Should working mothers receive more benefits than the rest of us?

Question

I.E ,2-3 months paid leave, Flex time, Being able to leave early to take Johnny to soccer or just not come in because Suzy has a cold.These benifits take away from profits and so others pay and leave the rest of us to pick up the slack left behind. Having children is an expensive *time consuming hobby* I don't think should be "Others" responsibilities.Your thoughts?

Yes it is a hobby. Itis not a : right a requirement a need it is a choice and come with sacrifice and responsibility. I is not the job of others to make ones Hobby easier.

Hobby,an activity or interest outside ones profession, engaged in primarily for pleasure or enrichment.

Answer 1

I do not think that working mothers should receive any additional benefits such as being able to leave with sick children, or paid leave. The bottom line is that having children is a choice and if you cannot balance your life correctly then you should choose not to have them. It is unfair in ANY working situation for some to take the brunt of the work while others are slacking off, missing in action or taking their child to soccer practice. It is unfair for anyone to expect to be paid the same rate of pay as others when they're not pulling their weight or adequately contributing to the project or job at hand. When we apply for a job we are given and "job description" and we are told what the companies' expectations will be of us. It is not then up to us to decide which responsibilites in that "job description" that we are going to handle and which ones we are going to bypass. Sorry....if you can't do the job then someone else needs to be hired to fill the position!

I am a WORKING, SINGLE mother of a 12 year old girl. She is a competative gymnast and trains 16-20 hours a week. I car pool with another girl on her team as well. I do her homework with her every night and she is a straight A student. I am a self employed hairstylist and I carry a full book. I have a responsiblity to my clients. I manage to handle my child, all of her responsibilites and all of my own as well. I guess my point is that it is possible to be a good parent, spend quality time with your child and still be responsibly employed. And if you can't swing all of it without using and abusing those you work with......you should NOT have children or you should NOT have a career! It's NO ONE else's responsiblity to pave the way for you or to do your work because you made a poor choice and are not multi tasked enough to handle all the business at hand.

Answer 2

well they 2-3 months paid is from disability so the person receiving that is just getting money that they have earned in the past for disability so i don't see whats wrong with that. And not coming in for a child sick at home, well, everyone has sick hours and can use them how they want to. I'm sure when you were a child and you were sick you wanted your mommy to be by your side taking care of you. If you didn't want that, then you're weird. You're a fool if you really think anyone gets 'extra' benefits for having kids. If anything, its harder, because parents get more taken off their check for medical insurance to have their children insured! And you're an even bigger fool for saying its a time consuming 'hobby'. hahahahahaha! stop crying about it and get back to work!

PS may i add that where I work, there are more non-parents that call in sick because they decided they want to go party the night before and are get hungover and decide to use sick days a lot more, AND some of them use the excuse that they go to school in addition to working so sometimes they leave early or dont come in due to 'exams' or whatever. So dont only point your finger at working mothers, theres a LOT of people who try and get away from work while others carry the slack

Answer 3

First of all, it is not a hobby, it is a lifestyle. You obviously do not have children.

The 2-3 months leave is called the Family Medical Leave Act, and you would recieve the same benefit if you or a relative were having serious health problems. It's not called the "Mommy Medical Leave Act".

When mothers leave early, they have to clock out and either go without pay, or use sick/vacation time. You recieve the same benefits as they do. Mothers do not recieve their vacation time at an accelerated rate. They get it at the same rate you do. They just choose to use it differently.

Finally, they have to use their sick time if Suzy is sick. Just the same as you do if you call in sick. No special benefit there.

These benefits DO NOT take away from profits, because they are already equated into the budget.

Answer 4

Most places only offer 6 weeks maternity leave and that doesn't effect the other employees financially. When people leave early to take care of a sick child or for any other reason, it comes out of their sick or vacation days, so it's their business if they want to use them in that way. Having a child is not a hobby, I don't care what you say, it's a natural part of life. Nobody is putting a responsibility on you, if you don't like it then don't stay in the situation.

Answer 5

The benefits you speak of...Some should be given and some not. I am a mother of three, so I am neither for nor against it.

First of all, it is up to the employer about flex time and leaving early. The paid leave is not something all employers offer. I was on maternity leave without pay, I saved my vaction time in order to be paid. If you had surgery or an illness would you expect paid leave? Would you expect others to pick up your slack? It is the same in that respect.

Many parents use comp time or their own sick leave when they need to take care of their sick children.

One thought to leave you with...Should parents be penalized because you or others have decided not to have children? If you do not like your company's policies, nobody is forcing you to stay there.

Answer 6

i think that if you had kids you may see this differently. i dont think that mothers should be able to leave early to take their child to soccer practice or anything like that but the 2-3 months paid maternity leave is required by law in most states because the mother needs a recovery time. seriously, giving birth is not easy. and the baby needs their mother in their first few weeks of life. having kids is NOT a hobby. sometimes God just decides to give you a child and a lot of people dont want to just kill the baby because they dont feel like being a parent. and im sure you are thinking that they should have used birth control, well in many cases they did, but still got pregnant and its not fair to kill a child just because you dont want it.

Answer 7

I know that it seems unfair but Moms have so much guilt already - as a Mom I know ; every time that I had to call in because my child was sick etc , I was all so guilty about it ; I don't think that any one sector , male, female, single, married , divorce to have exclusive rights to a certain benefit; face it no matter who we are we all have had to tap into a benefit, if not a child who was sick, a wife, husband, father, mother etc ; I don't think that corporate America is losing profits b/c of a working Mom or a sick child; check out the people on the top and what they are getting paid; it is their choice as to how the money trickles down although they may feel the need to blame it on the people struggling the hardest; please don't let corporate mentality lose sight of the humanity in each one of us. Money comes and money goes ; in the end you will not care what perk or raise you didn't get; you will will want health , happiness and time. This time consuming hobby brought you here to write this question; thank your Mom and Dad for that.

Answer 8

I think you might need to get your facts straight on this instead of venting anger. Modifying time, etc.. or getting additional benefits would be discrimination from any standpoint... If your employer is just trying to be accomodating to individuals who have kids, well then you need to speak with someone there. Flex time should be available to everyone if it's available at all. Having children is not a hobby, by the way .... if all people chose not to have children.... 1) you wouldn't be here 2) society wouldn't be here -- and I guess we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Answer 9

not all companies give mothers 2-3 months paid leave or flex time .
but it is annoying when the same individuals get special favors all the time while everyone else covers for them during their absence, and the people who i see do this are not working mothers - they're just people who believe that the company should "take care" of them and it's their "right".
if you do not like your company's policy, go somewhere else. child-rearing is expensive but it is not a hobby like owning a pet or riding motorbikes - ask the people who raised you.

Answer 10

My son was 3 weeks old when I went back to work. I NEVER took off work for anything like that. Women get maternity leave because it takes a while for their body to recover from it. My boss didn't even let me take off to go get my kid when he was sick..somebody else had to. I missed his first words, steps, etc because I was working.. They don't receive more benefits. Maternity leaves are unpaid, if they take off early..they don't get paid. The next time you have somebody gets sick or die, don't you dare take off work..somebody will have to pick up the slack and do your job too