The common human mind and physique will do higher with six months of depart. However, is your human mind and physique being paid for that point away? And, even when so, is your employer (and are your colleagues) supportive of six months in a tradition that, by legislation, has normalized 12 unpaid weeks as “sufficient?” These are huge questions to contemplate, and I’d be irresponsible to share the fundamental analysis with out additionally telling you to consider how these different bias-driven components might make issues laborious all the identical.
So, if the monetary piece of the puzzle is okay for you, however you’re in a office the place the considered six months makes individuals do a bizarre factor with their face once you say it, I encourage you to do three issues:
1) Read up and internalize the entire good information and analysis that backs up 6+ months so you’ll be able to broadcast that message to any doubters and see it as a power to push issues towards what’s proper and honest for all (this report from Brigid Schulte and group at New America is loaded with compelling proof).
2) Talk about your future at your employer—tasks which can be on the horizon for after your depart, your long-term profession development—so that individuals see, clearly, that you simply’re dedicated to staying.
3) Insist that your associate additionally take some depart. I do know you’re pondering, but when I’ve six months do they even want depart? Yes. Because in the event that they don’t have it, the hole between their non depart and your humane six months might set you up for uneven co-parenting for the lengthy haul. By six months, belief me, you may be actually good on the child stuff, and in case your associate isn’t as effectively, you danger changing into the default main guardian, which makes going again to work (or simply arm wrestling over who’s staying house when the daycare floods) a lot, a lot more durable.
