“Childfree people are burnt out and miserable at work.”
In the majority of my jobs working in HR, I have been in the minority as a childfree woman. I feel that it has then been the expectation that I don’t have the commitments that those with children have, and I can stay longer or pick up extra to cover, regardless of my work-life balance. This has normally resulted in cancelling plans, gym classes or leaving on time to prioritise work expectations.
Due to this I have never really stayed at a job longer than 2 years due to the discrimination and unfair bias when it comes to my work-life balance and working to burnout to meet these expectations.
I work remotely in my current job and in our small team I am the only child ree person. Compared to my colleagues I feel there is an expectation for me to work later if needed in support of the team and to be available for calls and meetings at the end of the day. Frequently I will be asked 10 minutes before my finish time if I have 5 mins only to then be in a 2-hour meeting without any acknowledgement of the time or that I have worked past my hours. I am never afforded the same courtesy of claiming back that time or overtime pay and my requests for annual leave seem inconvenient.
Childfree people are burnt out and miserable at work but it goes unnoticed as their time is not seen to be as valuable as parents. This needs to be seen as discrimination and must change!
Helping childfree people and parents work better together starts with open, inclusive conversations about the challenges we're all facing. Find out how we can help.
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