The Attitude and Behavior of Japanese Managers Toward Male Employees Taking Long‐Term Parental Leave1,2

Promoting male parental leave has become a concern for the Japanese government because of the large gender gap that exists in terms of availing parental leave. This study identified management attitudes and behaviors regarding long‐term male parental leave. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 14 private‐enterprise managers and supervisors whose male staff had taken at least 1 month of parental leave. The collected data were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach, from which six groups, 19 categories, and 49 concepts were generated. It was found that (a) overcoming difficulties associated with long‐term male parental leave resulted in diverse management behaviors; (b) managers often felt that male employees were being unreasonable by taking parental leave; and (c) managers realize the need for male parental leave systems once they observe changes in employees after returning to work.