Ever been treated unfair at work because you're single?

[Nonesuch]

Changes in default office rules should not advantage parents over other workers, indeed, done right, they can improve relations among co-workers by raising their awareness of each other’s circumstances and instilling a sense of fairness. Unfortunately, the assumption I see on this thread is that if mothers get a more flexible working environment it automatically means they are screwed! This is really sad!

Going back to page one, all too often preference is given to "parents", both in turning a blind eye when they leave work early (despite arriving at the same hour as the rest of us), and also in assigning after-hours and weekend work -- making "mom" work on Saturday wouldn't be fair, so ruin the single men's weekend instead.

Sure, I'd love to see changes in default office rules, flexibility that benefits everybody. I just don't see that happening anytime soon, with the current business climate and unemployment rates.

If the unencumbered, single people get all of the promotions and etc. because they're able to give so much more, then why the complaints?

Not much of a career path to be found in many modern jobs. If you're a good worker you can expect 1% raises and the privilege of not being on the termination list when layoffs come around. But wait, that's another case where it wouldn't be fair to the working mom...