Comments on: When Should You Tell Your Boss You Are Pregnant?

By: Laura shortell

Laura shortell — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:17:18 +0000

I fail to see how this is an awful situation. When would you have liked her to tell you that she was pregnant? In the interview? so that you could use that against your decision upon hire? i dont think so, first of all, you DID NOT waist 6 months training her, she simply had to take time off which she is legally allowed to do. And i am not suprised she came back and couldnt remember anything, what do you expect she is not superwoman! not only that but 1. she started a new job, this can be stressfull 2. shes pregant and thinking about her growing baby on top of learning a job that takes 6 months to train. 3. she leaves for however long her maternity leave and heaven forbid she forgets what she had learned on her time off while she was waking up 1o times a night to a screaming baby, what did you expect her to study the job while she was gone? of couse not, because their is a reason women have maternity leave, labor is a huge strain on your body and she has to bring an infant into this world, the number one thing on her mind at this point is how to be a great mom, because in the end after a long work day that is all that matters. And one more thing, you said she “disappeared” on maternity leave. I’m sorry, are you just learning about maternity leave? or are we expected to be in labor for 20 hours and the next day pop outa bed like a pop tart and go on about our day like nothing happened. Again, i fail to see the waisted time, if anything you should be happy you’ve had the chance to hire a women with a child, you have the chance to give her an opportunity to properly provide for her new born baby. Also, frequently taking time out of the office for her baby is COMPLETELY NECESSARY. I have worked at a daycare before and have seen this first hand. unfortunately their is only so much a daycare can do about having a sick child their. first of all, the day a daycare says ” yes i will keep your sick throwing up baby here at daycare to expose his/ her sickness with all other babies while you go to work because corporate america is so much more important” is the day a cow jumps over the moon! Also, dont mind if correct you, but she was not blatantly taking advantage, she was simply doing what a mother should do. and props to her for her courage in starting a new job and being pregnant. – Outspoken

By: Laura shortell

Laura shortell — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:49:39 +0000

I am so glad i found this information. I am in my fourth month of pregnancy and for the past two months i have been applying for many jobs. A few weeks ago i had applied at a loan place that my friend currently works at, it was a great job and i really wanted it. When i had my interview (not knowing all the facts about the pregnancy discrimination act) one of the questions was “tell me about yourself” well i had mentioned i was pregnant as a courtesy to her, “honesty is the best policy” was my thought process. Immediately she asked me when i was due, september. the interview was good, she had told me around the time she would get ahold of me. well it had been a while and i was concerned. I called my friend and asked her why she thought her boss had not gotten ahold of me yet. (keep in mind this work place is small and full of women, so word gets around and everyone knows everything, if you’ve worked with all women you know what im talking about) my friend says ” well, my boss and i talked and she said she doesnt know if she wants to hire you because two other employess asked for time off in september and she wouldnt have anyone to watch the store when you go on your maternity leave , also their is currently an employee who is on maternity leave and she wont tell my boss if she is coming back or not and shes getting frustrated with her, my boss isnt so sure she wants to deal with that again” This job was a perfect match for me and i feel like i was completely unfairly treated and i wish i would have known then what i know now. fortunately, i have another job interview tomorrow that could also be a perfect match. I am so glad i researched this topic so that way I am treated fairly. thank you to whoever thought of the pregnancy discrimination act! – Sincerely “Very Frustrated”

By: MITBeta @ Don't Feed the Alligators

MITBeta @ Don't Feed the Alligators — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:16:49 +0000

Congrats! On the other hand, my boss was thrilled when I told him that my wife was expecting our first. His motives were purely selfish. Statistically men are not likely to leave a good job or move for that matter when they have young children…

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:44:54 +0000

nun: What an awful situation. It’s too bad when people take advantage of their pregnancy, whether they intend to or not.

By: nun

nun — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:22:39 +0000

I’ve seen this situation before. We hired a young woman from overseas who failed to inform us she’s pregnant. I basically wasted 6+ months training her and then she disappeared on maternity leave. Coming back she could barely do anything, having forgotten a lot of the training, and also frequently out of the office for her baby. I’ve never seen someone so blatantly take advantage like this.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:16:33 +0000

I can’t remember (even if my life depended on it) whether I congratulated you or not Anyway, congratulations Ryan!!!

When the time comes, I’m sure my wife will instantly tell everyone, including everyone at work. I’m sure it all depends on how the work atmosphere is like, but if you don’t think it’s a big deal, your boss won’t either. Of course, letting him know that you will be fine and just plan to take a few weeks off ahead of time is reassuring but the bigger deal you make it to be, the bigger impact others will feel.

By: Ron@TheWisdomJournal

Ron@TheWisdomJournal — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:04:15 +0000

I know several people who told friends and family the instant they found out and later miscarried. It was traumatic, especially for big brothers and sisters (who were less than 6 years old). Waiting, like plonkee said, is probably a good idea.

Also, the advice. Oh the advice. It comes in waves and never seems to end. One thing that drove me crazy was the number of people who, after the baby was born, wondered when we were having another one! My standard reply was, “After we get back from Europe.” Then, all they wanted to talk about was my non-existent trip. It changed the subject though! lol

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:08:13 +0000

I know quite a few people don’t like to tell anyone except extremely close family/friends until they are 13 weeks, it’s not wanting to make it common knowledge until the main risk of miscarriage has passed. Obviously if it becomes an issue (as in your wife’s case) then you will have to anyway. In the UK we have reasonable maternity benefits (a fair amount of paid/semi-paid leave) which only kick in after you’ve been in a job for a certain length of time – that might affect when you formally announce your pregnancy.