(Untitled)

[plumerai]

You are a parent of a three-year-old, no other children. Your partner in parenting is out of town visiting family. The emergency daycare is full. There is a lot of work to do. You are the department head, of a two-person department. You work in an open-office arrangement (no private office, many coworkers a few feet away). ETA: The babysitter

Comments

[risala]

Bringing your kid to work would prevent not only YOU from working but a bunch of other people too.

[melograna]

Kids that small don't belong in an office all day -- there's nothing for them to do, nowhere for them to go, and it's not my co-workers' responsibility to entertain my kid.

Office managers need to understand that we work in order to sustain ourselves (and families), but that taking care of self/family is the *primary* objective and work doesn't come first in a situation like this.

Sorta O/T, but in Italy, parents (usually the mother) in the public sector, and some private sector jobs, can take unlimited sick days if their kids get sick. Sure, some folks abuse it a little, but it's a great idea to not penalize parents if their kids get sick.

[coopers_mom]

Kids that small don't belong in an office all day -- there's nothing for them to do, nowhere for them to go, and it's not my co-workers' responsibility to entertain my kid.

Totally...

[duchess_k]

I think once you are a parent your job is no longer the A#1 priority, even if it may still be very important to you.

I have parents of little ones in my department, and they occasionally have emergencies like this. Since our country won't be more like Sweden, I try to be, and try to keep in mind that some flexibility on my part in regards to these things can be very important. Also working in a deadline-based profession, any short-staffed day can feel like a disaster, but it too will pass, and if I can contribute to a family-friendly workplace by not giving my staff a hard time when things like this come up, I think I have a better department for it.

[gusset_putty]

That would have to be an exceptionally advanced three year old to not interfere with every ones work. Either way someone or a lot of someones lose. Three years old - I choose stay at home and at the very least come in for a very brief period.

[fuzzilla]

Bringing a 3-year-old to work in an office wouldn't even register as an option to me, either.

How was this resolved? Was the person sent home?

[plumerai]

She left around 4 with her kid in tow. I felt bad for her and she did her best, but it really was distracting.