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Old 01-11-2019, 04:51 AM
 
13,257 posts, read 8,339,924 times
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Compromise. Ask if staff would be interested in starting an in house daycare program. Then consider funding it thru your payscale.

Two days a week in house daycare and then three days with the Hired person whom you wish to title nanny.

 
Old 01-11-2019, 07:01 AM
 
44 posts, read 114,477 times
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@Nov3- there is a daycare on site but it's not big enough to accommodate everyone & their kids. I applied but we got wait-listed. + it's not that cheap, I'm paying the same amount for a nanny as I would for the daycare @ work
 
Old 01-11-2019, 07:28 AM
 
Location: The DMV
6,560 posts, read 11,193,555 times
Reputation: 8590
Quote:
Originally Posted by sp99 View Post
I am a currently project coordinator for a major pharmaceutical company, and I will be returning from a 6 month long maternity leave in a few weeks.

My company offers several different telecommuting options and brags that it is one of the best places for working mothers because of their remote options. A few months before I went on maternity leave, HR held a seminar to make the employees aware of these resources. They encouraged people to telecommute and they reassured us throughout the seminar that, "as long as it's OK with your manager, then it's OK with us." Hearing this while 7 months pregnant was a huge relief. I was actually offered another position at a different company, but I did not take it since my current job offered these great options and I wanted to be home a few days a week with my baby.

About a month ago, I contacted my manager and asked for permission to work from home a few days a week - I asked him first before going to HR because the seminar led me to believe that this was the proper protocol. I explained all of the reasons why I wanted to work from home and even offered to write up a proposal if needed. I told him that I would work a full week when I returned, and then would proceed to work the requested days from home the following week. FYI - I already work 1 day a week from home, so I initially asked for 3 days a week, figuring that it would be easier to negotiate 2 days instead, because that's ultimately all the days that I wanted.

My manager told me that he understood that it's hard to find adequate care for your children, (him being a father himself), and said that he didn't have a problem with it as long as HR doesn't have a problem. I was elated because according to the information from the seminar, if he was OK then HR would be OK.

WRONG. He called me back 2 hours later explaining that HR told him that it's not customary for people to work from home 2 or more days a week. He also said that visibility is important. He said that HR is willing to allow me to work 2 days a week from home for a month only, and after that, I would go back to working only 1 day a week from home.

This is extremely frustrating to me for many reasons. Aside from the seminar getting my hopes up, why would they go through all this song and dance to not even allow it in the end? But the fact that many people in my own department and throughout the company work 2-3 days a week from home is what truly irritates me. The teams and accounts that I work with are all overseas, so me telecommuting would actually benefit our team because I would be able to get faster and more 'real-time' feedback from the teams since I would be working early mornings.

I was depending on working from home a few days a week. Aside from the the fact that I want to be home with my child, the cost of daycare/ nanny services in northern NJ is staggering. We got wait-listed for the daycare that we applied to and after interviewing several people, the nanny that I hired can only work 3 days a week.

So once the 1 month passes, how can I negotiate to keep working from home 2 days a week? Can I ask that instead of giving me a bonus this year, to allow me to work the 2 days from home instead?

Any and all help, suggestions or ideas would be much appreciated.
Refer to the HR handbook and see if there are any restrictions. If not, then you have to figure out why you were given that info. Not knowing your relationship with your manager, there may be a trust issue with giving you more days from home, or is he/she such a stickler for rules that they run everything by HR?

Having been on the other side of the table - there are folks that I wouldn't bat an eye if they wanted to work from home 5 days a week. And others that I would ask what they plan on doing if they even asked for half a day. And how much HR would be involved would be based on the culture of the organization.

Keep in mind you were just out for 6 months. So there may be some knee jerk reaction to you coming out and asking for more remote time than they were prepared to hear. Working with what you have now may be the best bet. Perhaps put some effort into being more responsive when you are at home (maybe even more than when you're at work?). Basically illustrate that you're getting it done regardless of where you are.

The goal is to get to a point where you don't even need to ask. You can just say - I'm working from home tomorrow. No one is irreplaceable - but you want to be at a point where you leaving will create a huge burden on your manager (and their manager) that they rather deal with you working from home than losing you.

I would also not focus on the reason why you need/want this. The reason shouldn't matter. What matters is that you can still do your job regardless of where you are. If they can't get over that, then perhaps it is time to look for greener pasture.

Just my .02.
 
Old 01-11-2019, 07:41 AM
 
203 posts, read 107,147 times
Reputation: 182
I do think places need to lighten up about working from home...however working from home with a baby? If you were a manager or CEO how would you feel about employees working from home AND taking care of a baby at the same time. How would that work? It wouldnt. You'll be much less productive unless you have a nanny there with you.

I say this as someone who has a 2 yr old and 4 yr old who works and occasionally works from home but my DH works evenings so he's home during the day also.
 
Old 01-11-2019, 08:40 AM
 
23,177 posts, read 12,066,520 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McBridge781 View Post
I do think places need to lighten up about working from home...however working from home with a baby? If you were a manager or CEO how would you feel about employees working from home AND taking care of a baby at the same time. How would that work? It wouldnt. You'll be much less productive unless you have a nanny there with you.

I say this as someone who has a 2 yr old and 4 yr old who works and occasionally works from home but my DH works evenings so he's home during the day also.

I work from home and we have a 4 page Telecommuting Agreement. In Limitations, one of the items is you cannot be primary provider of child care on days working from home.
 
Old 01-11-2019, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Southern California
12,713 posts, read 15,410,999 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia View Post
I work from home and we have a 4 page Telecommuting Agreement. In Limitations, one of the items is you cannot be primary provider of child care on days working from home.
While I feel for people who work from home while watching children this is a wise move. Many people at my company do this and they are far less productive and harder to get ahold of.
 
Old 01-11-2019, 08:45 AM
 
44 posts, read 114,477 times
Reputation: 25
As I mentioned before, I will have someone watching her while I'm wfh
 
Old 01-11-2019, 09:00 AM
 
23,177 posts, read 12,066,520 times
Reputation: 29347
Quote:
Originally Posted by sp99 View Post
As I mentioned before, I will have someone watching her while I'm wfh

Does your company have an actual Telecommuting Agreement that you date and sign?
 
Old 01-11-2019, 09:20 AM
 
44 posts, read 114,477 times
Reputation: 25
@oceangaia - I never signed anything when I was hired & I haven't had anything presented to me just yet, nor did they mention such an agreement in the seminar
 
Old 01-11-2019, 10:06 AM
 
203 posts, read 107,147 times
Reputation: 182
sounds like they are being fickle but in the ends they make the rules. I would feel weird about working from home if it was frowned upon. You'll always be the one who needy one while your colleagues will look like heros for being in the office. trust me i've been there. In the beginning i didnt care, but it gets to you after a while.
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