Leave period

[Gob]

A company is planning to introduce a "period policy" to allow female staff to work flexibly around their menstrual cycles.

Co-Exist in Bristol says women will be allowed to take time off during their period and make up the time later.

Director Bex Baxter told the Bristol Post she had seen women at work "bent over double" in pain but unwilling to go home which was "unfair".

Menstrual leave exists in Japan, parts of China, South Korea and Taiwan.

It is thought the company is one of the first firms to introduce it in the UK.

Miss Baxter said criticism of menstrual leave came "from a place of fear".

She told the BBC: "Women don't want to feel they are less employable than men if they are taking time off [for periods]."

Co-Exist employs 24 people, seven of them men. Ms Baxter said the details of the policy had not yet been worked out but would be discussed at a seminar later this month.

She said there would inevitably be a fear of lack of fairness or of women taking time off "willy nilly" but added: "We want to create a policy that trusts people - we don't want to create something that... doesn't recognise the needs of the business."

[rubato]

"...

She said there would inevitably be a fear of lack of fairness or of women taking time off "willy nilly" ... "

So long a men are allowed to take off a few days every 28, then its just fine.

yrs,
rubato

[Joe Guy]

Men should receive extended breaks for bowel movements and be supplied with magazines.

[dales]

Men should be allotted a "Happy Hour".......IOW, a day or two to really tie one on with the company paying for the intoxicants.

[BoSoxGal]

"...

She said there would inevitably be a fear of lack of fairness or of women taking time off "willy nilly" ... "

So long a men are allowed to take off a few days every 28, then its just fine.

yrs,
rubato

Reading comprehension issues? The OP clearly says they have to make the time up later.

I hate to engage too much in stereotyping, but I've known many men in my life who acted like the world was ending over a bad cold or bout of flu - I think many men would be absolutely crippled if they had to deal with the typical symptoms women with dysmenorrhea suffer every single month for 40+/- years.

[Jarlaxle]

Speak for yourself...I have used eleven sick days in ten years! (And two were for car problems...a flat tire and a bad fuel pump.)

Was out for a week not long ago, but that was for a strained back.

[Big RR]

I agree, I dragged myself to work with pneumonia because I had to get some things done before I took a day off (I was settling a lawsuit and it could not wait, but it did let me wear the sweater vests my mother gave me for Christmas under my suit), and then took off only a day to go to the doctor. One of my friends was at trial for 10 weeks, and then wound up in the hospital afterwards for cardiac complications. Sure there are some men like you describe (women as well), but most people do what they have to do, whether they can take the time off or not.

[kmccune]

Before I found out I had a busted vertrabra ,I would go to work(cutting right of way flagging ,doing heavy lifting ,etc)bent over for a week people laughing at me,I thought I had pulled a muscle,a pulled muscle heals right?Till the day the pain starting setting me down,then I finally went to the Orthopedic Dr and found the process was broke off L5 ,plus a good deal of stenosis,finally after a fusion with hip grafts,Laminectomy ,decompression ,etc,Basically it just left Me with a weak left leg ,could have been real serious,I not a wuss ,I have went to work in the miserable cold,rain snow many a days when I shouldnt have ,shortly all that will be behind me,my biggest problem now is extreme drowsiness around 11Am,will change BP medicine and see if that helps .
One I do not do nowadays is discredit peoples pain ,unless they are known whiners.Most Folks are honest about their pain and people have varying thresholds of pain,I have seen some very strong men about to lose it when they smashed a finger,the way I have found to cope is to turn it around and say thats hurts so good(especially when it gets in the throbbing stage)
The one thing that bothers me more then cuts and bruises is nausea,I cant hurl very easily(glad it happens infrequently ) some people can toss it up and grin ,it just about smothers me .

[Burning Petard]

Jar axle, think carefully about your 'sick days'. When I went four years without any time off other than scheduled vacation days, my boss (in a major chemical company) , off the record, advised me to take a few sick days each year. Otherwise, a long service with no sick days, and then if I took a week off for even a bad case of the flu, upper management would look at this as a major change in my health that should be considered evidence that I was in a sudden drastic change health wise, perhaps a big change for the worse and the company had better look into replacing me.

"Just take a sick day or two once in a while to look normal."

snailgate

[oldr_n_wsr]

When I got laid off in 2008, I had 600 sick hours accumulated. i did not get that back pay.

[BoSoxGal]

To clarify, I wasn't attacking men in general, which is why I specifically said "I hate to engage in too much stereotyping."

Some of you may have women in your lives who suffer from dysmenorrhea - it's a very real condition and the pain of menses can be excruciating, not to mention anemia that leaves one bedridden for days.

I was frustrated by rubato's stupid comment that men should just get a few days off every 28 if women would be allowed to work flexibly around their menses . . . ignoring entirely the caveat that the women would have to make up the time elsewhere, it's not a freebie.

I can't see why any employer would miss the chance to maximize worker productivity around health issues that are uncontrollable?

[Jarlaxle]

When I got laid off in 2008, I had 600 sick hours accumulated. i did not get that back pay.

I get paid for unused sick time at the end of every year.