Resentment keeps family-leave policies unused

[Shrek]

http://www.marketwatch.com/Story/story/print?guid=BEC68AD4-FDF7-11E2-B605-002128040CF6

When an employee overhears colleagues say things like “I resent my colleagues who make use of work-family policies” or “I can’t stand when other people get to use policies for leave, and I don’t,” it can have a chilling effect on an employee’s perceived ability to use those great policies created for work/family leave.

Take the case of Michael, a mid-level manager at a large banking institution on the West Coast. Both he and his wife work full time and, recently, they adopted twins. Michael met with his company’s human resources department to explore the leave benefits for new parents. In doing so, he communicated his desire to use the company’s flex-time and leave policies to care for his new family.

However, when he informed his co-workers that he would be taking some time off, some immediately complained that they would need to work longer and harder just to keep up with their daily tasks.

A few times, Michael overheard his co-workers talking about how he should be working full-time while his wife uses her company’s leave policies. He also overheard his manager speaking to another colleague saying that Michael may struggle in moving up in the organization without enough face time. Ultimately, Michael made the difficult decision to attend more to his work than his family, leaving his wife to care for their new twins.

[Igel]

1. Of course.

But it varies by job. At most universities if you take off time everybody knows in advance and adjustments are made. An adjunct can be found. PhD students can take classes. Workload doesn't typically increase very much for other faculty members, even though if you're the father you tend to use it less for baby-time and more for nurturing-research time. (Yes: Mother professors who take off tend to bond with baby, change diapers, etc. Father professors who take off tend to have a bouncing baby monograph when they return. One increases time to tenure. The other seriously helps get tenure.)

Workload doesn't much increase in K-12 schools, either. But long-term subs are usually not as good as the regular teacher.

In jobs where they don't find replacements it just means more work for those who aren't on leave. And if you're planning not to have children, it's often perceived as unfair. It's one of those policies that seems like a great idea until its your work colleague who's vanishing and whose work falls into your lab. However, the perception is that if you take off 6 months then you're a bit out of the loop when you get back and, well, your job's just not that important to you while those who are left behind get to shine at taking on additional responsibilities and prove they're really team players. So the childless in a seriously large number of jobs may benefit in the long run, for all their whining.

Temps aren't always a good alternative, either.

[tanyev]

2. It's a predicament.

My employer spent the last few years "streamlining" the work force. It was all done by attrition, no firings or layoffs, thank goodness. There was an investment in automation that made it possible, and it works--as long as everyone is there. But when a couple people are out on vacation, and then somebody else calls in sick, and someone else has to attend a meeting, etc., it does place a harder burden on everyone that is there. Our new staffing levels are adequate for the ideal situation, but when does that ever happen?

[Hestia]

3. Of course, it seems to be only American's who have this problem of asshole co-workers

Ask someone from Germany, France or Sweden if one of their co-workers would be allowed to bad mouth someone else's leave. They don't seem to have a problem taking, gladly, what is offered as benefits and other's don't begrudge someone from using their leave time either.

WTF do we have this problem? I can't imagine being so selfish as to bad mouth someone's joy over having a child and help out with HIS children by taking leave.

Everyday in every way we are sinking into a quagmire of hatefulness, selfishness and spite. If anyone needs proof of a hell, we're living it out now (and I ain't even christian).

How much lower can we go as a country?

[elleng]

4. There are 'foolish' people everywhere.

Too damn bad.

fwiw, my husband was ill for a long time, worked for Federal government, and many of his co-workers gave him/shared their accumulated leave with him.

[mrmpa]

5. My brother, a Postal Worker...........

was very sick for near 6 months, couldn't work. The Union & management posted asking people to donate unused or excessive vacation and sick time to him. If they hadn't done this it would have been financial ruin for his family.