A Harris Poll published in 2024 found that half of American workers get nervous when they ask for time off. Among millennials it was 61 percent. Twenty-eight percent had taken time off without formally asking for it.
The Favor Bank
In Tom Wolfe’s novel The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987), a defense lawyer explains how the New York criminal courts work. “Everybody does favors for everybody else. Every chance they get, they make deposits in the Favor Bank.”
Before and After a Pregnancy Law
Peggy Young drove for UPS. When she became pregnant, her doctor limited what she could lift. UPS gave light duty to drivers injured on the job and to some others, but not to her. She was put on unpaid leave. In March 2015 the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that her case could go forward.
“The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023.” The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for pregnancy unless it causes undue hardship. Examples include more flexible breaks, schedule changes and leave for health care appointments.
The Right to Ask
Since 2014 Vermont law has given employees the right to request a flexible working arrangement, at least twice a year. “The employer shall consider the employee’s request.” The employer must discuss it in good faith and may refuse it if it cannot be granted consistently with business operations.
San Francisco’s Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance took effect the same year. It gives caregivers “the right to request flexible or predictable work arrangements.” The employer may refuse if it can show undue hardship.
Donated Sick Days
In 2019 David Green, a high school football coach in Huntsville, Alabama, learned that his baby daughter had cancer. His colleagues donated more than 100 of their own sick days so that he could be with her during chemotherapy. One teacher, who had cancer herself, gave two. “If I had more to give, I would give him more.”
The federal government has a formal version. Under its Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, employees give annual leave to another employee with a personal or family medical emergency who has used up their own.
Leaving at 5:30
In 2012 Sheryl Sandberg, then the chief operating officer of Facebook, said in a video interview: “I walk out of this office every day at 5:30 so I’m home for dinner with my kids at 6:00.” She said that only in the last year or two had she been brave enough to talk about it publicly.
According to reports of the interview, she sent emails early in the morning and late at night to show she was still working.
The Nursery
In February 2013 Yahoo told employees who worked from home that they would have to come to the office from June. The memo said, “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.” It added, “We need to be working side-by-side.”
At the same time it was reported that the chief executive, Marissa Mayer, had paid to have a nursery built in her office when she joined Yahoo. She had a baby a few months later.
Remote Work Exception
On September 16, 2024, Amazon’s chief executive Andy Jassy told employees that from January 2, 2025, they would be in the office five days a week, “outside of extenuating circumstances.” He gave examples such as “if you or your child were sick” or “if you had some sort of house emergency.”
The exceptions included employees who “already have a Remote Work Exception approved through your s-team leader.”
Paid Family Leave by Pay
In March 2023, 27 percent of American civilian workers had access to paid family leave from their employer. Ninety percent had access to unpaid family leave.
Access follows pay. In March 2021, 6 percent of private industry workers in the lowest-paid tenth had paid family leave. In the highest-paid tenth it was 43 percent.
Two Classes of Employees
In August 2015 Netflix announced that new parents could “take off as much time as they want during the first year after a child’s birth or adoption.” The policy covered salaried employees in its streaming business. Workers in its DVD distribution centers were not included.
A Netflix customer started a petition. “It’s wrong for Netflix to create two classes of employees.”