Exploring parental leave from the employers’ perspective in igaming sector

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to analyse the employers' view in the iGaming industry towards the new Parental Leave Directive that has been agreed at EU level. Furthermore, the aim of the study is to analyse challenges employers face in their quest to comply with this new requirement. This study also seeks to assess under which conditions employers are more likely to embrace this new directive. The Social Exchange Theory by Peter Blau (1964) was integrated as a theoretical framework for examining the association between overall agency performance, and competitive advantage, employee retention and family-friendly interventions. The research incorporated eight semi-structured interviews with participants who are working in leadership positions as Human Resources representatives in iGaming companies. The data collected was analysed using the Thematic Analysis Approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The study showed that most iGaming companies offer flexible work plans for their employees. Based on the unfolding qualitative data derived from the survey, it was evident that various employers have adopted practical approaches that would reduce or regulate the probability of issuing parental leave by offering other flexible working practices. Moreover, it was apparent that most employers have little or insufficient knowledge regarding the existence and potential implications of the newly implemented parental policy in the scope of the European Union Member Countries. Despite the limitation of knowledge regarding the notion and objectives of the planned parental leave policy, it was still apparent that the intuition regarding the implementation of this new policy triggered powerful queries. There was significant concern regarding the employers' subsequent burden regarding how long the compensated parental leave will be and the flexibility connected with it. However, employers still recognise the need for more family-friendly measures that will eventually attract and retain more employees.