Flexible Work Schedules

America being one the most industrialized nations it is shocking to most to discover that it does not provide a more beneficial maternity leave when compared to its European counterparts. Not only is Europe leading the way for a lengthier leave of absence for new mothers, they also provide financial benefits to those families with newborns, to American society this is not considered a cultural norm, in fact it is even bizarre to some that having a child while in the work force would even be beneficial. Consequently, the difficulty in accessing a reasonable maternity leave in America creates long term effects on a child’s development.

Roughly four-in-ten mothers say they have taken a significant amount of time off from work (39%) or reduced their work hours (42%) to care for a child or other family member. Roughly a quarter (27%) say they have quit work altogether to take care of these familial responsibilities...(Patten, 2015 [see figure 3]).

As we move into the new millennium more and more employers are allowing, some are even encouraging, their employees to bring their newborn babies to work with them. This is probably one of the greatest changes in child care norms that this country has seen in the past 30 years. Once upon a time, when a woman had a baby she almost always quit her job to raise her child, depending on her husband to support her and her child. Then along came the idea of maternity leave. This is when a woman takes a certain amount of time off to be with newborn. Once this time period was up, the woman still had a job to go back to. This meant that women no longer had to rely on their husbands for support. Unfortunately it also

There is data to support the idea of a mother taking time off or a woman reducing her working hours to part-time will hurt her significantly in the career world. The reason for this sudden break in a woman’s career being motherhood. The most popular reason for working less hours is in a law firm is for a mother to take care of her child. Taking this additional time off decreases the chances of the mother receiving a partnership immensely. When doing this, the mother also risks the idea of herself being seen as “not serious about her career”, permanently damaging her chances of promotion at the private practice. However, mothers are no less likely than childless women to receive a

Currently, the U.S. is the only modernized country not to offer paid leave to new mothers (Hall). The one legal protection offered by the U.S government is the Family and Medical Leave Act, or the FMLA. Since it became legislation in 1993, the FMLA has guaranteed a new mother job security for twelve weeks after her child is born. It does not, however, mandate pay. The FMLA also has other downsides. Women are only secured their twelve weeks of leave if they work a minimum of 1,250 hours a year and work for a company with fifty or more employees (Hall). This means that only two out of every five women qualify for protection (Hall). If a women does not qualify, it is left to her employer’s discretion to decide how long she will get to stay with her

Firstly, the rise in temporary employment over the few years has meant that parents, who find work, are in employed in one or several

Many believe that the success of a functioning community can be measured by the development of the youth, with the assumption that they would progress society as the future generation. Today’s children are tomorrow’s working class and the main contributors of social progress. Thus, the developmental stages in a child’s life is pertinent to success of a community, and in these stages parental involvement is a necessary component, which is why Family Leave is a policy implemented worldwide. Policy regarding family leave refers to the leave granted to employees in order to care for their newborn child. All countries, with the exception of two, have gone a step further by requiring employers to partially or fully compensate employees during family

Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.

The birth of a baby is a very important time in the lives two of parents. During this time all parents should be allowed special bonding time with their babies. Nearly 20 years after the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), it is time to take stock of U.S. policy on parental leave, particularly as it affects infant care and child development (Time off with Baby). The problem with this Leave is that it is unpaid and sometimes parents can’t afford to not work and take care of their family.

New mothers, depending on their work history and hours worked, can get from fifteen to fifty two weeks off. Journalist Covert states that in America, “They’re guaranteed twelve weeks of unpaid time off.” What Covert really means is that if a mother is gone for twelve weeks, they do not get paid the time they take off but still have their job (Bryce Workaholism). What also came across while researching was how four to six percent of workers are overworked because their bosses make them even if they do not want to. Carmichael notes what one employee told her during an interview, “We work long hours because our bosses tell us to.” In other words, Carmichael along with everyone who read her article noticed that even if some people did not want to work more hours they would kind of have to in order to keep their jobs (Sarah Long). Maybe if the workers got paid more then would not mind

Paternity leave should be a right for all male workers for two weeks. Paternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a father after or shortly before the birth of his child. Usually, pregnant women who are nearly due for delivery are able to take parental leave from their employment, what about men? Shouldn’t they have the ability to go on leave for the birth of their children? Paternity leave should be granted for male workers for many reasons. This essay will consider some of those reasons, such as if the partner is not well after the birth of the child, needs care and supervision or if she is going through tough pregnancy and needs her male partner to assist her delivering their child. It is also important for an infant-father bonding as much as an infant-mother bonding after the child is born. Also if a horrible circumstance occurs like mother passing away during her delivery, that would leave the father as the first and only carer.

An astonishing 77.6 percent of income can be received if a parent takes maternity leave in swedish. That number in itself could represent

Family dynamics have long changed since the 1950s and more and more Americans, new mothers in particular, are experiencing increased difficulties balancing work and family life. As you can imagine, motherhood is physically and mentally exhausting yet in the United States, new mothers are being deprived access to paid maternal leave, an incredibly sad reality. In the U.S. alone, 19 million women are the sole income earners of families with children. Around the world, countries have responded to the rise of women in the workforce by implementing job protected leave policies such as paid maternal leave to support mothers who must manage their jobs and pregnancy simultaneously. Infant care requires new mothers to take time off from work and paid

When female employees become pregnant, one of their biggest concerns is likely how they are going to support themselves without pay for their time out. In fact, about 61% of nonworking women ages 25-34 said they weren’t working because of family responsibilities, which likely relates to the unpaid leave that is currently implemented in the U.S. (Gilpin). Although critics say it comes with potential economic concerns, employed women who take maternity leave should be paid due to the long-term consequences of its current policies.

Maternity leave has not always been available to new parents in the United States. Only thirteen states provided time off work to care for a new baby while holding secure their job and its benefits up until 1993 (Rossin 2011). Typically, the employer is responsible for implementing a maternity leave policy, other than the government-mandated policy of the Family and Medical Leave Act (Berger, Hill, & Waldfogel, 2005). Certain states have enacted their own laws regarding maternity leave policies. Of these state policies, some are as short as 4 weeks (Berger, et al., 2005).