Unleashing the potential of metaphors: a categorization system for exploring return to work after maternity

Purpose Return to work after maternity leave represents a radical change in women’s lives. This paper aims to present a new metaphor categorization system based on two studies, which could assist working mothers in expressing the nuances of their experience when returning to work after maternity lea...

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Published in:Archives of women's mental health Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 607 - 618
Main Authors: Rapisarda, Sebastiano, Santoro, Valentina, Dal Corso, Laura
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.08.2024
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Adult
Domestic relations
Employment
Evaluation
Family leave
Female
Humans
Management
Maternity & paternity leaves
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Metaphor
Mothers
Mothers - psychology
Original
Original Article
Parental Leave
Pregnancy
Psychiatry
Psychotherapy
Qualitative Research
Reproducibility of Results
Return to Work - psychology
Well being
Women, Working - psychology
Womens health
Work life balance
Working mothers
Italy
Women
Motherhood
Workplace
Metaphor
Work-life balance
Return to work
ISSN:1434-1816, 1435-1102, 1435-1102
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Purpose Return to work after maternity leave represents a radical change in women’s lives. This paper aims to present a new metaphor categorization system based on two studies, which could assist working mothers in expressing the nuances of their experience when returning to work after maternity leave. Methods We carried out the analysis of the metaphors according to the method for thematic analysis, through a multistep, iterative coding process. To ensure the researchers encode the data similarly, inter-coder reliability was achieved through the judges’ agreement method. The level of agreement between the two judges was measured by Cohen’s kappa. Results In Study 1, we established a system comprising ten metaphor categories (namely, Natural event and/or element, Challenge and destination, Movement and/or action, Fresh start, Fight, Game and hobby, Animal, Alternate reality, Means of transport, Hostile place). In Study 2, we recognized the same metaphor categories observed in Study 1, except “Means of transport”, even with data sourced from a distinct participant group, an indicator of credibility in terms of inter-coder reliability. Conclusion Findings highlight the usefulness of this new metaphor categorization system (named Meta4Moms@Work—Metaphors system for Moms back to Work) to facilitate a more straightforward elicitation of the meanings employed by working mothers to depict their return to work after maternity leave. Leveraging these insights, researchers/practitioners can develop and execute primary and secondary interventions aimed to enhance working mothers’ work-life balance, well-being, and mental health.
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ISSN:1434-1816
1435-1102
1435-1102
DOI:10.1007/s00737-024-01446-0