As I was working on the research of my article “Working and Pregnant at the Same Time”, I interviewed a number of pregnant working women all over the world. I found out that my first article did not bring out their workplace groans as I would love to do hence this article is a representation of their voices. Enjoy!
“My boss is extremely supportive and in fact, she and I got pregnant at the same time! But when she cut short her maternity leave to come back to work, she had expressed explicitly that she hoped that I do the same. I didn’t but I felt so guilty when I went back to work.” Alice, 28, Fashion Buyer
“I had the most evil boss ever. He made sure I do overtime even he knows I am in my third trimester and I am due in a month. He made me feel guilty for being pregnant. Fortunately for me, when I came back from my maternity leave, he was transferred to another department.” Laurie, 25, Logistics Assistant Manager
“My manager made me came back from my maternity to finish my appraisal the very next day I was discharged from the hospital. My husband was so pissed made me resign from my job after my maternity leave. I’m now happier working with an awesome boss who is pro-family life.” Katy, 34, Sales Trainer
“I chose to be a single mother. When I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure I could be bluntly truthful to my company. I hid the truth from my boss and colleagues until my tummy showed the obvious. My instinct was right, people started avoiding me, my boss started to give me lesser and lesser work to do until right up to my eight months, I totally have nothing to do. A month after I gave birth, my boss came to my house and request for my resignation because I was redundant in the office. How unfair and insensitive is that!” Amy, 23, Stay-At-Home-Mom
“The fact my pregnancy was a pretty smooth one and I was fit and active throughout that period, no one felt comfortable to assign me major accounts. I had my key clients taken away from me even though I explicitly asked my clients if I can assign a coverer during my maternity leave and they all agreed. When I argued my case to HR, I was snubbed by the remark, ‘I chose to get pregnant’. My family couldn’t afford me to lose my job so I kept my mouth shut. When I returned after cutting short of my maternity leave, I had to start from scratch even crawl some of the key accounts back from my boss. It took me another one year to be back where I was, with all weekends burned and me missing out my child’s first milestones. Now my husband wants another kid, but I’m too humiliated and scared to go through the same cycle again.” Hamidah, 29, National Key Accounts Senior Manager
“Jack and I were friendly competitors in the company. We are often loggerheads at projects but we remain civil and polite to each other. We both have strengths that we recognise and admire about each other. When a partnership position opened up, I was in the mid of my pregnancy. Jack got the position but he came to me after the official announcement and confessed that the position was originally mine. He overheard the management’s concerns that I’ll be more of a mother than of a lawyer so they decided the safer choice is to offer him instead. The shocker is when Jack resigned a week after his confession to me. I lost my faith in the firm as well and left after a while. Fast forward 5 years, Jack, his wife and I now managed our law firm together.” Candice, 38, Lawyer
“I couldn’t travel during my pregnancy because I was a high-risk mother due to my age and medical history. I lost an important client because of that and my company fired me. I’m still waiting to hear from my lawyer if I can claim against them.” Becca, 37, Unemployed
“I am pregnant 5 times throughout my 6 years tenure in my company. My manager is super supportive and encouraging but it has caused some resentment and friction in my team. I get the cold shoulder treatment from my teammates whenever I returned from my maternity leave. My youngest is only 7 months old and I don’t know how to tell my company that I just discovered that I’m pregnant for the sixth time.” Francesca, 31, Accounting Assistant
“I am eyeing for the promotion of a supervisor role in my department. My boss has come outright and told me that position is mine and they are processing the paperwork for approval. I fear that if I tell him that I am 3 months pregnant, I could lose the position. My colleagues have asked me but I lied to them I am gaining weight. I’m taking a risk but I have no choice as I have been waiting for such an opportunity for more than 5 years.” Winnie, 27, Technical Support Assistant
“I worked in a highly chemical fumed production floor and upon my pregnancy knowledge, I went to my supervisor and told her that I need a transfer due to my condition. I even gave her my doctor’s letter that strongly advice me to change jobs. She promised she will do her best to grant my transfer but I didn’t hear from her for 3 months. Afterwards, I have gotten a visit from HR, telling me that I have transferred to our legislation department, which is in another state that is 5 hours drive from where I stayed. They provide me with no other choice, either I stayed where I was or moved to another state. I chose to quit.” Tabitha, 24, Stay-at-home-mom
Have you encounter any similar stories to share? Come and share with us at the comments below!
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