Is if fair of a work place to give preferential scheduling to

[Jo]

people with families?

The store where Dave works tries, within reason, to schedule family people during the day and give them more weekend days off. It seemed preferential though I guess preferential could depend on how an individual views their schedule. When I was younger and single, I didn't mind working evenings and definitely liked having mornings off. I could still go out but yet sleep off the night out. But I did still like having weekends free when possible.

[Christine]

Preferential, maybe. But I think it's for a good reason.

I know Dave's company is very conscious of his family obligations and when they ask a lot of him, they usually compensate us as a family somehow. They can't offer him better hours because they need him when they need him, but they make it less of a burden by giving us GC's for restaurants or grocery stores, which is very nice. I think it's a good way to run a business.

[Kristi]

Yes it may be preferential. But also in most cases necessary. (Maybe not the weekends off) but parents may only be able to work certain hrs (for example when theur kids are in school.) After Dylan was born I could only work on days Tim was off and my job was very understanding about it.


Now Tim's job doesn't really give a crap. :rofl But they do try to make sure he has time off for the important things. If one of them needs to go to the dr. and getting to spend Christmas with them etc. But he doesn't get certain hrs or days off because he has a family. But that is because it is the Navy. Still, every command he has been to has been great about letting him take days he needed and even some he wanted to do family things off.

[gr8mommy]

Yes, it is preferential. It is also entirely acceptable, particularly if the scheduling priorities are given at the time of hiring. Many jobs I had I knew going in that I'd be working nights/weekends. If I didn't want to do that, I didn't take the job.

However, if there is suddenly a new policy put into place, that isn't fair, and the employees affected should have to agree, or disagree, without penalty.

[Lori]

Preferential, maybe. But I think it's for a good reason.

I agree. It is preferential, but I think that's okay. If a single person had a pressing reason for not working on the weekends, then I think that should be accomodated, but overall I think it makes sense to allow people with families to have more flexibility in scheduling.

I get a little tired of single people complaining of parents getting "preferential" treatment at work. I don't think they realize that employees making reasonable accomodations for things like sick kids isn't really "preferential." Working with kids is harder than working without kids. Many of these people will go on to have children, and then I have a feeling they won't be complaining about the "preferential" treatment they're getting any more. Before I had Thomas, I could teach any time; now, I need to know in advance and have it be at a time when day care is available or Sean is home. That's not to say it's really hard--it isn't--but I do have less flexibility than I did when I was childless. I'm very grateful that my employer takes that into consideration when doing scheduling.

I'd think it were unfair if a single person with a valid need to miss work or get weekends off wasn't allowed to, while parents were, but if they simply want time off just because they want it off, I don't think there's anything wrong with giving parents more flexibility and choice in scheduling.

[giana]

Kristi as they say in the army....if the army wanted you to have wife and kids they would have issued you one...they really dont give a crap about the families....but in the topic I think that its okay to give that kind of preference for employees with family and I think that happy employee is hard working employee so this type of thing reflects right back to the company.

[Jeri]

I don't even really see it as "preferential." Most retil jobs will accomadate a lot of things when scheduling - like doctor's appointments, school schedules, other job schedules, etc. Like Lori said, I would consider it discriminatingly preferential if single, child free people were denied the schedules they need (not just want) as well. When I worked retail, hey were really flexible with everyone - sometimes it made scheduling a nightmare, but that's why people had retail jobs.