Pregnant Co-Worker

[KBlues]

I am sick of my co-worker sleeping during the day and doing absolutey no work. My boss has seen her do this, but he tells me, "She's pregnant. She needs her rest."

I wish I could get paid to sleep! Pregnant or not, it's not fair to the rest of the employees. We have to pick up her slack and I have had it.

I just don't think that pregnancy is an excuse to get out of work. She also wants to take 6 months off after the delivery and claim short term disability. I know a lot of women who have done this, but I never considered having a baby a disability. We have donated vacation and sick days to her so she can have some sort of paycheck during the first month she is off, but does she really need 6 months of disability? Pregnancy is usually a CHOICE, not a handicap, right? If she is too tired to come to work, she should just quit and stay home to sleep, or find a less demanding job. I know answering the phone is the toughest job in the world (thick with sarcasm) but come on! Am I right, or am I being insensitive?

 

[KBlues]

OK, let me clarify something. I got a nasty Private Message from someone about this. I think if you are pregnant, you shouldn't do some work like have lifting, and things like that. I didn't mean to say that pregnant women should still be able to do ALL work. Sorry about that. I re-read what I typed and I can see why some people may get a little mad about that.

 

[Sharon]

Golly, I want her job.

Maybe your boss is between a rock and a hard place. He can't ask her to leave or fire her because she's pregnant even though she's not up to the job. She'd probably sue.

Your right. Not fair.

We have donated vacation and sick days to her so she can have some sort of paycheck during the first month she is off

Wow, that is very generous and considerate, too bad she's not returning any favors.

 

[watercolor]

No I dont think she should be able to sleep all day or what not. Why be there.. if she is not a reliable assett. I know that pregnancy drains you...but geeze come on.

I know here at my company, they know that I will be trying like 2 mths after we are married and they have told me I can have 7 weeks of leave with pay. Nice eh? I think that is a sufficent amount of time. Although, Jess does not want me to work for the first 2 years. Who knows....I think I will freak out not being able to work...lol!!!


Anyway, I am in agreement with you, in this. Just try to keep your temper.

 

[SxyPrincess]

Short-term disability?

A co-worker of mine is also pregnant. She brings in a blanket and lays it down in her office however, she only does this the last 10-15 of her lunch break.

I wouldn't have sympathy for the lady in your office. I've got a 5 yr-old and I know what pregnancy feels like. No way in heck should she get special priviledges or be exempt from working. (maybe lifting heavy objects, though)

 

[SxyPrincess]

Originally posted by KBlues
OK, let me clarify something. I got a nasty Private Message from someone about this.

Was that person too embarassed to come forth? Maybe they don't feel so strongly about h/her opinion.

 

[pixiegirl]

Being a new mommy I'll put in my two cents. Sleeping on the job, big no no. I did get tired a lot late in my pregnancy and if I was really tired I would go to my car and nap during my lunch break. But I would always have my cell phone and have a friend call to wake me up when my hour was over. I took off two weeks before I was due since I was working in Crystal City and lived in SOMD. I sure didn't want to chance going into labor at work and getting stuck in traffic. As luch would have it I was 2 weeks late and ended up having an emergency c-section. I was out of work for 12 weeks total. As far as the disability is concerned.... That's really her business. If your company offers it and will accept the pregnancy as a disability then why shouldn't she take advantage of that time to bond with her child? I had no pay during my time off or else I would have stayed out longer.

 

[bknarw]

This is a really sore subject with me.
Now, granted, I've never been pregnant, and I never will, so I have to give you that lattitude, ladies.
However, the girl in the office next to me took 9 months to have her baby! She took off a month before the delivery and 8 afterward.
They took away my assistant so she could work solely on HER stuff, even though I was undergoing chemo at the time!
THEN (I'm not done yet)...she got back in August...and worked for two weeks before taking her freakin' vacation!!!
I just don't get it.
Oh, and please trash me for this if you see fit...as, again, I'm not a woman...but I have trouble being real sympathetic with all of the working moms in the office who get to take a day off every time the baby is sick. They get their sick days, and the baby's!
Now, granted, it'd be fair if I didn't get a big pile from the boss everytime I take a sick day (which really isn't often), but there's a girl here who's baby is always sick and she's always off, with no complaint whatsoever!

And who sent the PM?

 

[jazz lady]

Maybe she needs one of these

Engineer Designs 'Airbag Desk' for Tired Staff
Thu Oct 17, 1:13 PM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German engineer has designed a desk that converts into a giant pillow at the push of a button for flagging office workers in need of a quick snooze.

"At work I was often tempted to just lie down and take a quick afternoon nap," said Matthias Knigge whose "airbag table" will soon be on display at a Hamburg art gallery.

"The airbag table is designed for everyone who works hard at their desk and needs to take a quick nap," he told Reuters Thursday.

A prototype of the desk, made out of walnut, looks perfectly ordinary until a small button is pressed underneath. This activates a fan that inflates a bright orange airbag, which unfolds through an opened panel on the desktop.

But Knigge, a 32-year-old designer from the northern town of Ottensen, said he hoped his invention wouldn't encourage people to work even longer hours.

"The aim isn't to keep people chained to their desks 24 hours a day," he said. "I think people should get away from their desks at some point and get a life."

 

[JabbaJawz]

No sleeping on the job!

I'd definitely NOT be cool with her sleeping on the job all the time. That's not right and not fair to anyone else in the office. Pregnant or not pregnant, that's wrong.

Each company has a different policy for maternity leave, and when I had my daughter the place I worked for didn't have maternity leave at all - they stuck pregnancy under the short term disability column. I got to take 6 weeks off for normal delivery or 8 weeks for C-section. Neither was paid. I was able to use my sick/vacation leave and then it was leave w/o pay. There is the Family and Medical Leave Act, though, which allows a person to take an extended time period off and still have their job waiting for them when they return. It's w/o pay, of course, but protects people who want to remain away from work for an extended time period after the birth of a child, taking care of a sick family member, etc... While I agree her napping at the office is wrong, you can't blame her for wanting to take off after the baby is born. We all can't afford to do that, but people who can often times opt to stay home for longer periods of time. She has the right to request whatever amount of time she wants, and it's up to the company how they deal with that request, etc... And even though I'd resent the preggo chick enough already, Pixie has a point in saying that if the company is going to accept her claim as disability and she can afford it - she may as well go for it.

 

[Christy]

Okay, here's my take on it. With my first child I had ZERO problems (such as napping ) on the job. Heck, I went through military basic training being pregnant with my first kid (they didn't catch it thankfully or I'd have been sent home). I was just livid as a military woman seeing all the whiny pregnant women out there not pulling their own weight.

Then came the second pregnancy (who I have dubbed the demon! ) I was so sick, I was so tired, I was so darned miserable! My hormones went haywire and I was a DEMON! I was a total nutcase. I think my co-workers would have preferred I be off on disability!

As far as short term disability. She PAYS into it so why not use it in order to recover and adjust to a new chaos in her life? It's better than the long term disability called welfare! As taxpayers, we're not paying for disability insurance. Just my opinion.

 

[KBlues]

I understand that being pregnant is a drain on the body. And I know that it can get uncomfortable when you are getting bigger. But, this woman is only 11 weeks along. They days that she comes in, if she isn't sleeping, she complains about everything. Her back hurts, her feet hurt, she is getting fat, etc. And this isn't her first baby, it's her fourth. She is never here on time, she leaves early for doctors appointments, you name it, she has a reason not to work. I also understand that you need to take time off for doctors appointments and other kid stuff, but this happens at least 2 times every week. One day the excuse is she couldn't get a sitter for her other kids. The next it's because she isn't feeling well. Then, the next day she couldn't come in because she had to go sign up for birthing classes. This is her fourth kid. I wouldn't think she needs anymore birthing classes.

I wouldn't have a problem with her sleeping on her lunch break. It's her break to do what she wants, but during the day it's not right. And her constant time off is affecting the rest of us. We donated our vacation and sick time before she started pulling all this stuff. She has only been here for about 6 months.

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

 

[Katie]

I know when I was pregnant I was exhausted more then anything else. But I never slept on the job. I would usually go home for lunch and take a 1/2 hour nap. The only time I can remember when my work told me to go home is when I was in California and my morning sickness kicked in big time. I was sent up to my room for the entire afternoon becuase I was so sick. They have this thing about seeing a pregnant woman barf into a trash can during a conference. I had kept it pretty much a secret up until that point, but after that everyone knew i was prego.

 

[Kizzy]

I am one of those who didn't feel any different pregnant then I did when I wasn't, except my breast hurt like hell in the beginning and in the end I was so big I couldn't see my feet. I guess I was lucky, as a matter of fact I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant the first time until the 4th month and the second time it was near the 5th month. After the baby is born, we get 6 - 8 weeks off and that is it. We have to take any earned leave we have.

 

[RoseRed]

I lucked out. I only had morning sickness two times and was only tired, but it certainly did not keep me from doing my job.
I hardly missed any work except for a few appointments. I was taken off full days by my doctor at about 33 weeks due to bad leg swelling and then off for good at 36 weeks due to premature labor. I had my daughter at 37 weeks and I stayed home for 8 weeks, which was paid. I first had to exhaust my vacation/sick/personal leave, then went onto short term disability, so I never missed a full paycheck. The paid leave you receive is up to your company plan.

 

[vraiblonde]

Let me just rile everyone up by saying now you know why they don't like to hire women for top-level positions. Sorry, folks, I just call 'em as I see 'em. Women get pregnant. It's a fact of life. Men don't. Women also are more predisposed to wanting to stay home with their babies. Men aren't. That's something the feminists haven't figured out a solution to - how to keep women from inconveniencing their employers by getting pregnant.

Call me sexist if you want, but male and female bosses alike have no sympathy for someone who can't do their job. And that means pregnant women who are having a hard time.

 

[RoseRed]

I had already been in my job for 4 years so it made no difference and I am still there.

 

[Frank]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
Let me just rile everyone up by saying now you know why they don't like to hire women for top-level positions. Sorry, folks, I just call 'em as I see 'em. Women get pregnant. It's a fact of life. Men don't. Women also are more predisposed to wanting to stay home with their babies.

I have an article I clipped years ago that mentions this as one part of the pay gap between men and women. In comparable positions in most professions, it doesn't exist. But some disparity exists because women are more likely to leave the workforce - sometimes, permanently - or take leaves of absence - or request reduced hours, to accommodate family. Scaled out appropriately, it comes out nearly even.

I saved it a number of years ago - it included a lot of stuff. I'll see if I can dig it up on the Net.

 

[alex]

Kblues I agree with you 100%. My complaint is that many companies see pregancy as a disabililty and pay you for your time off, either in whole or in part after you have used your leave. However, when you adopt a child all you get is FMLA w/o pay! And when you adopt you are often required by the agency to stay home with child for a certain amount of time. I know Catholic Charities wanted one of us to stay home for a whole year with the child!

As for the sick time abuse that is up to your boss and the company policy. If the time can be used for sick children, etc. then she is okay. If the boss had any B***s he would document the abuse of sick time, etc and start a paper trail so if he does fire her she will have little chance of a suing. That is the biggest problem today. Bosses can't be bothered documenting employee work problems, etc. It is easier to just keep the bad employees and have moral drop through the floor.