variability in the signals that a wide range of work-life policies signal to employees.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings challenge the assumption that work-life policies always signal personal life support to employees and elicit positive attitudes. They show that offering work-life policies can make an organization less appealing to employees if these policies appear to encourage employees to prioritize work over their personal lives. These findings also have implications for attracting and retaining women in organizations and strategies to increase gender equality.