Corner Office: Child-Free Workers

June 19 -- Let's say you've got a female employee and Max is her … prize teddy bear.

Max has his own wardrobe in her closet, his own place at her kitchen table, and a favorite chair for watching TV. This worker even buys Max a seat when they fly. So if she asks for a day off because Max needs her, would you let her take it?

Before you answer, consider some other situations. What if Max were your employee's golden retriever? What if she is a Meals on Wheels volunteer and Max is a housebound elderly man? Would you give her the time if Max were her 5-year-old nephew? Her grandfather? Her boyfriend? Her 10-year-old son?

Know the Issue

These situations are at the center of workplace skirmishes that threaten to erupt into full-scale warfare, because most employers will only give this worker the time if Max is her son, and employees without children resent that.

“Our company says it wants to help balance the demands of work and personal life,” might say one of your child-free employees, “but they seem to think that personal life is the same as children. I’m tired of watching the parents walk out of here at 5 to pick up their kids while the rest of stay here and work. It isn’t fair.”

This is a highly emotional issue. Parents argue that juggling work and family is tough. They face child-care crises, doctors’ appointments and family situations that require them to take time off. They say their co-workers don’t see the time they work at home after the kids are in bed. Besides, they argue, someone has to raise the next generation.

Parents in the Workplace

Fair enough, say those without children, but we’re tired of feeling that our personal lives don’t matter. Such an employee might say: “I get asked all the time to help out so someone can go to his kid’s soccer game, or whatever. And I do it. But when I ask them to return the favor so I can do something that’s important to me, they’re always too busy.”