New baby equals less billables for women; more for men
Well, it's official. Having children affects the “productivity” of attorneys, (assuming productivity can be defined through billable hours.)
However, where your "productivity" goes up or down depends upon your gender.
Researchers Jean Wallace and Marisa Young (University of Calgary, Department of Sociology) conducted a study of 670 lawyers and found that having children leads to a decrease in billable hours for female lawyers. Hardly surprising, huh?
But they also found that having children resulting an increase of billable hours for male lawyers.
One reason for the difference between male and females, the researchers speculate, is that men are more likely to have a spouse who stays home with the children, freeing the males to take on more work responsibilities.
However, the study also found that men and women took advantage of family-friendly benefits offered by employers in different ways. Fathers were more likely to use flexible work policies in pursuit of leisure activities. Mothers, need it be said, took advantage of the policies to catch up on domestic tasks.
Note, however, that the “most productive” of all groups is childless female lawyers.
See the abstract at Parenthood and Productivity: A Study of Demands, Resources and Family-Friendly Firms, 72 J. Vocational Behavior 110 (Feb. 2008).
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