Daffodil International University
Faculty of Humanities and Social Science => English => Topic started by: A.S. Rafi on December 22, 2013, 07:34:08 PM
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You spend every night at the office, cluttering your desk with takeout containers. Your coworkers with kids are out the door at 5. Does work-life balance apply only to moms?
Ayana Byrd reports on the latest type of workplace discrimination.
When Simone Allen started a demanding job as a litigation attorney at a large Philadelphia law firm a year ago, the 32-year-old packed her after-work calendar to ensure that she wouldn't spend every night at the office: guitar lessons on Monday, Pilates on Friday, and a healthy mix of dates and nights out with friends in between. But in a matter of weeks, her classes fell by the wayside; she couldn't get out of the office in time. And dating? Not in months.
Instead, she's spending most nights poring over her cases—and she's one of the only ones working such intense overtime at her office. With more than 100 lawyers on staff at her firm, fewer than five are single and do not have kids, says Allen, and overwhelmingly, those are the attorneys juggling the extra load. "My coworkers with families make a point to get home by dinnertime," says Allen, who often works through the weekends. "But if they stay late, their families will still be there. If I have to cancel a date for work, that guy won't be around the next night. I figured I'd be married by now, but I'm honestly working too hard to find the person I'd want to marry."
It's the newest form of workplace discrimination: single women who carry an undue burden at the office, batting cleanup for their married-with-kids coworkers. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's best-selling book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, makes a strong case for women fully committing to their careers, but this kind of non-optional "leaning in" is not what she's advocating. Instead, it's an inequity simmering under the surface in many corporate cultures, says social scientist Bella DePaulo, Ph.D., author of Singlism: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Stop It. According to DePaulo, "singlism" represents the myriad ways that our culture rewards married couples, from discounts on car insurance to preferential treatment in the housing market, while treating singles as second-class citizens—and it's increasing in the office.
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You can read the rest of the article here:
http://www.marieclaire.com/career-money/jobs/single-girls-second-shift
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Thanks for the link, Rafi.
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you are welcome Madam :)
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You ca say that Rafi....That's kind of a necessity for a Mom to be at home than Papa. Alternative stay of both of them is not possible in our country at least. So, work life balance somehow applies for Mummy's only till date.
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Thank you Rabeya for shedding another light. But that was not the point. If you read the article, then you should know that the comparison is not between Mom and Dad, rather it's between parents and non-parent workers.
According to the article, I think the phrase "Only to Moms" is offensive and it gives the Singles a feeling of being exploited at the workplace. Whenever extra loads come, you must hear, "S/he is a single, S/he has time to do it" as if S/he has no life outside the job. No life means no need for balance-- it is an office discrimination and any kind of discrimination is highly objectionable!
Everybody has important obligations, whether it's a course for personal development, exercise, caring for an elderly family member, or taking a vacation to boost up your energy for the next term!
This article is worth reading!
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Thanks for clearing the way. I was thinking it from another point of view. You see, one always thinks based on what s/he has on own plate.
Anyway, I agree with you, not completely though. There should be a kind of a mutual relation among coworkers when it comes for extra loads and activites. It is not that all the parents should always be freed from extra loads and all, but sometimes they really need it. And it never means singles are always free and must be obliged. Nothing should be a burden on either side.
Thanks for raising the concern.
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I agree with Rafi and want to add that sometimes people with a good sense of sincerity are also victim to extra job responsibility. That is marketed in the job field as a sort of recognition though...
Regards,
Shamsi
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Everybody needs a work- life balance otherwise may be affected by burn-out: a psychological difficulty which in the long run can even affect one's physic severely...
Regards,
Shamsi
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Rafi:
Nice post :)
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Seriously Shampa Apu?!? :o
I don't believe you! :D ;D
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Shamsi apu,
Thank you so much. Not to overgeneralize.......from my little experience, I saw few good individuals got 'recognition'( read it appreciation) in the long run, but in case of career progress, they lagged behind a lot as they hardly got enough time for their own. So I think, here you also need to make a balance.
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Nice reply ;) :D ;)
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nice Shampa apu responded nicely with lots of nice, but too much nice is not nice, so be nice only when it's nicely required ;D