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gdubs
This baby is awesome!
Member since 11/10 2467 total posts
Name:
Gina
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
I have no issues with it. 4 months is very generous though!! They have to give 3 weeks unpaid by law and I used to work for a company that paid for those 12 weeks. Adjusting to having a newborn at home is difficult I'm sure , sleep deprevation and all and honestly I would rather have these women home, rested and spending time with their children than at work completely distracted, it has to be very difficult to leave a newborn at home so young! I think it's nice that some companies do that for the new mothers.
Message edited 12/13/2010 4:45:10 PM.
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Posted 12/13/10 4:38 PM  |
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BsMomma2014
Fly high little one
Member since 6/10 2662 total posts
Name:
nicole
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by Cacarina
Honestly...I have no problem with paid maternity leave. I think 4 months is VERY generous and most companies do not offer that. If mine did though...I would not have an issue with it. I generally worry about myself at work and don't tend to think about what others are doing or what others may or may not be benefiting from within the company unless it directly affects me.
Ita
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| Posted 12/16/10 9:08 PM |
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KartveliT
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Member since 1/08 8363 total posts
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
I think they should get LONGER paid maternity leave .
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| Posted 12/19/10 2:23 PM |
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MrsPenthouse
LIF Adult
Member since 11/10 924 total posts
Name:
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
I have no problem with paid maternity leave but do believe that it should somehow be tied to performance. High performers should be allotted longer leave...it should be something you earn.
I know that opens a can of worms because performance is subjective. In my industry (I work on a bank trading floor), there aren't many women and the few there are tend not to have children or have them later in their careers. It's definitely seen as a privilege.
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| Posted 12/21/10 12:16 PM |
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maybemommy10
Big Brothers to Be !
Member since 2/10 3868 total posts
Name:
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by MrsPenthouse
I have no problem with paid maternity leave but do believe that it should somehow be tied to performance. High performers should be allotted longer leave...it should be something you earn.
I know that opens a can of worms because performance is subjective. In my industry (I work on a bank trading floor), there aren't many women and the few there are tend not to have children or have them later in their careers. It's definitely seen as a privilege.
Let's say for example, I am an accountant, but not a very good one. That means I should get to spend less time with my newborn as punishment and the better accountant gets to spend more time with hers????
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| Posted 12/22/10 1:39 PM |
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Christine
2nd verse same as the 1st
Member since 5/05 15287 total posts
Name:
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by maybemommy10
Posted by MrsPenthouse
I have no problem with paid maternity leave but do believe that it should somehow be tied to performance. High performers should be allotted longer leave...it should be something you earn.
I know that opens a can of worms because performance is subjective. In my industry (I work on a bank trading floor), there aren't many women and the few there are tend not to have children or have them later in their careers. It's definitely seen as a privilege.
Let's say for example, I am an accountant, but not a very good one. That means I should get to spend less time with my newborn as punishment and the better accountant gets to spend more time with hers????
I can't see tying something like maternity leave to something so subjective. I have heard of companies that give an extra week per year of service which can be extremely generous.
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| Posted 12/22/10 2:34 PM |
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MrsPenthouse
LIF Adult
Member since 11/10 924 total posts
Name:
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by Christine
Posted by maybemommy10
Posted by MrsPenthouse
I have no problem with paid maternity leave but do believe that it should somehow be tied to performance. High performers should be allotted longer leave...it should be something you earn.
I know that opens a can of worms because performance is subjective. In my industry (I work on a bank trading floor), there aren't many women and the few there are tend not to have children or have them later in their careers. It's definitely seen as a privilege.
Let's say for example, I am an accountant, but not a very good one. That means I should get to spend less time with my newborn as punishment and the better accountant gets to spend more time with hers????
I can't see tying something like maternity leave to something so subjective. I have heard of companies that give an extra week per year of service which can be extremely generous.
I kind of meant something like everyone gets 3 months paid or some other standard amount and then additional time is tied directly to performance. SO for example, 1 week paid additional week is allotted to performers who earn lets say a "4" (out of 5) on their performance evaluation. Up to a max of 2 weeks.
Like I said, tough to implement. I am fairly confident that my firm would go out of their way to retain high performers and seems to do this on an undisclosed basis anyway.
Just want to underscore again that everyone should be entitled to a minimum amount of time.
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| Posted 12/23/10 2:04 PM |
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itsbabytime
LIF Adult
Member since 11/05 9644 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by shadows
I can absolutely see these points.
Although I didn't say it in my original post, my feelings come from two close friends I have who are both out on paid mat. leave right now. Both work at big law firms.
The first gets 3 monts paid. The other gets 6 months paid. Both handed over their cases to other attorneys to handle while they are out.
The one who has 6 months confided in me that she is not going back to work after the 6 months.
The one who is out for 3 months told me she is going back to work for about a year, getting pregnant again, taking another 3 months paid, and then not returning to work.
This just bothers me, so I guess that's where my feelings stem from. I'd love to get 6 months paid to spend with my elderly dad, ya know?
Just my opinion, and like I said, I khow many people disagree 
I'm not childless so you probably were not looking for my opinion but, since other mothers have posted I just wanted to add this about the particular situation you posted about.
Having worked in one of these big law firms prior to having children I will tell you it is a unique situation and there is a reason why they get that much paid maternity leave. Trust me, if you worked those kind of hours for 10 months of pregnancy you would more than deserve that paid time - Add to that the fact that once your friend goes back to work she will likely hardly ever see her child - literally. These firms know how it goes and it is pretty much expected that many mothers will not return b/c it is just not realistic. That said, by that point they have gotten their money's worth out of the associate so they really honestly don't care. So, you shouldn't either 
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| Posted 12/27/10 2:43 AM |
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photoshopbabe
wow....
Member since 5/07 2197 total posts
Name:
linda
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
To the OP-I disagree. I think 4 months isn't even a long time!!!
I wish the US gave a year like Europe, at least. Its sooo totally unfair
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| Posted 12/27/10 1:18 PM |
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eddiesmommy
best buds!
Member since 5/09 11524 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by Kara
I think parental leave for mothers and fathers is a wonderful benefit and I wish more companies offered it. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to work full time and have a newborn. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to afford a child without some sort of leave policy. I can't imagine how painful it would be to have to leave a two-week old baby and return to work because you can't afford to stay home and care for him or her. I also can't imagine begrudging a new parent leave to bond with their child just because I don't get to take 4 months off for the hell of it. How about this -- You can take 4 months off, but you MUST not go away on vacation and you MUST get up every 2-3 hours, 24 hours a day, 7-days per week for those four months and at least 2-3 months after that.
Seriously, I have way, way better things to be offended or upset about that this doesn't even remotely come close to being on my radar.
I wish more companies were even more generous with their paid maternity leave. I think parental leave for dads is awesome, too. A new baby is a ridiculous amount of work and responsibility. Giving parents the time they need to care for their children is the decent thing to do. And let's face it, it's not like people are having children just to get paid time off.
And this is coming from someone who is childless by choice. You cannot, on any level, compare "vacation" with the first few months of a newborn's life.
ETA -- Just b/c I don't have children doesn't make children any less important. Family -- of whatever size - is important. I cannot fathom how someone would think maternity leave or paternity leave is someone unfair to those of us who don't have children. Seriously. This absolutely boggles my mind.
this is my favorite response of any response I have ever read on these boards. I completely agree, and felt the same way before I had children.
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| Posted 12/27/10 10:14 PM |
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MrsKS
Thank You St. Gerard.....
Member since 12/09 8306 total posts
Name:
Kerri
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
For those of you who have elderly ill parents... you can't take time off for them?
My company lets you... under FMLA.... you can take off for a sick spouse or sick elderly parent or sick child, etc. You get the same amount of time allotted for maternity leave. I've seen this happen A LOT in my company. My old dept manager's husband had melanoma... and she took time off to care for him.
With that being said... I don't find paid maternity leave to be unfair at all... actually for some companies the amount of time they pay you for is grossly low... it should DEF be more than the 6 weeks some get. I think my company is 8 weeks...and then you can take up to 12 weeks with job security... but I forget the percentage you get paid for those last 4 weeks... if you even get paid at all for it.
Also.... in terms of taking time off for medical reasons and being paid for it.... if it's unfair for maternity leave then what do you think about paid time off for your own illness? We had people take time off for breast cancer, etc... and that too was fully paid. So when these things happen, be it a good thing like the birth of a baby or a traumatic and terrible thing like sickness of your own or a close family member, I think it's important to have laws in place that not only protect the position you hold within the company but also your finances... you should be paid for at least a portion of the time you need to take off.
ETA: My company also allows you to take your vacation time first then you kick into the FMLA and Maternity leave. So it's almost like having an addition if you have that vacation time left... which most preggos do... unless they need to use those days for dr appts and such.
Message edited 12/28/2010 12:47:38 AM.
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| Posted 12/28/10 12:12 AM |
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MrsKS
Thank You St. Gerard.....
Member since 12/09 8306 total posts
Name:
Kerri
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by eddiesmommy
Posted by Kara
I think parental leave for mothers and fathers is a wonderful benefit and I wish more companies offered it. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to work full time and have a newborn. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to afford a child without some sort of leave policy. I can't imagine how painful it would be to have to leave a two-week old baby and return to work because you can't afford to stay home and care for him or her. I also can't imagine begrudging a new parent leave to bond with their child just because I don't get to take 4 months off for the hell of it. How about this -- You can take 4 months off, but you MUST not go away on vacation and you MUST get up every 2-3 hours, 24 hours a day, 7-days per week for those four months and at least 2-3 months after that.
Seriously, I have way, way better things to be offended or upset about that this doesn't even remotely come close to being on my radar.
I wish more companies were even more generous with their paid maternity leave. I think parental leave for dads is awesome, too. A new baby is a ridiculous amount of work and responsibility. Giving parents the time they need to care for their children is the decent thing to do. And let's face it, it's not like people are having children just to get paid time off.
And this is coming from someone who is childless by choice. You cannot, on any level, compare "vacation" with the first few months of a newborn's life.
ETA -- Just b/c I don't have children doesn't make children any less important. Family -- of whatever size - is important. I cannot fathom how someone would think maternity leave or paternity leave is someone unfair to those of us who don't have children. Seriously. This absolutely boggles my mind.
this is my favorite response of any response I have ever read on these boards. I completely agree, and felt the same way before I had children.
ITA with this as well...
and as a matter of fact... In regards to your ETA section... i actually wrote something similar... then deleted it because I didn't want to sound too harsh. It's mind boggling to me as well to think that someone would actually find maternity leave unfair to those who don't have children.
And I didn't think of it... but paternal leave.... super important as well... I could not agree more!!
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| Posted 12/28/10 12:19 AM |
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MrsKS
Thank You St. Gerard.....
Member since 12/09 8306 total posts
Name:
Kerri
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Re: curious what you think... i'm sure many would disagree with me
Posted by shadows
I know not a ton of places do paid maternity leave, but regareless, I was just wondering what people thought about it. And there are a fair number of places that do it - my law firm does, and I know a few others that do (and the poster above said that her firm does). Maybe it's more common in law firms.
Someone in my own family had 8 kids, basically one after the next. If your office had paid maternity leave, would that bother you at all? Does it reach a point where it's just unfair to everyone else holding the weight in the company? If so, what is that point?
(I swear I am not trying to be argumentative or anything like that - I am just honestly interested in what people think about random topics sometimes  )
My company has paid maternity leave. but it's not 4 months. though I do think it should be longer than it is.
I don't know of many or any people these days that have 8 kids (back in the day my distant relatives did, but they were also running farms and all with them)... but I have no issue with someone having 8 kids and getting paid maternity for each one.
Now WHY anyone would want 8 kids these days is the question I would be asking. that seems like a lot of kids to me and thus a lot of stress, work, and a huge expense. they are giving up other things in other areas to have those 8 kids.
But I don't think they can or should put a limit on the amount of kids you have by limiting the amount of times you can take maternity leave. And ESPECIALLY for those companies that give UNPAID maternity leave... then they really have NO SAY! I don't think a company should ever run your life choices.
IF they are not satisfied with the workers performance when she is there, that's another story. But as far as maternity goes, it should have no bearing on your work status and you should get leave for it. I don't think your work should dictate your life; but I'm also a work to live type of person not a live to work type.
that's just how I feel about it.
Also, if it makes you feel better.... perhaps that person being out all those times on maternity leave just leaves an opening for you to strut your stuff more by juggling their work load and yours....and thus be promoted before said employee. I think it's more important to focus on yourself and take these types of situations as an opportunity, rather than to focus on the fact that they are home being paid while healing from child birth and bonding with their newborn. I'm not trying to be snarky either.
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| Posted 12/28/10 12:37 AM |
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