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Frontiers in Organizational Psychology ·

Volume 4 - 2026 | https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2026.1927630

Family-friendly organizational culture and a mutual aid mindset are associated with supervisors' work role performance, wellbeing, and positive attitudes toward male parental leave in Japan

  • Hiromi Ono1*corresponding author
  1. Institute of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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Abstract

Although male parental leave policies in Japan have progressed, the associations between male subordinates' leave and supervisors' performance and wellbeing remain unclear. This study examined workplace and psychological factors associated with supervisors' outcomes when their male subordinates take parental leave. A cross-sectional web survey of 365 section-chief level managers who had supervised at least one male subordinate who took parental leave assessed work role performance, wellbeing, positive attitudes toward male parental leave, motivation, family-friendly organizational culture, and mutual aid mindset. Path analyses showed that retrospectively reported family-friendly organizational culture and mutual aid mindset during the period before the subordinate's parental leave were positively associated with retrospectively reported cooperative motivation during the leave period. However, mutual aid mindset was also positively associated with learning-oriented motivation during the same period. Further, learning-oriented motivation and mutual aid mindset were positively associated with current work role performance. Cooperative motivation was also positively associated with current wellbeing and positive attitudes toward male parental leave, and mutual aid mindset was directly associated with positive attitudes toward male parental leave. The findings highlight the potential relevance of mutual aid mindset and learning-oriented and cooperative motivation to supervisors' work-related and psychological outcomes. The context of male parental leave may involve not only additional workplace demands but also positive experiences for supervisors.

Keywords

1 Introduction

In Japan, legal reforms introduced in 2021 explicitly encouraged fathers' use of parental leave, and the government has actively promoted men's uptake of such leave. The proportion of male employees taking parental leave has substantially increased, reaching 50.9% in fiscal year 2025, an increase from 40.5% in the previous survey (Ministry of Health and Labor Welfare, 2026). Nevertheless, approximately half of male employees did not take parental leave, suggesting that institutional development and increasing uptake have not eliminated barriers to leave-taking. Research has increasingly examined factors that facilitate men's use of parental leave, focusing on institutional policies and workplace environments (e.g., Haba and Shiraiwa, 2020; Takeishi, 2011; Uchida et al., 2023). Studies on workplace environments and employees' psychological states indicate that family-supportive organizational cultures (Peeters et al., 2009; Rofcanin et al., 2017) and family-friendly policies (Žnidaršič and Bernik, 2021) enhance work engagement. Nazarwin et al. (2025) highlight that relationships in which members recognize each other's strengths and provide both practical and emotional support boost motivation. Work–family support measures further enhance employees' motivation, but their effectiveness depends on supervisors' active and positive involvement (Sakazume, 2009). Furthermore, to promote work–life balance, the presence of family-supportive supervisors is also important (e.g., Allen, 2001; Crain and Stevens, 2018; Ferguson et al., 2012; Guo et al., 2024; Hammer et al., 2011).

Despite the advancement of institutional policies supporting male parental leave, psychological and interpersonal barriers in the workplace may still discourage men from actually taking leave. Previous studies have identified fear of negative evaluation (Blair-Loy and Wharton, 2002; Ueda and Kurosawa, 2012), concerns about the impact of leave on work (Samtleben et al., 2019), and gender norms (Bueno and Oh, 2022) as important barriers. In Japan, pluralistic ignorance may inhibit intentions to take paternity leave because individuals tend to perceive others as holding more negative attitudes toward male parental leave than they themselves do (Miyajima and Yamaguchi, 2017). Men who take extended parental leave have also reported anxiety about how others in the workplace might react and feelings of guilt about imposing additional burdens on coworkers (Ono, 2019). At the organizational level, efforts to promote men's parental leave may also lead to perceptions of unfairness among employees (Ono, 2020b). These findings suggest that formal leave policies alone may be insufficient to normalize men's parental leave when interpersonal concerns about burden sharing, reciprocity, and fairness remain unresolved.

Conversely, men who take parental leave report greater perceived growth and job satisfaction (Wakisaka, 2010), as well as more efficient job performance (Ono, 2019; Saito, 2012; Wakisaka, 2008), career self-reliance (Ono, 2020a), and work–family facilitation (Ono, 2020a). Men's parental leave may also have broader implications for gender equity, considering that greater paternal involvement in childcare has been associated with mothers' continued full-time employment after childbirth in Japan (Dhungel et al., 2023).

Despite supervisors' critical role in promoting work–life balance, research on men's parental leave has largely overlooked them. Interviews with managers who supervised male subordinates on leave indicate that supervisors may use these periods to reconstruct management systems (Ono, 2023) but stressful conditions can trigger negative reactions, such as anger or perceptions of unfairness (Ono, 2025a). Similarly, workplace stress can heighten coworkers' negative responses toward men taking parental leave. In Ono's (2025b) study, workplace stressors were shown to heighten coworkers' anger, operating through situations that triggered perceptions of unfairness regarding men's use of parental leave. Conversely, Ono's (2025c) interview study examined the impact of male colleagues' parental leave on positive outcomes for coworkers in the workplace, such as work productivity and wellbeing. Specifically, the study identified the following as contributing factors: (a) proactive responses in the workplace during male colleagues' parental leave, such as a heightened awareness of teamwork and an orientation toward learning; and (b) the pre-existing presence of a work environment that does not hinder the taking of parental leave, as well as a mutual aid mindset. However, these factors were examined qualitatively and have not yet been empirically tested using quantitative methods.

Family-friendly organizational culture and mutual aid mindset represent conceptually distinct aspects of workplace support. The former refers to shared assumptions, beliefs, and values regarding the extent to which an organization supports and values the integration of employees' work and family lives (Thompson et al., 1999; Takeuchi and Yamazaki, 2010). In contrast, the latter used in this study reflects an individual's recognition that workplace assistance is not unidirectional but reciprocal—employees can both provide and receive assistance (Nanya et al., 2016). This distinction can be understood through the social exchange theory and norm of reciprocity, which emphasize reciprocal exchanges and obligations arising from benefits or assistance received from others (Blau, 1964; Gouldner, 1960). Applied to this study's context, a supervisor with a stronger mutual aid mindset may be more likely to interpret the temporary additional demands associated with a subordinate's parental leave not solely as an inequitable burden, but as part of a reciprocal pattern of support within the workplace. In this study, such an interpretation was thus expected to be associated with greater willingness to cooperate and to approach leave-related adjustments as opportunities for learning and collaboration.

Building on the above, this study examines factors associated with positive outcomes among supervisors whose male subordinates take parental leave. The type of workplace environment that does not inhibit parental leave, identified by Ono (2025c), is conceptualized here as a family-friendly organizational culture. An orientation toward learning and a heightened awareness of teamwork are conceptualized as learning-oriented motivation and cooperative motivation, respectively, and as facets of work motivation. Regarding the positive effects of work motivation, meta-analytic evidence has shown that learning goal orientation is positively related to both job (Payne et al., 2007) and work performance (Stasielowicz, 2019). Additionally, employees with higher growth need strength exhibit higher creative performance (Shalley et al., 2009). Furthermore, a recent meta-analysis reported that prosocial motivation at work is positively associated with wellbeing (Liao et al., 2022).

Accordingly, I propose a model in which retrospectively reported family-friendly organizational culture and mutual aid mindset during the period before a male subordinate's parental leave are positively associated with the supervisor's retrospectively reported work motivation during that subordinate's leave period. In turn, this work motivation is positively associated with the supervisor's current work role performance, wellbeing, and positive attitude toward male parental leave. Direct associations between family-friendly organizational culture and mutual aid mindset and the three outcomes were also examined. This study aims to examine these relationships.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Participants and study procedures

A web-based panel survey was conducted through an Internet research firm. To reduce potential response bias associated with snowball sampling, a panel-based data collection method, commonly used in academic studies in Japan, was employed. The questionnaire was delivered through the company's online survey system, and only respondents who clicked “I agree” on the initial screen proceeded to the main survey. Participants were 365 section-chief level managers in private companies (190 men and 175 women) aged 22 to 59 years (mean age = 45.27 years, SD = 8.48) who had supervised at least one male subordinate who took parental leave and returned to work within the past six months. Participant characteristics are presented in Table 1. The survey was conducted from October 29 to December 11, 2025.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the participants.

Age (years)Men with no children: n = 49 (13.4%)Men with children: n = 141 (38.6%)Women with no children: n = 79 (21.6%)Women with children: n = 96 (26.3%)
20–29: n = 11 (3.0%)n = 0n = 1n = 8n = 2
30–39: n = 95 (26.0%)n = 6n = 24n = 25n = 40
40–49: n = 129 (35.3%)n = 19n = 44n = 31n = 35
50–59: n = 130 (35.6%)n = 24n = 72n = 15n = 19

All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. The survey was conducted with the approval of the ethics committee of the University of Tsukuba (Approval No. Tou 25-71). Informed consent for participation was obtained electronically from all participants as part of the online questionnaire survey.

2.2 Survey items

The response scales differed across measures. Rather than standardizing the number of response options across constructs, each established measure was administered using the response format specified in its original scale.

2.2.1 Work role performance

Work role performance was assessed using 27 items from the Japanese-language version of the Work Role Performance Scale (Ota et al., 2016), which was translated from Griffin et al. (2007). The scale comprises three items for each of the following nine attributes: individual task proficiency, team member proficiency, organization member proficiency, individual task adaptivity, team member adaptivity, organization member adaptivity, individual task proactivity, team member proactivity, and organization member proactivity. The instruction was: “The following questions ask about your typical work behavior. For each question, please select the answer that best applies to you.” Responses were provided on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree).

2.2.2 Wellbeing

Wellbeing was measured using 12 items from Ito et al.'s (2003) subjective wellbeing scale. The instructions stated: “I'd like to hear how you feel in your daily life. Please read the following questions and select the answer that best matches your feelings.” Responses were given on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 4 (Strongly agree).

2.2.3 Positive attitude toward male parental leave

Positive attitudes toward a male subordinate's parental leave were assessed using 10 items developed by the author specifically for this study. No separate pilot study was conducted before the main survey. To examine the dimensionality of the scale, an exploratory factor analysis using maximum likelihood extraction was conducted with the study sample. The instructions read: “How do you feel about that male subordinate taking parental leave? Please select one option that applies to each statement.” Responses were given on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Not applicable at all) to 5 (Highly applicable). All items are provided in full in Supplementary Table S1.

2.2.4 Work motivation

Work motivation was measured using 18 items from the learning-oriented and cooperative motivation factors of Ikeda and Morinaga's (2017) multi-faceted Work Motivation Scale, with nine items assessing learning-oriented motivation and nine items assessing cooperative motivation. The instructions were modified to read: “Please answer questions about various work-related motivations (work motivation). For each item, select the option that best reflects your feelings at that time (while your male subordinate was on parental leave). Although each item is phrased in the present tense, please answer based on your recollections of that time.” Responses were provided on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Not applicable at all) to 5 (Highly applicable).

2.2.5 Family-friendly organizational culture

Twelve items from Takeuchi and Yamazaki's (2010) Family-Friendly Organizational Culture Scale were used. The instructions were modified to read: “The following questions inquire about the workplace environment regarding balancing home life and work life. Which of the following best describes the atmosphere at your workplace at that time (just before the man took parental leave)? Please select the option that best fits. Although each item is phrased in the present tense, please answer based on your recollections of that time.” Responses were given on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree).

2.2.6 Mutual aid mindset

Five items from the cooperative mutual understanding factor of Nanya et al.'s (2016) Collaborative Consciousness Scale were used. The instructions were modified to read: “Regarding men taking parental leave, please select the option that best reflects your own thoughts at the time (before the man took parental leave). Although each item is phrased in the present tense, please answer based on your recollections of that time.” Responses were given on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Hardly applies) to 5 (Applies quite a bit). Subscale scores were calculated as the mean of the items within each subscale.

2.3 Statistical analysis

To assess the potential influence of common method bias, Harman's single-factor test was conducted. Covariance structure analyses were performed using SPSS AMOS 28.0.

3 Results

3.1 Psychometric evaluation of the positive attitude toward male parental leave scale

Exploratory factor analysis using maximum likelihood extraction supported a one-factor solution for the 10-item Positive Attitude Toward Male Parental Leave Scale. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure was 0.953, and Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant, χ2(45) = 4,072.58, p < 0.001. Only the first factor had an eigenvalue greater than 1, and the extracted factor accounted for 75.10% of the variance. Factor loadings ranged from 0.83 to 0.89. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.968).

3.2 Assessment of common method bias

Harman's single-factor test was conducted by entering all 84 items from the measures included in the study into an unrotated principal component analysis to assess potential common method bias. The unrotated principal component analysis yielded nine components with eigenvalues greater than 1. The first component accounted for 41.49% of the total variance, suggesting that no single factor dominated the covariance among the study items.

3.3 Group differences in scale scores

Cronbach's alpha coefficients were first calculated for each subscale. Means and standard deviations of the scale scores were then obtained for the four groups defined by gender and parental status (childless men, fathers, childless women, and mothers), and a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed (Table 2). No significant interactions were observed across variables.

Table 2. Means, standard deviations, and analysis of variance results by group.

VariableαMen with no childrenMen with childrenWomen with no childrenWomen with childrenMain effect
MeanSDMeanSDMeanSDMeanSDGenderParental status
Individual task proficiency0.864.741.104.651.184.691.264.951.31--
Team member proficiency0.914.881.234.901.165.121.335.231.334.15*-
Organization member proficiency0.884.521.184.611.194.731.355.111.226.49*-
Individual task adaptivity0.884.411.244.711.194.731.265.011.205.04*4.44*
Team member adaptivity0.894.521.264.681.144.691.295.071.264.15*-
Organization member adaptivity0.874.421.104.661.144.671.275.021.235.17*4.85*
Individual task proactivity0.884.481.214.711.144.781.265.071.245.77*-
Team member proactivity0.894.541.034.661.194.761.275.091.225.72*-
Organization member proactivity0.894.691.074.731.164.841.234.951.32--
Wellbeing0.762.720.372.690.422.810.422.880.3510.04**-
Positive attitude toward male parental leave0.973.740.903.880.813.971.024.150.935.85*-
Learning-oriented motivation0.943.290.793.510.763.480.743.720.765.48*7.40*
Cooperative motivation0.943.410.693.600.743.560.763.790.764.23*6.15*
Family-friendly organizational culture0.843.260.543.270.623.390.803.420.62--
Mutual aid mindset0.903.490.873.710.833.780.984.000.918.26**4.89*

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, -n.s.

Significant main effects of gender indicated that women scored higher than men on team member proficiency [F (1, 361) = 4.15, p = 0.042, ηp2 = 0.011], organization member proficiency [F (1, 361) = 6.49, p = 0.011, ηp2 = 0.018], individual task adaptivity [F (1, 361) = 5.04, p = 0.025, ηp2 = 0.014], team member adaptivity [F (1, 361) = 4.15, p = 0.042, ηp2 = 0.011], organization member adaptivity [F (1, 361) = 5.17, p = 0.024, ηp2 = 0.014], individual task proactivity [F (1, 361) = 5.77, p = 0.017, ηp2 = 0.016], team member proactivity [F (1, 361) = 5.72, p = 0.017, ηp2 = 0.016], wellbeing [F (1, 361) = 10.04, p = 0.002, ηp2 = 0.027], positive attitude toward male parental leave [F (1, 361) = 5.85, p = 0.016, ηp2 = 0.016], learning-oriented motivation [F (1, 361) = 5.48, p = 0.020, ηp2 = 0.015], cooperative motivation [F (1, 361) = 4.23, p = 0.041, ηp2 = 0.012], and mutual aid mindset [F (1, 361) = 8.26, p = 0.004, ηp2 = 0.022]. In addition, the main effects of parental status were significant for individual task adaptivity [F (1, 361) = 4.44, p = 0.036, ηp2 = 0.012], organization member adaptivity [F (1, 361) = 4.85, p = 0.023, ηp2 = 0.013], learning-oriented motivation [F (1, 361) = 7.40, p = 0.007, ηp2 = 0.020], cooperative motivation [F (1, 361) = 6.15, p = 0.014, ηp2 = 0.017], and mutual aid mindset [F (1, 361) = 4.89, p = 0.028, ηp2 = 0.013]; these values were significantly higher for individuals with children than for childless individuals.

3.4 Correlations among factors

As summarized in Table 3, all variables were positively correlated.

Table 3. Results of the correlation analysis.

Variable123456789101112131415
1 Individual task proficiency-0.87**0.80**0.88**0.83**0.83**0.86**0.86**0.86**0.24**0.51**0.56**0.57**0.31**0.51**
2 Team member proficiency-0.81**0.86**0.84**0.83**0.88**0.85**0.86**0.21**0.55**0.55**0.57**0.36**0.51**
3 Organization member proficiency-0.82**0.86**0.84**0.83**0.87**0.85**0.23**0.49**0.56**0.55**0.30**0.48**
4 Individual task adaptivity-0.89**0.87**0.89**0.87**0.87**0.21**0.49**0.60**0.58**0.28**0.48**
5 Team member adaptivity-0.87**0.90**0.87**0.87**0.21**0.51**0.64**0.61**0.31**0.48**
6 Organization member adaptivity-0.89**0.90**0.88**0.20**0.49**0.61**0.60**0.29**0.49**
7 Individual task proactivity-0.89**0.90**0.23**0.51**0.61**0.60**0.31**0.49**
8 Team member proactivity-0.89**0.21**0.51**0.59**0.57**0.32**0.50**
9 Organization member proactivity-0.23**0.51**0.60**0.60**0.30**0.49**
10 Wellbeing-0.29**0.37**0.39**0.20**0.31**
11 Positive attitude toward male parental leave-0.59**0.63**0.43**0.71**
12 Learning-oriented motivation-0.91**0.34**0.58**
13 Cooperative motivation-0.40**0.63**
14 Family-friendly organizational culture-0.51**
15 Mutual aid mindset-

**p < 0.01.

3.5 Assessment of model fit using covariance structure analysis

A path analysis was conducted using covariance structure modeling based on the hypothesized framework. Family-friendly organizational culture and mutual aid mindset were specified as exogenous variables; learning-oriented and cooperative motivation as intermediate endogenous variables; and work role performance, wellbeing, and positive attitudes toward male parental leave as distal outcomes. Direct paths from the exogenous variables to the distal outcomes were also estimated.

Paths that did not reach statistical significance at the 5% level were subsequently removed, and the model was re-estimated. The final model demonstrated acceptable fit: GFI = 0.922, CFI = 0.979, and RMSEA = 0.067. Both GFI and CFI exceeded the conventional cutoff of 0.90, and the RMSEA value was below 0.10, indicating an acceptable overall fit (Figure 1). Standardized path coefficients indicated that family-friendly organizational culture was positively associated with cooperative motivation (β = 0.06, p = 0.022). Mutual aid mindset was positively associated with both learning-oriented motivation (β = 0.57, p < 0.001) and cooperative motivation (β = 0.61, p < 0.001). Learning-oriented motivation was positively associated with work role performance (β = 0.49, p < 0.001), and mutual aid mindset was directly associated with work role performance (β = 0.25, p < 0.001). Further, cooperative motivation was positively associated with wellbeing (β = 0.39, p < 0.001). Finally, both cooperative motivation (β = 0.30, p < 0.001) and mutual aid mindset (β = 0.53, p < 0.001) were positively associated with positive attitudes toward male parental leave.

Path diagram of work role performance, wellbeing, and positive attitudes toward male parental leave among supervisors of men who took parental leave.
Figure 1. Path diagram of work role performance, wellbeing, and positive attitudes toward male parental leave among supervisors of men who took parental leave.

4 Discussion

This study examined a model which hypothesized that retrospectively reported family-friendly organizational culture and mutual aid mindset during the period before the subordinate's parental leave were positively associated with retrospectively reported learning-oriented and cooperative motivation during the leave period, which in turn were expected to be positively associated with current work role performance, wellbeing, and positive attitudes toward male parental leave.

First, family-friendly organizational culture was positively associated with cooperative motivation, although the magnitude of this relationship was small. This finding is broadly consistent with prior research linking family-supportive organizational cultures and family-friendly policies with work engagement (Peeters et al., 2009; Rofcanin et al., 2017; Žnidaršič and Bernik, 2021). However, the relatively small association observed in this study suggests that a supportive organizational environment alone may have only a limited association with supervisors' motivation in the specific context of a male subordinate's parental leave.

Second, mutual aid mindset showed substantially stronger associations with both learning-oriented and cooperative motivation and was also strongly associated with positive attitudes toward male parental leave. This pattern suggests that mutual aid mindset may be particularly relevant to supervisors' responses to a subordinate's parental leave. Consistent with Nanya et al. (2016), mutual aid mindset reflects recognition that workplace assistance is reciprocal rather than unidirectional. From the perspective of the social exchange theory and norm of reciprocity (Blau, 1964; Gouldner, 1960), supervisors who view temporary assistance as part of a reciprocal pattern of workplace support may be more inclined to respond to leave-related adjustments with cooperation and learning-oriented motivation rather than viewing them solely as an inequitable burden.

Third, group comparisons showed that women reported higher mutual aid mindset, learning-oriented and cooperative motivation, and several other outcomes than men; similarly, supervisors with children reported higher mutual aid mindset, learning-oriented and cooperative motivation, and some dimensions of adaptivity than those without children. Although these differences were generally modest and should be interpreted cautiously, they may be considered in light of gendered caregiving responsibilities and experience with work–family issues in Japan. Previous research has shown that female Japanese managers with young children often bear a substantial share of household and childcare responsibilities (Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training, 2014). Further, Sakazume (2007) found that managers' prior experience supervising employees who used work–family balance measures was associated with greater acceptance of their managerial role in supporting such employees. These findings suggest that greater exposure to caregiving or work–family demands may be associated with greater sensitivity to the need for mutual workplace support. However, because this study did not assess participants' actual caregiving responsibilities or their prior experience supporting employees with family-related needs, this interpretation remains cautiously tentative.

Fourth, learning-oriented motivation was positively associated with work role performance. This is consistent with prior studies linking learning-oriented motivation, including learning goal orientation and growth need strength, to enhanced job performance (Payne et al., 2007; Shalley et al., 2009; Stasielowicz, 2019), extending these findings to the context of male parental leave in the workplace. Mutual aid mindset was also directly associated with work role performance, suggesting that a reciprocal orientation toward workplace support may have relevance to supervisors' work role performance beyond its association with learning-oriented motivation.

Fifth, cooperative motivation was positively associated with wellbeing as well as positive attitudes toward male parental leave. This finding indicates that the motivational processes examined in this study were associated not only with supervisors' evaluations of male parental leave but also with their own psychological wellbeing. The positive association between cooperative motivation and wellbeing is consistent with meta-analytic evidence showing that prosocial motivation, which emphasizes contributing to others, is positively associated with employee wellbeing (Liao et al., 2022). Moreover, the strong association between mutual aid mindset and cooperative motivation, together with the association between cooperative motivation and wellbeing, suggests that reciprocal workplace support may also be relevant to supervisors' wellbeing.

Sixth, this study's findings may also have implications for gender equity in the workplace. In Japan, childbirth has been associated with a substantial short-term decline in women's employment and persistent reductions in work hours and earnings, reflecting a pattern of long-term motherhood penalty (Hsu, 2021). Conversely, greater paternal involvement in childcare has been associated with a higher likelihood that mothers remain in full-time employment after childbirth (Dhungel et al., 2023). Therefore, supporting men's parental leave may be relevant not only to fathers themselves but also to a more equitable distribution of caregiving responsibilities and employment opportunities between women and men. Nevertheless, men who request family leave may encounter negative evaluations when their behavior conflicts with conventional expectations of men as highly work-oriented and agentic (Rudman and Mescher, 2013). In this context, supervisors' positive attitudes toward male parental leave and a workplace orientation toward reciprocal support may be relevant to organizational efforts to reduce barriers that reinforce traditional gendered divisions of paid work and caregiving. However, because this study did not directly assess gender-equity outcomes or changes in household caregiving, future research is needed to explore these broader implications.

Seventh, the findings may also have implications for organizational equity and inclusion in the implementation of parental leave. Beyond the actual distribution of workload, how supervisors communicate with and treat both leave-taking employees and coworkers who assume additional responsibilities may be relevant to organizational perceptions of fairness. Organizational justice research distinguishes interpersonal and informational justice from distributive and procedural justice, emphasizing the importance of respectful treatment and adequate explanations in workplace interactions (Colquitt, 2001). In Japan, family-supportive supervisor behaviors have also been positively associated with procedural and interactional justice (Eguchi et al., 2019). Accordingly, organizations seeking to support male parental leave may need more than formal leave policies; organizations should encourage managerial practices that ensure respectful communication, transparent explanations of work redistribution, and recognition of employees who temporarily assume additional responsibilities.

4.1 Limitations

This study relied on supervisors' retrospective reports regarding the period when their male subordinates took parental leave. The Positive Attitude Toward Male Parental Leave Scale was developed for this study without prior pilot testing. Although the exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency results supported its one-factor structure, further validation in independent samples is warranted in future research. As the prevalence of male parental leave increases, longitudinal research may become feasible. Additionally, the duration of leave was not considered, although supervisory responses may vary depending on the length of the leave. Supervisors' attitudes may also differ according to the gender of the subordinate taking leave. Future research should examine these factors, accounting for both leave duration and the subordinate's gender. Finally, because the study was conducted exclusively in Japan, the generalizability of the findings to other cultural contexts remains uncertain. Future cross-cultural research should examine whether the relevance of reciprocal workplace support and mutual aid mindset differs in settings where norms regarding individual responsibility, workplace reciprocity, and parental leave are structured differently.

4.1.1 Common method bias

Although Harman's single-factor test did not indicate that a single factor dominated the variance, common method bias cannot be completely ruled out because all measures were based on self-reports from the same respondents.

4.2 Conclusions

Among supervisors of male subordinates who had taken parental leave, retrospectively reported family-friendly organizational culture and mutual aid mindset before the subordinate's leave were associated with retrospectively reported learning-oriented and/or cooperative motivation during the leave period. Learning-oriented motivation was associated with current work role performance, whereas cooperative motivation was associated with current wellbeing and positive attitudes toward male parental leave; mutual aid mindset was also directly associated with both work role performance and positive attitudes toward male parental leave.

Group comparisons also showed that women and supervisors with children reported greater mutual aid mindset as well as learning-oriented and cooperative motivation than men and supervisors without children, respectively, with differences observed for some dimensions of adaptivity as well. These differences were modest and should be interpreted cautiously.

Organizations are recommended to provide supervisors with training on communicating leave-related work redistribution, establish procedures for transparent workload allocation, and create opportunities for teams to discuss how temporary responsibilities will be shared. Such practices may potentially foster reciprocal support, learning, collaboration, and shared problem-solving around parental leave.

Future research should identify specific organizational practices that effectively nurture learning-oriented and cooperative motivation, examine how these processes operate at the team and organizational levels, and explore interactions between different family-supportive initiatives and supervisors' motivational states. Such studies would inform the design of organizational systems that normalize parental leave as a shared responsibility.

Generative AI statement

The author(s) declared that Generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript. Generative AI tools were solely used to assist with translation from Japanese to English and language editing. DeepL Translator and ChatGPT (OpenAI, GPT-5.5 Thinking and GPT-5.6 Sol) were used to edit the manuscript to improve its clarity, grammar, and readability. The author critically reviewed, revised, and verified all text translated or edited with the help of AI and takes full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and content of the manuscript. No generative AI tool was used for study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, or generation of references.

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Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/forgp.2026.1927630/full#supplementary-material

Supplementary material Supplementary material at the source

Footnotes

Edited by: Friday Ogbu Edeh, Kampala International University (Main Campus), Uganda

Reviewed by: Shan Jin, China National Academy of Educational Sciences, China

Diva Licet Mendoza Ocasal, Costa University Corporation, Colombia

Statements

Conflict of interest

The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Funding

The author(s) declared that financial support was received for this work and/or its publication. This work was supported by The Shinohara Foundation.

Data availability

The datasets generated or analyzed in this study are not publicly available but can be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethics approval

The studies involving humans were approved by Ethics Committee of the University of Tsukuba. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

HO: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

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Citation

Ono, H. (2026). Family-friendly organizational culture and a mutual aid mindset are associated with supervisors' work role performance, wellbeing, and positive attitudes toward male parental leave in Japan. Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, Volume 4. https://doi.org/
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4 - 2026

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Copyright © 2026 Ono.

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*Correspondence: Hiromi Ono

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