- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Working Moms
Maternity Leave Proposal - what if you just don't know?
Hello all - I'm pg for the first time, and planning to break the news at work in the next couple of weeks.
I am very lucky to work at a company with great benefits and plan to take all of the leave I can, along with any vacation I have saved up, which should be about 20 weeks-ish.
But when I have the conversation with my boss, I don't know what I want to do at the end of leave: work part time (not sure about hours), work full time but partially from home, work full time as usual? And though I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a SAHM, I guess there's a small possibility of that too. A lot will obviously depend on our financial situation as well.
So how do I approach the discussion? I can't predict what will happen when my life completely changes 
So I can't lay out an exact plan of what I want. Have you folks left it open ended and then discussed it after the baby shows up? How did that work out for you?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Maternity Leave Proposal - what if you just don't know?
when I talked to my residency director, I told her that I was thinking of returning part-time vs. full time. I gave a tentative number for how much time I wanted off for maternity leave. Nothing was set in stone until after I had the baby. If you are thinking of returning part-time, I think it's a good idea to ask your boss about it and find out how/if that would work, how it would affect your pay/benefits. You really have plenty of time to figure out if what would work for you.
For the same reasons that I wouldn't say anything about looking for another job until you are actually thinking of leaving, I wouldn't say anything about SAH unless you are sure that is your plan.
Have you actually heard from your boss that this is what you're allowed to do? Typically, FMLA policy requires that you use any accrued paid vacation as part of your 12 weeks, not in addition to it. Just a warning not to get your hopes up...
Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you really do get 20 weeks, that is awesome! I would advocate strongly to try to get the PT gig. This will allow you to see what it's like to be at home with your baby during the week but you'll also get to see the benefits of working.
Regardless of what you come up with, I'd try VERY hard to stick out your plan until your baby is about 6 mos old.. So if you do get your 20 weeks, that's only 6 weeks of a 'trial' run. Do not base your decision on your first week back (if you do end up going back) because that week is crazy!
Let your boss know about the pregnancy, and that, at this time you are planning to return to work although wanted to know if it was possible for you to come back P/T. You both might need to do some thinking about that, so give your boss time after the conversation. Do you know if your company supports P/T workers? I know at mine, it wouldn't really be possible.
I also agree with pp... whatever you end up doing (F/T, P/T), give it 6 months. In fact, I'd say give it 6 months after going back to work to make a decision. When I went back, I'd do a monthly check-in with myself about what was working, what was not working, and how/if it could be changed and that really helped me to realistically evaluate my situation.
GL!
Find out what options are available before you try to make a decision. If you work P/T, you may not be entitled to benefits, such as health insurance and disabilty. Once you determine all of the options, then you and your husband need to make a choice about your plans after the baby is born. Once you made a decision, then you can let your boss know your plans(of course you would have already told your boss that you are pregnant when you discussed the options available to you). In most cases, you are able to change your mind if needed, however, this would obviously be frowned upon by your boss. If you can work p/t, it is obviously an easier transition to returning to work. Take your time, and make the best decision for your family. Keep in mind that when you return to work, it will feel much harder at first. It does become easier once you get back into the routine. Also, please note that working at home usually still requires DC or a sitter. Congrats and GL.
It's wonderful that your employer was able to be so flexible - that's really not something everyone can count on. If one of my employees asks for such a long maternity leave, then I have to re-assign her work (without re-assigning her salary) for the time she's gone. If I contract with a temp, then it's not fair to suddenly kick them temp out because the employee has decided she feels she's ready to come back - and with a contract, it may not even be possible. And there's no way I could accommodate someone deciding to be part-time, then not, then part-time, etc.
Thanks everyone - this is really great info. I work for a huge company, which does accomodate folks working P/T so I know it's *possible*.
Thanks for the heads up on FMLA and vacation, I'll check into that as well.
When I told my boss that I was pregnant, I also told them that I would be taking the max amount of maternity leave allowed at work (3 months) and that I would be coming back full time after that.
I would just see what happens for now. You may change your mind a lot with the hours you want to wor & you don't want to get stuck with the decision you make right now for something that isn't going to happen for 9 months.
Good luck!
FWIW, I work for a large company as well, and I'm allowed to take 20 weeks of leave (8 paid/12 unpaid) without touching my vacation or sick time. One other thing to be aware of is that FMLA only guarantees your job for 12 weeks. So anyone at my company who takes over 12 weeks of leave is not guaranteed to return to their same job, only to a comparable position within the company.
Anyway. I agree with the poster who said to ask for everything you might possibly want and then cut back later. With DD, I asked for the full 20 weeks off. Towards the end of my leave, it became clear that it would be better for me to come back two weeks early. So I asked my boss if it was OK and his response was, "You want to come back two weeks early? Sold!"
This time around, I'm not sure my (new) boss will let me take the full 20 weeks off, and I'm not sure we can afford it anyway. But I still plan to ask for it as a starting point, and then adjust down if I need to.
Mommy to DD1 (June 2007), DS (January 2010), DD2 (July 2012), and The Next One (EDD 3/31/2015)
Thx flyer. I think the job situation is the same at my co, too - you get your same job at 12 weeks, and a comparable one if you take the unpaid leave as well. However, in practice, nearly everyone gets their job back.
Yeah, that's the trouble I'm having - by the time I'm done with mat leave, it's about a year from now, and even without a kid, I'm having a hard time imagining what I want a year from now
I left it pretty open-ended. When I told them I was pg, I told them I'd be taking maternity leave, but I didn't figure out how long until later in the pg. I also told them I wanted to explore with them working from home 1 day a week. I was lucky that they were able to be flexible and we just kept in contact. By the end of your pregnacy, you'll probably have to have a little more of a plan, but I don't think it's very reasonable to expect you to have it all figured out at 9 (or 12) weeks.
In my job, I think a lot of women have even had pretty open-ended maternity leaves. A friend of mine kept extending hers because of daycare problems, and another woman I am told is on leave until "April or May." It just depends on what your company is willing to do to accommodate you.
Anandi,
I can't answer this question, since I'm currently unemployed :-( But I wanted to tell you that I replied to your private message. Sorry it's so late, I was away helping my parents out for the week.
Sam