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This just in from the The Journal of ‘I’m Not Sure I Can Believe It’ … Well actually, from the The Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies:

Research published in the August 2009 issue suggests that coming back to full-time work after a few years on the Mommy Track can make you look “unusually” motivated and committed to your career.

Is this a “Mommy Track Bump“?

Some details:

In an lab study, participants were asked to assess a female employee’s file and evaluate whether she was suitable for promotion.

One group of participants got the personnel file of an employee had just come back to a full time schedule after 3 years at a reduced workload (80% time) to care for a child. A second group of participants got the very same personnel file, except that this female employee had worked full time the entire time, with no mention of whether or not she had children. Both profiles had the employee working a full-time schedule for the past 6 months and had been with the company 5 1/2 years.

Since the profiles were otherwise the same, what the researchers were testing was how a mother who took a reduced work schedule to care for children and then came back to full time compared to a woman (presumably without children, but you don’t know) who always worked full time.

Here’s what the researchers found:

“A woman who was previously on an AWA (alternative work arrangement) but who had returned to a regular schedule was actually perceived as having greater advancement motivation and advancement capability than a woman who had never been on an alternative work schedule. She was also somewhat more likely to be recommended for a promotion than a woman who had never been on an alternative work schedule. (p. 79)”

This result was not what the authors Margaret Padgett, Lynn Harland and Stephen Moser expected.

Could it be that coming back from the mommy track can actually make you look more committed to your career?

The authors believe so.  [click to continue…]

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