Someone at the New York Post should get a big fat raise for coming up with the click-baity-est headline in the history of click bait. The internet was ablaze with reactions to the article titled “I want all the perks of maternity leave — without having any kids.” Most of those reactions went a little like this: "Perks? PERKS?! You call no sleeping, cracked nipples, diaper blowouts, washing bottles at 2 AM, and crying — oh god, the crying — PERKS?!" Lady, you trippin.’
I do, however, think that parts of this article (written by Meghann Foye, author of an upcoming book called Meternity Leave) deserve a second look. On its surface, what she’s saying sounds selfish in the extreme. And she doesn’t do herself any favors with sentences like, “There’s something about saying 'I need to go pick up my child' as a reason to leave the office on time that has far more gravitas than, say, 'My best friend just got ghosted by her OkCupid date and needs a margarita.'"
But! What she means to say but forgets is that corporate culture is jacked. There is no earthly reason that human beings should work 10-12 hours per day, 5 days per week, 50 weeks per year (if they're lucky enough to have vacation packages), from the age of 20-68. That's totally whack. She almost makes a good point, but it’s lost among the WTF of her not realizing that babies need more care than dumped friends. That we have reached a point where caring for children is the ONLY excuse for walking away from work for a few hours shows a screwed up attitude toward work. Not to mention that employers pay too little to allow people the flexibility to take breaks to recharge.
Our relationship with our jobs, the real cost of living, and the stagnation of wages are all things we need to consider. Maybe we don’t need what Foye calls “meternity leave.” We need to go home at 5 every day and live our lives. And our bosses would do well to consider that.
