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Salesforce just announced that they'd be giving employees who are parents an additional 6 weeks of PTO.
This is excellent news. Parents, especially those with young children, absolutely need and deserve this.
That being said, the policy itself is problematic.
Here's why.
This is excellent news. Parents, especially those with young children, absolutely need and deserve this.
That being said, the policy itself is problematic.
Here's why.
Let me start by saying:
You can both feel deeply for parents—especially those taking care of young and school-age children during this hellscape of a pandemic—*and* feel that this benefit should be extended beyond those who are parents.
The two are not mutually exclusive.
You can both feel deeply for parents—especially those taking care of young and school-age children during this hellscape of a pandemic—*and* feel that this benefit should be extended beyond those who are parents.
The two are not mutually exclusive.
And extra time to stay home with kids and juggle responsibilities in an already impossible situation is not really a vacation, to be sure. It is less "time off" and more "time on, just reallocated". It's just as much—possibly more—for the benefit of the kids as it is for parents.
Who gets time off really shouldn't be a competition. Now more than ever, we need empathy and collaboration and to assume best intent. But here's the thing: policies like this can make it feel like a competition. It sends the message to non-parents that they *must* have it easier.
And that may well be true but it's not necessarily. Everyone is struggling in some way right now, kids or no kids; it's not so much a matter of if as it is a matter of how. While parents are juggling childcare and homeschooling and work, non-parents may be fighting other battles.
It's important to remember that many non-parents are also caregivers: for elderly or sick parents, relatives, and loved ones. They, too, could use a reprieve from their double duties. Meanwhile, countless other non-parents are in the throes of crippling loneliness and isolation.
Speaking of loneliness and isolation, that's a literal epidemic in and of itself (and was one long before the pandemic even hit). It's stigmatized to the point that it's not talked about nearly enough but that doesn't make it any less real. It's time we acknowledged it seriously.
Furthermore, childless doesn't always mean chose not to have children. Sometimes it means desperately wants children but can't have them or decided against it for medical reasons. Sometimes it means lost a child. Sometimes it means still trying to have one, even against the odds.
Either way, requirements on our time stem from far more than just parental status. Working parents with a stay-at-home counterpart will likely struggle less than single parents or parents who are both working. They may likewise also struggle less than non-parents. All are valid.
By this logic, shouldn't all PTO be needs-based, or distributed on account of our family status or other obligations?
"But that wouldn't be fair!" Exactly.
Not only would this approach get increasingly complicated, it would also disadvantage those less able or willing to ask.
"But that wouldn't be fair!" Exactly.
Not only would this approach get increasingly complicated, it would also disadvantage those less able or willing to ask.
Not to mention, it's illegal for employers to make hiring decisions based on family status (it's another matter that many do so anyway, which is abhorrent and outright discriminatory). If family status is not considered at the time of hiring, shouldn't that remain the case now?
And finally, what will happen with the reallocation of work? Is there going to be a general slowdown of initiatives (in which case, great) or will there be the tacit expectation that non-parents—simply by virtue of not having children—will take on extra work to keep up the pace?
The latter is unfair even in regular times™, but all the more so given pandemic woes. Too often those "without a family" (terrible phrase btw) are expected to work extra hours for that reason alone. This could lead to more burnout and resentment—the last thing we need right now.
All of this to say, no one is getting out of this thing unscathed. Policies subsidizing childcare are fantastic. But when it comes to time—which literally any human alive in 2020 could use more of to spend in the ways they need most—why not extend this kindness/courtesy to all?
In a nutshell: It's a freaking pandemic. Things are not normal and literally no one has it easy right now. The "be kinder than necessary because everyone you know is fighting their own battle" has never been more apparent. Let's ensure our policies are inclusive and reflect this.
