Family-Supportive Supervisor Behavior and Flexibility Stigma among Tenure-track Faculty

Although many universities have policies that pause/extend the pre-tenure probationary period when a faculty member’s family adds new children, many faculty members do not choose to use such policies. Drawing from the organizational science literature on family-friendly policies and supports, we propose that such choices may be affected by a perceived ‘flexibility stigma.’ We hypothesize that department / unit chairs’ engagement in family-supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) relates to lower perceived stigma, which in turn relates to intent to use the policy. Furthermore, we hypothesize that this effect is moderated by gender, as well as whether one is in a position to potentially utilize the policy (i.e., pre-tenure vs. post-tenure). Using a sample of 136 tenured or tenure-track faculty, we examined both individual-level and shared (department-level) perceptions of FSSB, the perceived stigma associated with extending the probationary period for tenure (e.g., pausing the “tenure clock”), and hesitancy to use such a policy. Findings indicated that perceived stigma at both levels are correlated with hesitancy. FSSB relates to both stigma and hesitancy, although, depending on the level, the relationship is moderated differently by gender and tenure status.