S/o working while pregnant

amother

OP ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 1:07 pm

The other thread about teachers who are sick while pregnant shouldnt be teaching got me thinking. How many of you work through pregnancy at any job while not feeling well and maybe underperforming? Do you take a leve of absence because your work is not up to par? I get HG in the first trimester of my pregnancies and I muddle my way through my job because we really need the money. Do you think there is an ethical problem with this?

amother

Mustard

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 1:09 pm

I voted that I work even though I don’t manage my job but I don’t have HG, I just throw up once a day, so I’m able to function decently at work.

How badly are you doing at work? Are customers unhappy?

amother

cornflower

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 1:51 pm

Of course I work while pregnant. I need the money ( and health insurance and paid leave benefits afterwards). My job performance is definitely affected (I'm a speech therapist).
But it goes both ways because my kids also suffer from my job. I never read books or play games with my kids because I'm so burned out from doing it at work all day and have no patience left for them

essie14

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 1:51 pm

I work and I manage. I am not a teacher. I work from home and have wiggle room with my hours so I was able to work when I was pregnant even though I had severe nausea and lots of vomiting.
[Didn't vote because no option fit me]

amother

Aconite

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 2:00 pm

No option for me to pick.
I work straight through until I actually give birth because I need every penny. Yes, I don't perform as well at my job especially during the first trimester and the 9th month. I don't have crazy difficult pregnancy, just normal tough. it is what it is. Never managed to get fired from a job because of it BH.

I think that OP was out of line. noone is perfect at any job. and if they are they haven't been burnt enough by employers taking advantage to realize they should not strive for perfection. yes, my kids also have teachers that are not totally present some times. guess what? they have a mother who also is not present sometimes as well. and that's life!

amother

Watermelon

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 2:39 pm

I work until the end.
As one of my jobs is per diem, I try to take on less when I know I'm expecting. Then I try to stagger my work load to have some days with less running around but it really is not easy.
I've discussed this with the placement coordinator and she always says to me- your 80% is someone else's 100% so it's worth it to the parents and kids for you to come even when you feel you aren't doing 100%.....

amother

Poppy

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 2:45 pm

I can't function fully the first 5 months and it really affects my job.
I'm 95% sure that was the reason in my old job she didn't want to update my contract forcing me to resign. It wasn't worth keeping for the pennies she was paying because she kept me on trial for 3 yrs.

amother

Purple

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 3:09 pm

I keep working, and my performance is somewhat affected.
I also work on days that I'm tired, have a cold, or am distracted by my life.
I also work in general, despite the fact that there are others in the world who would do a better job than me, if I let them have my job.

rkay

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 3:46 pm

I think when a frum business hires a young frum women there is an expectation and understanding that she will be pregnant at some point. I also don't think most businesses find it worthwhile to have their employees take off every time employees don't feel so great even if they can't operate at their best.

amother

Impatiens

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:12 am

I have a playgroup so I don't have a boss. Worked thru all my pregnancies. Of course it's hard, but I did my best!

You sit on the floor and play with the kids instead of doing exercise! LOL

Teaching in front of a classroom is a different story! Older kids pick up that teacher is not feeling well and can take advantage of the situation.

ora_43 ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:17 am

I feel like this poll is missing the most important option: my job performance suffers, but is still adequate most of the time.

"Don't feel sick" and "barely manage" are two extremes and I'm guessing most of us are somewhere in between.

sunshoweryay

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:19 am

No I didn’t take a job bc I wanted to become pregnant and there is no way I can work and be a mommy and be pregnant!
I can barely be a mommy and be pregnanct
I have realllllly hard pregnancy’s

amother

Oleander

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:26 am

Echoing the others…no option for me to choose. Pregnancy is hard but I try to be functional. I don’t have HG or anything like it, just regular old nausea etc:)

I try my best, I take medication.
At the end of the day, I’m a teacher, and yes, my students might miss out on the activities I would’ve done otherwise but don’t do due to lack of energy etc, I still would like to think I treat them the same way emotionally so there is no reason why it should really affect them…

amother

Ballota

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:29 am

I don’t know what to vote.

First pregnancy I quit because literally couldn’t get out of bed for the whole pregnancy.

Second pregnancy I worked most days but I probably took off like once a week…or maybe once every two weeks if I was doing better. I was also in the hospital a few times, worked from home starting 8th month, and took off last 2 weeks (was in hospital). Frum company, they kept me on.

↑ ora_43 ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 12:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

Do you think there is an ethical problem with this?

There's no ethical problem with not being at your usual 100%. I mean let's say there was someone just like me, but a little more scatterbrained, or a little dumber. Would it be unethical for her to accept a job offer? Of course not. And it's not unethical for pregnant-ora (who is a bit scatterbrained and a few IQ points dumber than regular ora) to work at a job either.

I mean, I can imagine a few potentially unethical situations

- being lazy and excusing it b/c pregnancy
- continuing to work at a job if your performance is so reduced that it's actually unsafe (like, there's falling asleep during boring meetings and then there's falling asleep mid-surgery)
- not functioning at all but continuing to take a paycheck because legally they can't fire you

But honestly, those would be extreme situations and I don't know anyone who's done that. It would be shooting yourself in the foot anyway. (nobody wants to cause an accident at work, or to burn bridges with a decent employer)

↑ Success10

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 12:41 pm

ora_43 wrote:

They hired non-pregnant Ora. So I could see how one might think it’s unethical to swap her for pregnant Ora.

The reason I don’t think it’s an ethics issue is because in our world it is somewhat par for the course. And even outside our world, it’s always a possibility that a 20 to 45 year old woman, of any religious affiliation, might become pregnant at some point. You knew that when you hired her.

amother

Opal ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 1:47 pm

amother cornflower wrote:

Also an SLP and same. Have no energy for my kids when I come home:

But can I ask where you work that you get health benefits?