As an employee...
1. Know your rights
If you want a more family-friendly workplace, you first need to know your legal rights, and you also need to know your workplace's policies, both formal and informal ones. The US Department of Labor is a great source of information about labor laws. You may also want to look up laws for your specific state. Connecticut, for example, has paid sick day requirements, and California and New Jersey have parental leave laws.
To find out about your employer's formal policies, check your handbook. You may also find more information on your company's website. The larger your company, the more likely it is that you'll find formal, written policies regarding situations such as sick days, part-time work, or telecommuting.
If you can't find any policies, or if the written policies are less than what you're hoping for, you might still be able to make your own arrangements with your boss.
Find out what informal policies exist. Some employers might automatically grant maternity leave requests, and others might negotiate them on an individual basis. Ask if anyone else in your workplace has ever cut back their hours before. Has anyone ever tried job-sharing, and how well did it work out in their situation?
2. Know your value
If you're a good employee, your company will want to make you happy so you'll stick around. Remind them about all the great things you've done for them. That huge acquisition last year that you helped negotiate? That project where the clients were so happy with your designs? Be as specific as possible. Qualities are nice to have, but if you can frame it in terms of results, then you'll appear even more valuable. You're dedicated? Try telling them exactly how many projects you completed ahead of deadline. You work well in groups? Explain how your group's collaboration improved last year's results by 15 percent.
And, speaking of value, you might want to remind them how much it would cost to replace you vs. how much it would cost to pay you maternity leave (or cut back your hours or let you telecommute). Most research puts the price of worker replacement at about 150 percent of a worker's annual salary.
3. Educate yourself
You can start with this site for basic information. For more in-depth information, you can click on the links throughout this site or do some research on your own. There are books that discuss these issues. Some sites offer guides and templates for requesting maternity leave, flexibility, job sharing, and more (click here for a quick list).
Tip: It may strengthen your position if you also study the business case for your request. Some employers may be supportive or even encouraging of your family obligations, but most still want to know how your proposal affects their bottom line, so if you throw in some numbers about productivity increases or turnover decreases, it may help. You could also mention other companies' success in implementing family-friendly programs, either on a small or a broad scale.
4. Ask for what you need...and then some
One of the basic rules of negotiation is to ask for more than what you want. Some employees might be nervous about asking for too much because they're concerned that they'll lose their jobs or brand themselves as less committed. But, just as when you ask for a raise, you need to start high. Then if your boss thinks he or she can't spare you for twenty weeks, you can compromise on sixteen. If you start low, you'll probably end up with even less than you ask for.
5. Put it in writing
Now that you've learned about the family-friendly benefits you hope to ask for, start putting fingers to keyboard. Make a proposal with everything you're asking for included. This will help you and your boss clearly understand what you want (and it might help you remember what to say, if you're nervous).
Make sure you state the following very clearly in your proposal: what you're asking for, what you'll miss while you're gone (or not at the office so often), how these responsibilities will be covered, and how communication will happen in your absence.
In the case of job sharing, your proposal might be more complex--you'll have to spell out specifics such as who will cover which responsibility, how the two of you will communicate, how your performance review will be handled, and more.
During your meeting, make sure you have a written record of what was said during your negotiations, and get your boss to sign it. Then, if there are any disputes or misunderstandings, you'll find out sooner rather than later. And remember that your meeting with your boss may not be a one-time event. Be flexible and sensitive to your boss's concerns to increase your chances that he or she will do the same for you.
6. Suggest a trial period
If your boss isn't sure how well your proposal will work, a trial period (say, six months) might mitigate some risks. Your proposal, after all, affects not just you, but also your co-workers, customers or clients, products, team dynamics, and more. If no one in your organization has ever tried your work arrangement before, the effects are especially unknown. So if you give your boss a chance to renegotiate, he or she has a way to address any issues that may come up and will appreciate your willingness to adjust.
7. Start a group
If you want your workplace to be more understanding of family responsibilities, the chances are you're not alone. Most workers, both male and female, deal with family responsibilities every day, whether that means children of their own, parents, or someone else. And many workers report high levels of work-family conflict.
The possibilities here are endless--you could form a work-life committee, and ask your co-workers what changes could increase their job satisfaction and make their family lives easier. You could hold brainstorming sessions about how to implement family-friendly benefits in your workplace. You could submit a report to your boss about the benefits other companies have seen from making their culture more family-friendly. You don't have to limit yourself to your workplace, either. You could start a group in your community (such as this BYU women's group) or even in your ward or stake.
8. Be an example
Even if all your co-workers are single and childless (and also have perfectly healthy parents), chances are some of them would appreciate family-friendly benefits as well. They may be considering starting a family sometime in the future, or they may appreciate your workplace's efforts as a diversity measure. Some co-workers may want flexibility to go back to school, or want extra time for personal pursuits such as traveling. You may feel like you are one of the first to initiate change, but your boldness in pioneering family-friendly measures can be an example for others.
If you want a more family-friendly workplace, you first need to know your legal rights, and you also need to know your workplace's policies, both formal and informal ones. The US Department of Labor is a great source of information about labor laws. You may also want to look up laws for your specific state. Connecticut, for example, has paid sick day requirements, and California and New Jersey have parental leave laws.
To find out about your employer's formal policies, check your handbook. You may also find more information on your company's website. The larger your company, the more likely it is that you'll find formal, written policies regarding situations such as sick days, part-time work, or telecommuting.
If you can't find any policies, or if the written policies are less than what you're hoping for, you might still be able to make your own arrangements with your boss.
Find out what informal policies exist. Some employers might automatically grant maternity leave requests, and others might negotiate them on an individual basis. Ask if anyone else in your workplace has ever cut back their hours before. Has anyone ever tried job-sharing, and how well did it work out in their situation?
2. Know your value
If you're a good employee, your company will want to make you happy so you'll stick around. Remind them about all the great things you've done for them. That huge acquisition last year that you helped negotiate? That project where the clients were so happy with your designs? Be as specific as possible. Qualities are nice to have, but if you can frame it in terms of results, then you'll appear even more valuable. You're dedicated? Try telling them exactly how many projects you completed ahead of deadline. You work well in groups? Explain how your group's collaboration improved last year's results by 15 percent.
And, speaking of value, you might want to remind them how much it would cost to replace you vs. how much it would cost to pay you maternity leave (or cut back your hours or let you telecommute). Most research puts the price of worker replacement at about 150 percent of a worker's annual salary.
3. Educate yourself
You can start with this site for basic information. For more in-depth information, you can click on the links throughout this site or do some research on your own. There are books that discuss these issues. Some sites offer guides and templates for requesting maternity leave, flexibility, job sharing, and more (click here for a quick list).
Tip: It may strengthen your position if you also study the business case for your request. Some employers may be supportive or even encouraging of your family obligations, but most still want to know how your proposal affects their bottom line, so if you throw in some numbers about productivity increases or turnover decreases, it may help. You could also mention other companies' success in implementing family-friendly programs, either on a small or a broad scale.
4. Ask for what you need...and then some
One of the basic rules of negotiation is to ask for more than what you want. Some employees might be nervous about asking for too much because they're concerned that they'll lose their jobs or brand themselves as less committed. But, just as when you ask for a raise, you need to start high. Then if your boss thinks he or she can't spare you for twenty weeks, you can compromise on sixteen. If you start low, you'll probably end up with even less than you ask for.
5. Put it in writing
Now that you've learned about the family-friendly benefits you hope to ask for, start putting fingers to keyboard. Make a proposal with everything you're asking for included. This will help you and your boss clearly understand what you want (and it might help you remember what to say, if you're nervous).
Make sure you state the following very clearly in your proposal: what you're asking for, what you'll miss while you're gone (or not at the office so often), how these responsibilities will be covered, and how communication will happen in your absence.
In the case of job sharing, your proposal might be more complex--you'll have to spell out specifics such as who will cover which responsibility, how the two of you will communicate, how your performance review will be handled, and more.
During your meeting, make sure you have a written record of what was said during your negotiations, and get your boss to sign it. Then, if there are any disputes or misunderstandings, you'll find out sooner rather than later. And remember that your meeting with your boss may not be a one-time event. Be flexible and sensitive to your boss's concerns to increase your chances that he or she will do the same for you.
6. Suggest a trial period
If your boss isn't sure how well your proposal will work, a trial period (say, six months) might mitigate some risks. Your proposal, after all, affects not just you, but also your co-workers, customers or clients, products, team dynamics, and more. If no one in your organization has ever tried your work arrangement before, the effects are especially unknown. So if you give your boss a chance to renegotiate, he or she has a way to address any issues that may come up and will appreciate your willingness to adjust.
7. Start a group
If you want your workplace to be more understanding of family responsibilities, the chances are you're not alone. Most workers, both male and female, deal with family responsibilities every day, whether that means children of their own, parents, or someone else. And many workers report high levels of work-family conflict.
The possibilities here are endless--you could form a work-life committee, and ask your co-workers what changes could increase their job satisfaction and make their family lives easier. You could hold brainstorming sessions about how to implement family-friendly benefits in your workplace. You could submit a report to your boss about the benefits other companies have seen from making their culture more family-friendly. You don't have to limit yourself to your workplace, either. You could start a group in your community (such as this BYU women's group) or even in your ward or stake.
8. Be an example
Even if all your co-workers are single and childless (and also have perfectly healthy parents), chances are some of them would appreciate family-friendly benefits as well. They may be considering starting a family sometime in the future, or they may appreciate your workplace's efforts as a diversity measure. Some co-workers may want flexibility to go back to school, or want extra time for personal pursuits such as traveling. You may feel like you are one of the first to initiate change, but your boldness in pioneering family-friendly measures can be an example for others.
