HOW TO THINK ABOUT PERIOD LEAVES

Are you one of those people who gets angry when you hear that women should be given days off to deal with menstrual cramps? Do you feel ‘period leaves’ are unfair? That they will be ‘misused’? That it’ll ‘increase discrimination against women’?

For you I propose a more radical solution - leaves for all medical conditions. Migraines. Allergies. Depression. Perhaps now you don’t feel so much rage? Ask yourself why. Is it because only women get periods?

Still upset? Consider this. When designing a traffic signal, do you design it for only able-bodied people, or do you design it so everyone can get where they want to? The aged. The infirm. The blind. Those in wheelchairs.

One of the reasons your workplace exists is so people can get to where they want to in life. If you design it only for the ‘able-bodied’ you’re doing wrong.

“But svs”, you say “business is about competition. Only the fittest survive. Your traffic signal analogy is moot”

Here’s another radical idea - unlimited sick leaves will not destroy your organization. If it does it’s because you’re a lazy manager. Ultimately the success of your organization depends on how people feel when they come to work.

People ‘misusing’ your policy *are* sick. They’re sick of working with you.

Someone misusing policies for personal gain will soon show their work ethic in all areas of their professional life. Finding these people is not hard and nothing about ‘period leaves’ stops you from firing for performance reasons.

@ponnappa once told me that GoJek’s unlimited sick leave policy was the best leading indicator for finding teams with issues. There’s tremendous signal in that sick-leave data.

And if you’ve ever worked in a team where the members deeply believe that the organization cares for and supports them, you’ll know that this morale easily makes up for a few day’s missed work.

Ultimately, it is not just about the hours you put in.

And final note to those who say this will lead to increased discrimination against women. Don’t worry so much about this imaginary future.

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