Were you ever a childless supervisor of someone else who had kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"This country has a choice: It can start creating more jobs with salaries capable of supporting a family on one income, or it can accept the reality that in families where both parents are working something is going to have to give when things happen with kids."

I had a staffer who was frequently tardy because she did the school drop off for her kid. She refused to pay for onsite, before school, childcare, explore the possibilty of her husband doing the drop offs, or change her work schedule. Her tardiness and inflexibility were noted in Performance Evaluations, and she was denied raises and promotions. She was one of the "Family First" types, a former SAHM, who never got it.

When our Fed agency had personnel cuts, she was the first to be dismissed. She is not missed. Something had to give and it was her employment with our agency.

Wow, you sound like a lovely human being.

OP, have you considered cutting your hours a little? Maybe work part time? Unfortunately, there are a lot of supervisors out there who are unsympathetic or are unwilling to be flexible for parents. It's just the reality today, (especially in this county). A long time ago we didn't have to deal with this situation as much. Back then there was usually just one parent working while the other stayed home to take care of the kids. But now both parents have to work just to pay the rent and get by. That's difficult when you have kids.

[Anonymous]

I was a childless (and young!) supervisor of a woman who worked part-time for me. She had 4 children under the age of 6.

She was unbelievably irresponsible, overcommitted, and unable to manage her life. It wasn't just the kids - it was the multiple part-time jobs and the kids and her many varied interests/activities.

I tried to keep things as flexible as I could for her, but she was routinely 30-45 minutes late to work (for a 3 or 4 hour "shift"); talked on her cell phone incessantly while at work; changed her schedule constantly (asked permission, but it was multiple times a week).

After a year, we managed to change her position to a full-time position and then another unit picked her up on a part-time basis. She lasted about 4 months for them and then she left. I don't think they were as flexible/ understanding as I had been! (or maybe I was just a pushover...it was my first time supervising anyone)