Very easy to say that the employees without kids are being churlish here, but being asked to do more work without more compensation because you don’t have kids is actually very unfair and possibly illegal and absolutely grounds for frustration. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/technology/parents-time-off-backlash.html

The answer is not to get mad at parents, who are in an impossible position. It is to say that employers who reduce parents’ workloads either need to reduce expectations all around, or hire new folks to help out. Transferring it to those without kids is not fair.

And the answer also isn’t to get mad at non-parents when they say that it’s unfair to make work more without compensation so their coworkers can take extended periods of time off or work less without a pay cut. That’s not being selfish; it’s refusing workplace exploitation.

This also isn’t a short-term emergency when I agree everyone needs to step up. The pandemic has been on for six months and could last another year. These are long-term changes where non-parents are being asked to do far more without additional compensation.

Parental leave is good and parents should get more of it. Leave or a cutting of hours to enable parents to care for and teach their kids during this pandemic is good. What’s not good is not hiring additional folks to help fill those gaps.

We are so used to fighting for scraps and so used to employers having all the power that the response to this, even on the left, is “how dare non-parents complain, you have a job!” Instead of asking why employers aren’t coming up with a more equitable solution.

And no, this is not the same as parental leave, which is typically planned and only applicable to a small number of employees at a time. Good employers hire someone temporarily, or have a plan to distribute the work of the person on leave.

Many, many more employees are parents than are on parental leave at any given time. At a big company like Facebook, you’re talking significant chunks of your workforce. “Parents can work less” is great! But “...and non-parents will work more, indefinitely” is not.