<p>Do you know why middle class working mothers are leaving jobs? Because they are unwilling to behave like men, a new research shows.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Mothers in professional and managerial jobs are expected to stay till late or get in early even if they have negotiated reduced working hours.<br /><br />They have to socialise with colleagues or clients in the evenings - even though this clashes with their childcare responsibilities, said researchers from the University of Leicester in Britain, revealing the masculine culture of the workplace.<br /><br />"They must do so because working culture is still organised by men, who are less involved in childcare. Many mothers respond by leaving their jobs," said Shireen Kanji, a senior lecturer at the University of Leicester's school of management.<br /><br />"Unless mothers mimic successful men, they do not look the part for success in organisations," added lead author Emma Cahusac, a series producer of BBC Television's The Culture Show.<br /><br />The researchers interviewed 26 mothers based in London who had quit their jobs while pregnant, or following their return to work, but before their first child reached school age.<br />Twenty one of them quit their jobs voluntarily - often because they had been sidelined after returning to the office.<br /><br />Many of the interviewed women found it hard to combine work and motherhood because of the dominant culture of presenteeism - the notion that they should be at their desks until late even if there was nothing to do.<br /><br />"I would be in work by eight but I would have to leave by six and actually I could do the job perfectly well," Susan, an ex-banker, told researchers.<br /><br />Susan said her six o'clock departure provoked "barbed comments" from a woman who did not have children.<br /><br />The researchers also found that before they had children themselves, women not only accepted but encouraged the masculine culture of the workplace.<br /><br />The mothers interviewed also needed to hide the fact that they were parents - imitating a masculine trait.<br /><br />The male partners never talked about their families. They have been very adept at keeping that separation between work and home, added Nadia, a lawyer.<br /><br />Mothers had to hide the fact that they were taking time off to look after sick children.<br /><br />"You definitely would have to say you were sick, not the kid was sick," said a mother who held a senior position at a charity.<br /><br />"Many women leave high-powered jobs because they are relegated to lesser roles and feel the need to suppress their identities as mothers," Kanji said.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Gender, Work and Organization.<br /></p>
<p>Do you know why middle class working mothers are leaving jobs? Because they are unwilling to behave like men, a new research shows.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Mothers in professional and managerial jobs are expected to stay till late or get in early even if they have negotiated reduced working hours.<br /><br />They have to socialise with colleagues or clients in the evenings - even though this clashes with their childcare responsibilities, said researchers from the University of Leicester in Britain, revealing the masculine culture of the workplace.<br /><br />"They must do so because working culture is still organised by men, who are less involved in childcare. Many mothers respond by leaving their jobs," said Shireen Kanji, a senior lecturer at the University of Leicester's school of management.<br /><br />"Unless mothers mimic successful men, they do not look the part for success in organisations," added lead author Emma Cahusac, a series producer of BBC Television's The Culture Show.<br /><br />The researchers interviewed 26 mothers based in London who had quit their jobs while pregnant, or following their return to work, but before their first child reached school age.<br />Twenty one of them quit their jobs voluntarily - often because they had been sidelined after returning to the office.<br /><br />Many of the interviewed women found it hard to combine work and motherhood because of the dominant culture of presenteeism - the notion that they should be at their desks until late even if there was nothing to do.<br /><br />"I would be in work by eight but I would have to leave by six and actually I could do the job perfectly well," Susan, an ex-banker, told researchers.<br /><br />Susan said her six o'clock departure provoked "barbed comments" from a woman who did not have children.<br /><br />The researchers also found that before they had children themselves, women not only accepted but encouraged the masculine culture of the workplace.<br /><br />The mothers interviewed also needed to hide the fact that they were parents - imitating a masculine trait.<br /><br />The male partners never talked about their families. They have been very adept at keeping that separation between work and home, added Nadia, a lawyer.<br /><br />Mothers had to hide the fact that they were taking time off to look after sick children.<br /><br />"You definitely would have to say you were sick, not the kid was sick," said a mother who held a senior position at a charity.<br /><br />"Many women leave high-powered jobs because they are relegated to lesser roles and feel the need to suppress their identities as mothers," Kanji said.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Gender, Work and Organization.<br /></p>