The Ideal Worker Norm and Workplace Social Support among U.S. Workers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research has shown that the ideal worker norm stipulating workers should be completely devoted to their jobs without interference from outside responsibilities creates difficulties for workers. At the same time, scholarship continues to emphasize the positive outcomes associated with coworker and supervisor support in making it easier for workers to combine work and family. Yet we know little about what shapes the extent to which workers have access to supportive coworkers and supervisors. This study brings together these two strands of scholarship to explore the relationships between the perceived presence of the ideal worker norm and two forms of workplace social support: coworker support and supervisor support. Using data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. workers, this study finds that the perceived presence of the ideal worker norm—regardless of gender and largely irrespective of parenthood and elder-care responsibilities—is associated with decreased levels of both forms of support. Taken together, these findings contribute to the literature by documenting the impact of the ideal worker norm on the workplace social support to which workers have access.