Rights of a pregnant working woman 8
Why some pregnant employees feel insecure
JUST WHAT IS THE GREATEST FEAR OF A PREGNANT WORKING WOMAN? SANDRA MULLUKA TALKS TO A FEW WOMEN WHO EXPRESSED THEIR INSECURITIES AT DISCOVERING THEY WERE PREGNANT.
young lady who was working for an airline sometime back found out she was pregnant but, contrary to company policy, did not “declare” her pregnancy, thus continuing working as usual— including flying long haul. She made deliberate efforts to hide the pregnancy. It was not until one of the flights encountered severe turbulence that she was discovered. Unfortunately, it was double tragedy because she lost both her baby and her job!
This illustrates the lengths to which working or corporate women who get pregnant go through to deal with the insecurities that emerge at the work place.
The pregnant worker’s ambitions. For many women who are climbing up the corporate adder, getting pregnant is like taking ten steps back after having made five ahead. Otherwise stated, it is like committing career suicide. A woman who is on the fast track to the top or is a top performer may feel particularly at risk. The fear is that another candidate eyeing her target position, project or assignment may take a vantage position while she gets busy with clinics, maternity and eventually infant care. Another worry is that the supervisor or appointing agent may take the view—rightly or wrongly—that a pregnant woman is not suitable for the target position.
Fear of job loss to a temp or relocate colleague. One woman narrates how she dropped by the office during her maternity leave, to check some of the projects she was handling and felt required regular review and her personal attention. She found someone else working at her desk, reviewing one of the major projects. The person told her, rather harshly, that if it wasn’t for him, the division would have been shut down. This insensitive and threatening statement made her terminate her leave immediately for fear of being replaced.
New appointments and recent developments affecting position acquisition or career progression. Even without pregnancy, the first several weeks of a newly appointed worker are crucial because it is during this time that orientation to the new job occurs. It is also the period when most would want to prove they are the right choice for the position. For companies undergoing re-organisation, it is a period to make oneself more visible and fight to remain relevant.
A lady narrates how she got promoted to the position she had long desired, second in command after the CEO. When she discovered she was pregnant, she anticipated that she may soon need days off because of morning sickness, to attend clinic and eventually for maternity. She contemplated terminating the pregnancy for fear that her colleagues would take advantage of her absence to undermine her new authority. She was especially weary of her male colleagues because she was aware of the chauvinistic jostling that preceded her appointment. She did all she could to conceal her pregnancy and not let it come in the way of her work. She seldom attended antenatal clinic for fear of being absent!
Incapacitation by pregnancy-related situations. The pregnant worker may fear that pregnancy might cause negative body reactions such as morning sickness and ailments that may lead to substantial inability to effectively perform duties. Absenteeism due to sicknesses, for instance high blood pressure, may also cause work backlogs and eventual inability to produce timely outputs.
A pregnant working woman may also be concerned about the effects of pregnancy on her relationship with her superiors, surbodinates, and clients of the organisation. Some colleagues may cause ridicule to the expectant mum, or look down on her, especially if the nature of work is incompatible with pregnancy.
One major worry of pregnant workers is whether the employer will honour statutory and any additional rights of the. employee. Some employers only allow their employees to take leave at certain times of the year. Maternity leave, on the other hand, has to happen at a particular period and neither the pregnant worker or the employer have control on the timing of the baby’s delivery.
In all the above case, and many other similar instance that create fear and worry in the pregnant worker, the employer can play a crucial role in quelling such fears.
This will be the subject for the next edition of this series.
END: PG8/8