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managing a pregnant woman who is struggling
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Anonymous
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hello folks:
just looking for advice as to how to handle this situation. i work for a small organization. one of my supervisees is pregnant (and has admitted that it is unplanned and she is stuggling with handling it, her boyfriend etc). she has been asking to leave early or come in late pretty much every day for going on three weeks. she says she is tired and nauseous. i am sure she is, but i am starting to run into trouble with our department's deliverables--it's a non-negotiable montly number that we have to hit. wwyd? so far, i've been just letting her go, but this cannot go on too long. what might some of her options be? |
Anonymous
| I had a tough pregnancy, a horrific pregnancy. I was on bedrest for a portion of my pregnancy. That being said, I met everyone of my delieverables and I met with my supervisor to arrange times to work from home to make sure that I could complete my projects on time. Pregnancy is not an illness, it is not a disability. I was on bedrest and working from my computer to complete tasks. If you are unable to do your job because you are pregnant - then you are unable to do your job. |
aprilmayjune
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I worked security when I was pregnant for a retail establishment, I was put on bedrest, and was unable to do my job from home, but I wasn't able to perform all of my job responsibilities if I were at the job also. However, after the baby was born, I returned to work for a while, and guess what... I was able to do my job. My point is, that this is a very generic presumption and isn't the case for everyone. There are some things that are unsafe to do while you're pregnant, and that doesn't mean you're unable to do your job when you're not. OP, what is this person's job responsibilities? I'm assuming you're a parent so you probably have a pretty good idea about what's safe and what's not.. Is this something that she SHOULD have no problem doing? If so, than you need to talk to her about it.. Perhaps find a different job within your company to do and replace her at her previous position if this is a possibility or necessity? |
Anonymous
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You can let her know that if she is going to need to keep taking time off work that you two should sit down and put a plan in place. The leave can be counted against her FMLA so if you start documenting it as such she will realize that the time she's taking off now will be shaved off her 12 week FMLA maternity leave. You would also require a doctors note for the "documentation".
This should get her back on track. If she gets the doctors note and understands that she's using up her leave now then you should trust that she is truly sick enough not to work a full day at this point. The time she's taking off now will net out when she's required to return from maternity leave a month early in order to hold her position so technically you won't be loosing out as much. |
Anonymous
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thanks for the input.
the work is office-based, so i guess, yes, she should be able to do this. i know some women get have extreme nausea and even lose weight. in that case, would be she eligible for some kind of extended sick leave or disability? |
Anonymous
I'm a manager and I'd let it slide. We have a very tight team and we would rally around the girl. We had a similar situation, one of our team members was going through a divorce because his wife cheated and left him. He was blindsided and was a complete wreck; we basically let him slack and he got back on track. |
Anonymous
Are you going to be held responsible for the deliverables that aren't met? Are there other people who can fill the gap? Can she work from home? FMLA can assist with leave (if she doesn't have) but a lot of it will be unpaid if your company doesn't have leave stored for her. As a supervisor if she needs to be on extended leave prior to her pregnancy, I would also work with her to factor in how this will work into her maternity leave plans (how long is she planning on taking, does she have that leave factored in). You may need to work with your HR. |
Anonymous
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I would have a conversation with her about how her health related issues, if on-going, will need to be considered intermittent FMLA. Get her the forms for her DR. or get her to HR. If this continues you'll be glad you did it, although once she understands that she only has so much FMLA (12 weeks in MD AND VA 16 in DC) she might realize that she needs to power through these early months and save that time.
If I were her supervisor I would be understanding to a point and I think that is where you get yourself into trouble. If this continues and other people start to notice, or she impacts deadlines etc. , you want to be able to say you have a handle on the situation. |
Anonymous
NO -- FMLA is for serious medical conditions. If this woman has a serious complication of pregnancy such as liver disease or hyperemesis and can document that, she may use her FMLA. But FMLA may not be used for the normal symptoms of pregnancy such as fatigue and nausea. |
Anonymous
| BTW APRILMAYJUNE is starting to drive me bananas. |
Anonymous
| 14:17 again. She may qualify for other forms of leave, and she may need an accommodation under your workplace's disability policy. |
Anonymous
FMLA is anything a doctor says is a serious medical condition. The Dr. doesn''t really have to elaborate and frankly he/she could simply say it is stress. In my experience companies are wary of trying to disprove FMLA claims and if you find the right doctor it is pretty easy to get the form filled out. |
Anonymous
IF your company wants to open the door to this sort of use of FMLA, that's your choice. But good luck when someone wants to use 12 weeks of FMLA for their headaches, their cramps, their feelings of anxiety, and any little ache and pain that they are experiencing. Because you won't be able to say no. |
Anonymous
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I had hyperemisis gravidum (is that how you spell it?) and was a mess. And this was without any partner drama. Fortunately, my supervisor was open to my explaining the situation, and allowed me to tweak my hours a bit (I honestly wasn't able to get in before 11 a.m.).
I would approach her in a spirit of cooperative problem solving and see what you guys can come up with together. There has to be a way to be flexible and still get the deliverables out. |
Anonymous
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I had an unplanned pregnancy last year, with a rather new boyfried to boot, last year. Very stressful and life altering. Does she have anyone to talk to?
I'd give her a little slack, but really if she is leaving early or coming in late, she should be making up for it in the evening and weekend if she's able to do work from home. If she's close to her second trimester (which she likely is since she's announced her pregnancy), she should start feeling better soon. Personally, I came in early and left late every day I didn't have a doctor's appointment - no reason to screw up your job, too!! |