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Paid parental leave for fathers is a promising social policy tool for degendering the division of labor for childcare. Swedish fathers have had the right to paid parental leave since 1974, but they take only one-fourth of leave days parents take. There are strong cultural norms supporting involved fatherhood, so couples typically want to share leave more than they do. This article explores how workplaces can constrain Swedish fathers' use of state leave policy, in ways that fathers can take for granted, a topic that has received less attention than individual or familyrelated obstacles. Based on interviews with 56 employees in five large private companies, we found that masculine workplace norms can make it difficult for fathers to choose to take much leave, while aspects of traditional workplace structure building on these norms can negatively affect fathers' capabilities of taking much leave. Workplace culture and structure seemed to be based on assumptions that the ideal worker should prioritize work and has limited caregiving responsibilities, setting limits to fathers' ability to share leave with mothers. Gender theorists suggest such assumptions persist because of male dominance at the workplace and the endurance of gendered assumptions about the roles of men and women.

RESUMÉ

Le conge parental payé est une politique sociale prometteuse pour réduire la division genrée du travail quant au soin des enfants. Les pères suédois ont droit à un congé parental payé depuis 1974, mais ils ne prennent que le quart du total des jours de congé pris par les parents. Il y a de fortes normes culturelles qui soutiennent la paternité participative et en général les couples souhaitent partager le congé de manière plus égalitaire qu'ils ne le font en réalité. Cet article explore comment l'environnement de travail peut limiter l'usage que les pères font de leur droit au congé parental, et ce souvent sans qu'ils ne s'en rendent compte ; un sujet qui a reçu moins d'attention que les obstacles individuels ou familiaux. Sur la base d'entretiens avec 56 employés de cinq grandes entreprises, nous avons trouvé que les normes masculines de travail peuvent empêcher les pères de prendre davantage de congé, et que certains aspects de la structure traditionnelle de l'entreprise qui se fondent sur ces normes peuvent aussi affecter négativement la capacité des pères à prendre un congé plus long. La structure et la culture d'entreprise semblent fondées sur le présupposé que l'employé idéal doit privilégier son travail et qu'il a peu de responsabilités en matière de soins, ce qui limite la capacité des pères à partager le congé avec les mères. Les théoriciens du genre suggèrent que ces présupposés persistent à cause de la domination des hommes sur le lieu de travail et de la ténacité des normes genrées quant aux rôles des hommes et des femmes.

Contemporary fathers are expected to be more involved in childcare than earlier generations (Coltrane, 2009) . The right to government-mandated paid parental leave is a policy that could increase men's involvement in early childcare, without sacrificing their labor market status. This policy could also promote equality in the domestic division of labor, if fathers take substantial leave, since fathers who take longer parental leave are more likely to share childcare with partners after their leaves (Arnalds, Eydal, & Gislason, 2013; Haas & Hwang, 2008; Nepomnyaschy & Waldfogel, 2007) . Moreover, fathers' greater leavetaking may help mothers return to work sooner and increase respect for caregiving at the workplace, undermining employment discrimination against mothers (Aisenberry, Evertsson, & Grunow, 2009; Brighouse & Wright, 2008) .

Fathers have the right to paid parental leave in 28 countries; however, only 29% take any leave in the 17 countries keeping statistics (Koslowski, Blum, & Moss, 2016; our calculations) . This large gap between policy and practice suggests it is important to examine factors preventing fathers from taking leave. While many levels of social structure can be involved, including individuals' gender attitudes, partner relationships and families' economic situations (e.g. Duvander, 2014) , relatively little attention is paid to leave implementation at the workplace.

Although studies have found that a perceived lack of organizational support negatively impacts men's leavetaking (e.g. Hobson & Fahlén, 2009; Murgia & Poggia, 2013) , the vast majority of fathers surprisingly do not blame their workplace as the main obstacle to leavetaking (SOU, 2005:75) . Our study explores how workplaces can limit men's choices about leavetaking in ways that fathers take for granted. In particular, we focus on how lack of support for fathers' leavetaking is embedded in the culture and structure of work organizations and how a 'gender subtext' might operate within these organizations.

This paper contributes new insights about how work organizations place constraints on fathers' use of parental leave policy by presenting results of a qualitative study of private companies conducted in Sweden. At the time of our study, Swedish fathers had the individual non-transferable right to two months of parental leave, compensated at 80% of salary up to a high-income ceiling, with the right to share an additional nine months of well-compensated leave with mothers. Government campaigns have urged men to take a more equitable share of parental leave and fathers' leave use has increased. By 2015, 88 percent took leave, for an average of 91 days. By international standards, this is a large amount. However, by Swedish standards, fathers do not take the desired equal portion of leave, since they take only 25% of all days taken by parents and only 13% of couples share leave equally (40-60% each) (Haas, Duvander, & Hwang, 2016) . A majority of parents say they would like to share leave equally (SIFO, 2016) . Sweden therefore provides a unique cultural setting to study a well-established parental leave policy available to fathers, where gender equality is valued but equal use of leave is not achieved.

Privately-owned companies are the focus of this study, where most men (81%) work (SCB, 2016) . In Sweden, men take less leave in the private sector than in the public sector (Duvander & Johansson, 2015) . Gender equality is also less apparent: men are 95% of CEOs and the gender wage gap is higher compared to the public sector (SCB, 2016) .

Theoretical perspective

Hojgaard (1997) offers a conceptual model linking fatherhood, work and gender equality. This model considers the relationship between fatherhood and work as dynamic and socially constructed at three interrelated and competing levels of cultural practices:

(1) the institutional level of the state, that sets the legal framework under which men can negotiate integration of employment with family life, (2) the interactional level at the workplace, where employees negotiate fatherhood in the context of work and (3) the individual level, where fathers make decisions about opportunities for involvement in caregiving offered by the government and the workplace, within a larger social context of norms about fatherhood and masculinity. In Sweden, the institutional level provides an adequate legal framework for helping men combine work and caregiving (Haas & Rostgaard, 2011) and societal norms about fatherhood and masculinity promote men as active fathers (Johansson & Klinth, 2008) . Our study focuses on the interactional level of the workplace, where men negotiate participation in family life, including taking substantial parental leave.

Hojgaard's model is based on the social constructionist perspective on gender, which regards gender as something we do and construct rather than something static or biologically driven. A gender perspective focuses our attention on how fathers' problems with work-family reconciliation are rooted in the traditional structures of gendered social institutions, like the labor market, where policies, practices and norms are based on the assumption that fathers are devoted to employment and have limited caregiving responsibilities (Williams, 2010) . The gender subtext within work organizations perpetuates 'the ideal worker norm,' where men are expected to prioritize work over family (Lewis, 2001) .

The ideal worker norm is difficult to reconcile with new norms for involved fatherhood, which policies like paid parental leave promote (Blithe, 2015) . Our study focuses on this difficulty by examining how traditional company culture and company structure negatively influences men's greater use of parental leave. Our study takes an intersectional approach by paying attention to variations in the experiences of different types of fathers, managerial fathers, white-collar fathers and blue-collar fathers. For managerial and white-collar workers, workplace norms and promotion criteria often mandate intensive work allegiance (Blair-Loy, 2003) . Blue-collar fathers may feel less capable of taking leave because they have less power and greater concerns about job security (Williams, Blair-Loy, & Berdahl, 2013) .

Previous research

Lack of workplace support has been found to reduce men's use of government-provided parental leave in several nations (e.g. Escot, Fernandex-Cornejo, Lafuete, & Poza, 2012; Fox, Pascall, & Warren, 2009; Ueda & Kichijoji-Kitamachi, 2012) . Research has focused on the lack of overt managerial and co-worker support for leavetaking, rather than the subtle impact of workplace culture and work practices, our focus here.

For example, middle managers are typically in charge of implementing employee requests for flexibility; when they are reported as less supportive, fathers take less parental leave (Bloksgaard, 2015; McKay & Doucet, 2010) . Middle managers also often lack training to successfully implement statutory policies and lack resources for substitutes, even when they acknowledge benefits of granting leave (den Dulk, Peper, Sadar, & Lewis, 2011; Peper, Dikkers, Dinkenberg, & van Engen, 2011) .

Lack of co-worker support also reduces fathers' leavetaking (Haas, Allard, & Hwang, 2002; McKay & Doucet, 2010) .

Our study

Our study aims to contribute to the work-family literature by providing insight into how private sector workplaces can subtly but effectively discourage working fathers from taking paid parental leave. Interviews with 56 managers and fathers in five large private companies were conducted to explore these questions:

1. What specific normative expectations about fathers' use of parental leave, embedded in workplace culture, can negatively impact men's interest in leavetaking? 2. What particular aspects of work structure, influenced by workplace norms, can negatively impact men's capability of taking leave? 3. To what extent are blue-collar and white-collar fathers' experiences similar or different when it concerns company barriers to leavetaking? 4. To what extent are gendered norms about the ideal worker reflected and reproduced in the normative expectations about fathers' leave use and in the way work is organized?

Methods

We chose a qualitative research approach because little is known about the dynamics of company support for fathers' use of state leave policies and because qualitative methods are often used in organizational research on policy implementation (Lee, 1999) . We employed an organizational case study method, which investigates an organization indepth, relying upon several members as informants (Yin, 2009) . We studied five companies to avoid focusing on one unusual case.

Companies were recruited from an earlier survey of 244 large private companies, with the most economic success in Sweden (Haas & Hwang, 2016) . We chose companies employing over 300 workers (both blue-collar and white-collar), which were Swedish-owned and headquartered and predominantly male (60%+). These limits resulted in a small recruitment pool (N = 13); five companies completed all study phases.

The mean number of employees in the five companies was 1,658 (R: 320-2600); they were on average 72% male (R: 60-83%) and top management was on average 87% male (R: 66-100%). This sample included three manufacturing companies: producing wood pulp (hereafter referred to as WP), wood flooring (FC) and industrial machinery (IM). Also included were a retail company selling paper products (PS) and a company providing recycling services (RS). These companies represent important areas of the Swedish economy.

According to the original survey, there was company variation in support for fathers' leavetaking, but none were very supportive. RS (the service company) and WP (the pulp manufacturer) reported the most support, with 40-61% of fathers taking the twomonths' leave quota. RS top management strongly urged supervisors to support men's responsibility for children, while WP did not. RS middle managers were somewhat positive toward fathers' leavetaking, while WP managers were neutral. In the remaining companies, less than 21% of fathers had taken the quota, top management did not urge supervisors to support men's childrearing responsibility and mid-level managers were neutral to negative toward men's leavetaking.

We conducted interviews (in Swedish) in person at workplaces during work hours during 2010. At each company, we individually interviewed a top manager, the senior HR director, a middle manager over blue-collar workers and one over white-collar workers. We then conducted focus group interviews, one with 3-5 blue-collar fathers and the other with 3-5 white-collar fathers, all with young children, recruited by (and reporting to) the middle managers interviewed. Altogether we interviewed 20 managers (14 fathers, one childless man, five women) and 36 fathers of young children in non-managerial positions (half blue-collar, half white-collar).

Interviews offered valuable insights into company culture and work structure, from people linked together in the company with different levels of power. They began by having informants respond to vignettes about hypothetical situations. A vignette is a short description of a particular circumstance that serves as a basis for discussion (Finch, 1987) ; this is a less threatening way of approaching sensitive topics (e.g. gap between fathers' leave use and cultural support for equality). Vignettes can also uncover cultural norms. An example of a vignette is the following: At a coffee break, one middle-level manager mentions he would like to take parental leave for some months. He is however worried that it would perhaps negatively affect his career opportunities. What would you tell him? What do you think that top management as well as coworkers and subordinates would say? Additional questions in interviews included: 'How would you describe the culture when it concerns parental leave for fathers?' 'What problems come up when a man wants to take parental leave?' 'What kinds of things facilitate men taking parental leave?' 'What does the company have to win and lose from encouraging fathers to take leave?'

Interviews provided insights into managers' and fathers' interpretations of the climate for fathers' leavetaking as well as fathers' own leave decisionmaking. Conversations within focus groups were enlightening in understanding how fatherhood and leavetaking were talked about and constructed in particular organizational contexts. Informants' responses represented their interpretations, not facts. Results are not generalized to the five companies or Swedish companies in general.

Interviews were recorded and transcribed. We analyzed transcripts using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) , a technique for identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns within interview data. Since our research questions were theoretically driven, ours was mainly a deductive approach; we were also open to discovering unanticipated patterns.

We read transcripts twice, establishing a tentative list of first-order categories that represented something important about the data in relation to our first two research questions about obstacles in workplace culture and work structure. We paid special attention to variations in the experiences of blue-collar and white-collar fathers. Transcripts were then read twice more to ensure sufficient evidence for each category (i.e. mentioned by informants in most companies) and if additional categories could be added or existing categories combined or divided. Our goal was to develop categories that resulted from a process that was thorough, based on continual reflection about all data and not merely on a few good examples. This process led to 26 first-order categories that constituted specific cultural and structural obstacles to fathers' leavetaking (see Table 1 for the data structure).

In the next step, we organized categories into seven broader themes. Four related to cultural norms that seemed to deter fathers' leavetaking, while three related to leave obstacles caused by workplace structure. Finally, we identified representative quotes for themes, aiming to include as many voices as possible, and assigned pseudonyms to fathers in focus groups.

Results and discussion

Interviews suggested that both workplace culture and work structure constrained fathers' leavetaking in all five private companies in ways that fathers took for grantedmanagers, white-collar workers and blue-collar workers. As Balder, a blue-collar father at IM confided, who took only a few weeks' leave: 1 "About the choices I have made as a pappa, a person thinks of course that I decide for myself," but probably I have completely thought about the job.'

Workplace culture as a barrier

The lack of a workplace culture supporting fathers' leavetaking was readily apparent. IM's blue-collar manager (two months' leave) told us, 'The culture concerning fathers' parental leave? We don't have one (laughs).' Two fathers reporting to him (interviewed separately) agreed. Anders (no leave) said: 'There perhaps is no culture around this … .is there a culture here?' His colleague Caleb (two weeks' leave) replied: 'Yes [laughs], a culture which puts the lid on it or which is not so engaged in the issue perhaps?' Interviewees often laugh nonhumorously when they describe undesirable situations (Myers & Lampropoulou, 2016) , suggesting these men were not content with the status quo. Table 1 displays four themes representing cultural norms at the workplace that emerged from interviews, along with specific categories that fitted each theme. These themes, discussed below, appear to reflect traditional gender expectations that male employees are not responsible for caregiving and that the ideal worker must display a continuous connection to the workplace.

Workplace norm #1: Men's leavetaking was not a strategic concern for the company There were five specific ways informants suggested leavetaking was not a strategic company concern. First, companies lacked formal policy in regard to supporting fathers' leavetaking. Managers in particular made this point. For example, IM's top manager (no leave) said: 'Nothing in the strategic plan is about parental leave and I cannot say that we have introduced any special measures.' Organizational research suggests culture change requires a clear, compelling vision, reported as missing by these informants, a vision easy to communicate and appealing to employees (Whelan-Berry & Somerville, 2010). The negative consequences of a lack of formal policy for leavetaking were articulated by men at all company levels. E.g. FC's white-collar manager (one month's leave) confided: ' … if there was an expressed policy … it would be much easier for me to say, "I will be home for two months", and then I know that there is something that backs that up.' Andreas, an FC white-collar father (few days' leave), reported: 'Men today want to be at home with their children … [but] … it is not in the company's strategic plan and no specific measures have been carried out making it possible for everyone to take leave.' Blue-collar father Claes at PS (two months' leave) said: 'It would of course be cool if they [top management] went out and said that they support us … .I think that most people would think it is good if one knows that they have your back. But they have not done that.'

A second way informants suggested that leavetaking was not a strategic concern was that champions of fathers' leavetaking were absent. For example, IM's HR director (a woman) revealed, 'We don't have anyone who is a driving force who I know is passionate about these questions.' Managerial champions could change organizational culture by paying attention to and measuring fathers' leave use and being models of culture change (Schein, 2006) .

A third way men's leavetaking was reported to not be a strategic company concern was that there was no discussion about fathers' leavetaking. For example, WP's blue-collar manager (two months' leave) said, 'There is no one who thinks that "guys should work, gals should be at home at the stove." But we don't talk about it [parental leave] and I don't know why, we haven't gotten there yet.' Focus group members volunteered that discussing fathers' leavetaking even in interviews helped them see leavetaking as more of an option. WP's blue-collar father Alfons (few days' leave):

This conversation has made me think … it is so easy to drive in the old wheel tracks, the gal is at home … but why am I not at home? I think probably that I … dear god! Yes, that I thought that my job has been so important … perhaps I will be now! More communication was needed about why organizational change is important as well as strategies that could be used to realize a new vision (Whelan-Berry & Somerville, 2010).

The fourth way men's leavetaking appeared to not be a strategic concern was that management assumed that the law was sufficient encouragement for fathers to take leave; no company encouragement was needed. For example, RS's HR director indicated her company did not need to encourage fathers because: 'In Sweden everyone is very conscious of how [leave] functions and what rights people have.' When asked if the enactment of the two-month quota had increased fathers' leavetaking in their companies, answers were all negative. WP's top manager (three months' leave) said 'We cannot see any increase in the latest years, it is a slow process.' For these companies to become more supportive of fathers' leavetaking, they would need to move beyond symbolic compliance with the law; this can happens when companies perceive a legal mandate interferes with company priorities (Albiston & Leachman, 2015) .

A last sign that men's leavetaking was not a company concern was that there was a limited understanding of what companies might gain by promoting fathers' leavetaking. Several interviewees such as FC's HR director (a woman) recognized that supporting fathers' leavetaking improved employee recruitment: 'The win is that if we allow pappas to be on parental leave we could attract pappas or soon-to-be pappas to work with us. … It is an important target group that we want to have.' But only a few managers were aware that fathers' leavetaking could be an important economic investment beyond recruitment. WP's blue-collar manager (two months' leave) suggested that enhanced company support for fathers' leavetaking would improve company flexibility:

We … learn to be more flexible and understand that work can't rise or fall with a certain individual … . employees learn more and become more … versatile. That is what characterizes a modern organization, this flexibility … people must be able to be away and then come back, without it causing a mass of problems.

Another potential economic benefit focused on leavetaking fathers gaining 'new powers' useful at the workplace. WP's HR director (two months' leave) said:

Increasingly, we think that a person acquires a number of useful experiences by being home with childrenyou must be able to do several things simultaneously, you are steadily in situations where you need to make decisions, to adjust; … . it's a stressful situation, and you become more sensitive to what others think.

For workplaces to become more supportive of fathers' leavetaking, research suggests that management needs to recognize how men's leavetaking helps companies successfully adapt to many types of challenges and changes (Harrington & Ladge, 2009) .

Workplace norm #2: Men taking leave was not normative

The second cultural norm at the workplace that we found evidence for was that men taking leave was not the norm. While several people indicated that men taking leave was no longer something 'strange,' it was also clear that men taking parental leave was not commonplace. This was noticeable in five ways.

First, not all fathers took leave, despite the fact that families lose leave time if fathers do not take the quota. Eight of 50 fathers had taken no leave. FC's blue collar manager (some days' leave) explained: 'We are of course a male-dominated company, so clearly there have been traditional values here, perhaps more than if you had examined a government authority … Here it has been a little sluggish.'

In addition, leaves were short, typically shorter than the two-month quota or equal sharing. The majority of the 42 leavetakers did not taken even the two months' father's quota. Only one leavetaker had taken an equal share with the mother. FC white-collar father Bo (some weeks' leave) reported: 'While I believe that it is absolutely accepted [to take leave], it is still unusual for many fathers to take more than their 60 day allotment that they must take, including me.' Fathers expressed regret regarding their short leaves. WP's white-collar manager (some days' leave) said: 'I want to be home more of course, the time goes by so fast and one misses so much, they grow up so fast.'

A third sign leave was not the norm was that male managers took less leave than others. One-third of managerial fathers had not taken any leave, compared to 14% of other fathers. FC's HR director (a woman) said:

When it concerns the top management group I believe that it can become a problem … . we cannot replace someone here in the same way so one must then certainly ask, "Will you be gone completely? Can you come in certain days and such? Can you work at home and how much can you do?" Most fathers in focus groups said that more role models of leavetaking at the managerial level would dramatically change company culture. RS white-collar fathers discussed this: Adam (one month's leave): it would be good if we saw more managers at home with children, then we would know that longer parental leaves are okay … The culture begins with them, … .I believe more guys would pursue it.

Bertil (two months' leave): This is an important group … .if they go out and show visibly what values the company stands for and … show how it works in practice also, they establish foundational values for the whole organization.

A fourth way leaves seemed non-normative was evident in managerial remarks that leaves were a choice, not an expectation. For example, WP's white-collar manager (few days' leave) said: 'obviously guys should be at home with children if they want to.' Discussion of choice reinforces the gendered division of domestic labor, since mothers do not get to decide how active a parent they want to be.

Lastly, the lack of a norm for leavetaking was evident in the finding that group norms discouraged fathers' leavetaking. White-collar worker Calle at WP (few days' leave) said: 'A person wants to belong and be liked, you do what everyone else does … . If no one goes home on a longer leave, then I don't either.' Blue-collar worker Bo at RS (few days' leave) stated: 'If no one is at home then that is contagious, who wants to stick out like that?' Previous research has shown that fathers use less leave when co-workers do not take leave (Bygren & Duvander, 2006) .

Workplace norm #3: Leavetaking should minimally disrupt the workplace

The third workplace norm apparent in interviews was that leavetaking should not disrupt work. That companies found this difficult was expressed by the PS white-collar manager (a woman): 'One is not always jubilant when someone says that they will be away for three months, [you think] "dear god, how will I solve that?"' There were several reported ways leaves could be taken to not disrupt the workplace, leaving the norm of the ideal worker intact.

The first was that leaves were taken during quiet periods. Swedish fathers are criticized for taking leave around Christmas or in summer, but interviews suggested they take leave then because that is what is most convenient for companies. Adam, a white-collar father at RS (one month's leave) explained: 'there are no managers who indicate that they think this is an important issue. That's what leads us to settle for leave in the summer and at Christmas. … .we believe that it is only okay then.'

Fathers also took leave part-time or spread out in small time periods to make their leave less disruptive. Only 8 of 42 leavetakers had taken leave in one block (and none were managers). This sporadic pattern can make it difficult for fathers to develop a successful routine for childcare and take on full responsibility for a child's well-being and has less positive effects on their later participation in childcare (O'Brien & Wall, 2016) . This pattern was reported to be common because it was a way of hiding leavetaking, which suggests leavetaking was not that accepted. FC's white-collar manager (one month's leave) said: 'I would attract attention if I would be gone a longer period, so I take single days here and there instead.' FC blue-collar fathers also discussed this strategy: Bron, a blue-collar father at FC (3.5 months' leave): I don't feel that I adjust my leave to the job, the family is the most important for me. But … there is not so much to do in this department on Fridays and then it suits me to be at home those days … It is not noticed that I am gone. Amir (no leave): That is still a form of adjustment that you choose when it is calm. Bron: Yeah. But I have not forgotten my parental leave, but ok, I check of course with the job, when it suits best … certainly (laughs).'

A third way leaves were less disruptive way was that leavetakers figured out themselves how to solve their jobs while they were gone. This strategy was preferred by managers, as the IM HR director (a woman) reported:

Before a person goes to the manager and says that he will be on parental leave he has solved a lot of things before … who can do what and then he gives those as suggestions to the manager. Because a person knows that they are creating a problem for themselves, the manager and their colleagues.

Coming up with their own solutions for getting the job done while on leave was seen as important evidence that employees still put the job first. The PS top manager (two months' leave) said: 'Employees often have the solutions before they come to talk to me … that is demanded today, you must come with your own solutions. But I think that is good … it shows that you think the job is important.'

The fourth-way leave was less disruptive was that co-workers were expected to pick up leavetakers' work, rather than substitutes. Casper, a white-collar father at IM (one month's leave) said, referring to his work group in the interview: 'When I wanted to be on leave … you all took on more work.' WP's top manager (three months' leave) said: 'The solution for it [his leavetaking] was that another guy in the top management group had to go in and take many of my tasks.'

Managers expected leavetakers to delegate their work. WP's top manager (three months' leave) said: 'We can of course solve it by the employee delegating a little [to co-workers] … and then we don't have to get involved exactly in how it works out.' Coworkers taking on extra work did not seem voluntary, e.g. the PS HR director said, 'People are obligated to help out so that it functions when someone is away.' Reliance upon co-workers to pick up extra work took advantage of co-worker loyalty, mentioned as an important part of company culture. Damon, a blue-collar father at PS (one month's leave):

There is an atmosphere here with us … one helps out and wants it to work when someone becomes a parent, it is of course a fun event … they are of course what is most important in our lives, children, of course you want to help out with that … .it is deeply rooted in the company, it is a little unwritten, that one steps up for each other.

Counting on a system where co-workers picked up extra work was a practice that effectively discouraged fathers taking longer leaves. WP's top manager (three months' leave) admitted: 'In the long run it is not sustainable that others take such a big part of your job, that doesn't work.'

The fifth expectation about leavetaking which followed the norm of making leave less disruptive was that managerial fathers were expected to keep close contact with work while on leave. The top manager at RS (two months' leave) said: 'you probably have certain contact with the workplace. It can be everything from email which should be answered to coming in sometimes and working for a little while.' This requirement reinforces the ideal worker norm and prevents fathers from devoting themselves to full-time caregiving.

Workplace norm #4: Job came first

The fourth norm that we discovered that likely discouraged fathers' leavetaking was the job came first. This was manifested in four specific ways.

First, the job was expected to take priority over family, reducing leavetaking. While this was typically presented as a man personally caring more about the job, comments suggested that making the job a priority was something expected by the company culture. Management positions in particular were talked about in this way. For example, IM's top manager (no leave) confided:

I can talk about myself … .I want to be there when things happen. A person has a certain drive, otherwise you wouldn't have taken such a position [our emphasis]. So that can probably affect the choice of my being at home … . Some managers expressed regret at having to put the job first. FC's white-collar manager (one month's leave) admitted: 'A person doesn't choose a job like this unless you want to work, but there is of course in the back of your mind that you would like to be take more parental leave.'

White-collar workers also experienced the norm that the job came first. IM's white-collar father Casper (one month's leave) said, 'I am rather very dedicated … .I have worked hard and it is not easy to let go … … Everyone must be here for the job ultimately and not their family.' The manager of white-collar workers at RS (no children) expressed this expectation for his subordinates:

The job comes first I think, a person takes care of it and wants to do it and that is expected of everyone, we are here to work … . men generally have thought that their jobs are important and difficult to take leave from.

A second way the job seemed to come first was that concern for co-workers lessened leave length. Axel, a white-collar father at PS (two weeks' leave) said: 'I will hesitate taking as long a leave as my wife has done because I don't want to cause problems here … a person is a little loyal toward those he works with.' Blue-collar father Christoffer at RS (two weeks' leave) said ' … .you hesitate if there is a lot to do on the job and if your co-workers are affected a lot by your leave.' Others have found that workers sometimes reduce leave time to reduce co-workers' stress (McKay & Doucet, 2010; Tremblay & Genin, 2011) .

A third way the job came first was that managerial fathers anticipated negative career consequences if they took parental leave, sign companies prioritized work over caregiving. The PS blue-collar manager (two months' leave) explained: 'A person feels maybe that when you go [on leave] … you miss out on too much if you are home too long … . A person doeosn't want to be at home and see that someone else gets my chances.' Research shows there can be career consequences for fathers taking leave, with leavetaking signallng to employers that men prioritize families over work. For example, well-educated Swedish fathers' suffer income loss when they take even short parental leave (Evertsson, 2016) ,

The last norm found suggesting the job came first was that blue-collar fathers thought leavetaking jeopardized job security. Claus at WP (few weeks' leave) said:

I thought that perhaps it would be a good time for me to be at home with our youngest, but then it was a little turbulent and one didn't know if they needed to let more people go, I waited to see then.

Work structure as a barrier

As suggested above, the work culture in these organizations seemed to be based on the 'ideal worker' who could prioritize work over family. This expectation also affected work structure, which was reported to negatlively affect men's ability to take leave. One informant recognized how work organization was a major obstacle to leavetaking. The RS white-collar manager (no leave) said: [Support for fathers' leave] 'must be incorporated into the daily work and it must be incorporated into the daily operations, not just be empty words.' Three barriers about workplace structure emerged as themes: worker indispensability, insufficient personnel resources and lack of infrastructure for facilitating fathers' leavetaking.

Structural barrier #1: Worker indispensability It was very difficult for companies to spare fathers who wanted to be home on leave, each was seen as indispensable, not really replaceable by anyone else within or outside the organization. PS's top manager (two months) described this problem:

It will become more common that everyone is at home for longer periods even pappas … . That I believe is the biggest challenge … that business doesn't depend on certain people being here … [but] we must become more flexible as an organisation, and we aren't there yet.

Two important aspects of existing work practices contributed to fathers' indispensabilityspecialization and work intensification.

Specialization was the major reason for indispensability. This was seen as a problem for nearly all male workers, regardless of level. The WP's HR director (unknown amount of leave) mentioned how it affected blue-collar fathers' leave:

The problem is in production, people there are not replaceable as perhaps was once true in the past, but today each person … .is unique and has their competence, they don't just push buttons, you understand … it takes years to learn some of those jobs! White-collar workers were also hard to replace, as Björn, an IM white-collar father (two months) indicated:

That is a weakness, that we have no one who is a reflection of ourselves, there is no one who has exactly your experience and your qualifications, you are unique … .if a person wants to be away during a longer time then there becomes a big hole to fill. "Managers" specialization made them even more indispensable. FC's blue-collar manager (few days' leave) explained why managers took little leave: 'For us, it's because there is such a long training time and we have responsibility for such big groups … . There is of course no one who can take my job.' Work intensification also made men indispensable. This problem discouraged especially white-collar and managerial fathers from taking leave. Anton, a white-collar worker at WP (few days' leave) said: what makes it difficult [to take leave] is that … .it is so intensive … we work hard the whole time … .It wasn't that way before … I believe then a person got some quieter periods, but now it is 120 kilometers an hour the whole time.

FC's white-collar manager (two weeks' leave) said:

We must work more than what otherwise goes with the job … I have a daughter, she will soon be three years old … I would have chosen to be at home more, but there is a lot [of work] the whole time.

Specialization and work intensification are well-known features of contemporary work life. Scholars argue, however, that we should not view these practices as essential characteristics of jobs but as disadvantageous social practices that have developed to conform to traditional gendered expectations for the ideal male worker (Gascoigne, Parry, & Buchanan, 2015) .

Structural barrier #2: Insufficient personnel resources

The second structural barrier manifested itself in three ways. First, there were no system for hiring and training of replacements, which discouraged fathers' leavetaking. Bertil, a whitecollar father at RS (two months' leave) contrasted his company with his wife's: 'There are companies where … .people talk about substitutes and how they shall replace people. But here a few emergency solutions are put in place when someone wants to be at home. ' Second, company reliance on a smaller workforce appeared to discourage fathers from taking leave. This can be a strategic choice by management to reduce operating costs but affects men's ability to take time off. Balder, an IM blue-collar worker (few weeks' leave) stated: 'If more fathers want to be on leave, then we must have a bigger resource pool to take from and there isn't one.' FC's white-collar manager (one month's leave) admitted: in recent years, our organization has been very slim … and one does not have backup for each other like beforeevery person is needed and there is no one directly who can do your job when you are away.

Third, there was infrequent use of innovative working practices to provide substitutes. FC's HR director (woman) pointed out that forward thinking was needed: 'if we employ guys in the 25-year old range … we must be prepared that they will be on pappa leave later when they are 32..… We must think in advance, how can we replace personnel?' While a few suggested more cross-training would facilitate fathers' leave, such training was uncommon. Carl, a blue-collar worker at FC (two weeks' leave) said: 'They have said that they will teach people on all machines, but that … hasn't happened.' WP's top manager (three months) offered a positive but rare example of cross-training for white-collar workers: I found a person who wanted to try out a new level when his boss was on pappa leave, and it is … an opportunity to test abilities and they want to develop themselves … . he got … another management job later … We have … personnel who have worked here so long and open positions seldom open up, so I try to turn this [substituting for someone on leave] into something that is also good for the workplace.

HR departments are typically responsible for personnel resources (hiring, training and evaluation). Research on HR departments shows they often perpetuate gender inequality within organizations by practices that favor men over women in hiring, in pursuit of the ideal worker model (Starmarski & Hing, 2015) . Our research suggests that HR practices can also perpetuate gender inequality in family caregiving if insufficient attention is paid to having enough employees to cover for men expecting to take parental leave.

Structural barrier #3: Lack of infrastructure for facilitating fathers' leavetaking The lack of a strategic plan for leavetaking meant there were also no infrastructure in place for leave facilitation. The RS white-collar manager (no children) expressed his uncertainty about what procedures could be:

We have not been accustomed to so many fathers being at home a long time and so we haven't of course needed to come up with such big solutions … , a guy here and there … it is hardly noticed … .If you then want more guys to be at home with their children … I don't know how to get that to work?'

The lack of a systematic approach to accommodating all fathers' leavetaking was manifest in two ways. The first was that solutions were made on a case-by-case basis, as the main way fathers' leave was accommodated. Andreas, a white-collar father at FC (few days' leave) said, 'No specific measures have been carried out that would make it possible for everyone to take leave, it must be solved individually.' Managers were also matter-of-fact about this. The PS blue-collar manager (two months' leave) stated: 'We solve it as it comes up.' Sometimes it seemed that leave was made possible for the most committed employees. The PS HR director (a woman) said: 'if … I notice that there is a desire and a drive for the job, then I help that person, it motivates me of course to come up with solutions.'

The lack of infrastructure to support fathers' leavetaking was also evident in that managers lacked training and support in handling fathers' leavetaking. Informants were asked a direct question on this subject and we learned that no training or support was provided for managers. The IM blue-collar manager (two months' leave) said, top management could come up with examples of solutions, we know of course that people should be able to be at home with children today, but I think that there isn't always a foundation in practice for how we fill the gap when someone is away.

For companies to excel in supporting employees' work-family integration, they need infrastructure that provides financial, technical and human resources as well as training opportunities in support of this goal. Also needed is a system of accountability, whereby managers are evaluated on the basis of how well they are able to maximize employees' work-family integration while maintaining productivity (Harrington & James, 2005) . Infrastructure to support fathers' leavetaking was absent in the companies studied.

Conclusion

While Swedish policy obligates employers to allow fathers to take parental leave, our study suggests that policy does not change company expectations for working fathers nor encourage flexible work practices that would make it feasible for fathers to take substantial parental leave. Several important aspects of traditional workplace culture and work structure were reported to set meaningful limits to fathers' ability to take even the two months of nontransferable leave granted them by legislation, let alone share leave equally with mothers.

Workplace cultures had established norms that made men's leavetaking seem inappropriate. Fathers' leavetaking was not a strategic issue for the company, leavetaking was not the norm and managers expected fathers to arrange leaves in ways that minimally disrupted work. Because management did not take for granted that fathers would take leave, work remained structured in ways that made it impractical for men to take time offwork practices promoted worker indispensability, insufficient resources prevented replacements and infrastructure for facilitating leaves for fathers were lacking. Under these circumstances, fathers as loyal employees, concerned also about burdening coworkers who had to pick up their work when they were gone, reluctantly found it easier to take little time off to care for their young children. When they did take time off, they did so at the convenience of the company rather than the convenience of their families; some even took time off when companies would least notice it as a way of hiding leavetaking.

As expected, we found social class made some difference in fathers' leave experiences. Some white-collar fathers were concerned about losing career opportunities if they took leave while some blue-collar fathers were worried about job security. Work intensification negatively impacted white-collar and managerial fathers. However, all fathers reported that feelings of specialization and co-worker loyalty made it difficult for them to take leave.

The influence of the gendered subtext on fathers' leavetaking was strongly evident. Fathers were expected to live up to the traditional standards of the ideal worker, with heavy work responsibilities and little expectation of caregiving responsibility and most fathers did not question these expectations. Managers played an important role in perpetuating the status quo, making it hard for fathers to take leave because it made their own jobs easier. They also were poor role models of leavetaking, sending a message that it was not appropriate. Women managers were as likely as men managers to uphold the ideal worker norm, perhaps because they were a minority in all companies studied.

While fathers easily discussed constraints that work culture and work structure created for men's leavetaking in their companies, most were surprisingly not upset about these constraints, given the strong cultural climate for active fatherhood in Sweden. They took the situation for granted and did not seem likely to push for company change. While some managers mentioned that companies were under pressure from a new generation of fathers who would expect to take leave, this 'new generation' has actually been employed for some time, since fathers' first gained nontransferable rights to parental leave over 20 years ago, without much change in company culture or structure. Our findings suggest that much more research attention needs to be paid to obstacles to fathers' participation in caregiving at the company level, as well as what will combat those obstacles if we are to understand how social policy can effectively promoting gender equality.

C. Philip Hwang is a Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has edited and authored close to 200 publications, including 13 book volumes of which the most recent are Developmental Psychology (with B. Nilsson, 2011, 3 rd edition); Psychology in Our Time (with I. Lundberg, and A.-C. Smedler, 2012) and Group Psychology (with Björn Nilsson, 2014).

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