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My employee is pregnant, how can I best accomodate her?
So today my employee L told me she's 3 months pregnant. Hooray! She's keeping it hush-hush until they find out the gender, but she told me to give me the heads up. I know she and her husband have had some fertility issues, so I really want to be supportive of her. She's on her feet most of the day, so I'm going to start giving her more work she can do seated and make sure she gets plenty of breaks. Other than that, what can I do to make it easier for her to work through her pregnancy?
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Re: My employee is pregnant, how can I best accomodate her?
BFP #1 9/7/10, EDD 5/14/11, Violet born 5/27/11.
BFP #2 4/9/12, EDD 12/16/12, M/C Rory 4/24/12.
BFP #3 10/6/12, EDD 6/16/12., Matilda born 6/17/13.
I totally agree with this. I would feel so appreciated as an employee just to even hear that.
This exactly! My boss was amazing with accommodating my appointments (I was high risk so there were lots of them). That was a huge help and weight off my shoulders. Also helping with assigning tasks that keep her off her feet, especially later on. Allowing her plenty of time to eat or snack is important too.
You are a very nice person.
When I was pregnant, all I wanted was to be treated normal, I was pregnant, not handicap. People asking me "how you feeling" 10 times a day drove me crazy.
I would let her know that she can take breaks whenever she feels tired, but I wouldnt give her more seated work. If she is used to walking all day, she will be fine doing so, it might be even better for her to continue keeping the same pace. So I would just let her know that doesnt have to push herself if she feels tired or sick, and that you are there for her. Thats all.
You are awesome! Just wanted to put that out there. My boss was really good with my pregnancy... some things that I loved were...
Again, you are a great boss! Hope this helps!
I
you as an employer. PPs said it best, just be accommodating. Know that she may need to come in late or leave early if she's not feeling well, call off without too much notice (there were days when I couldn't get out of bed, no matter what I did), will have multiple doctors appointments. Just be flexible. She should be willing to make up the time as needed (I worked through a lot of lunches lol).
Also, make sure she knows her job is secure after the baby. If she happens to bring up the fact that she wants to breastfeed, try to find an appropriate area for her to pump in when she returns (that ISN'T a bathroom, and with a door that locks, preferably). It was really nice knowing that my boss was excited for me, and not just seeing me as an employee with potential issues.
You rock.
I'm a pastry chef and the only accommodation I got was a break on lifting more than 25 lbs, and that was after I brought a note from my OB. I stil worked standing in a hot room, on my feet, loading ovens all day. Anytime I did sit for a 5 minute break, I'd get the side eye. I love my career, but never imagined how much having a big round belly could get in the way.
I totally agree with the PP who said don't make it look like special treatment. Toward the very end, I had to temporarily cut my 9 hour day to an 8 hour day (after saving all of PTO for a year) and you would have thought I was only working for 3 hours the way some of my coworkers reacted.
Oh, my business is breastfeeding friendly. I've thrown people out for giving breastfeeding moms a hard time.