Post partum boss asking when I plan to return

amother

Vermilion

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:06 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

Likely that therapist will not have any trouble finding work next year due to the shortage of therapists.

And the therapist doesn't work for you. You don't pay her. She works for the agency. She doesn't have to tell you every time she is taking off.

This. I have one boss, the agency (well also the school). I have 25 students on my caseload. I don't consider all the parents my bosses. And I'm certainly not making 25 phone calls to let all the parents know about my maternity leave plans. I notify the agency and school.

amother

Dustypink

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:07 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

You have missed my point. The attitude is not about wanting the allotted time off. The attitude is about not displaying consideration for the clients and boss. You need to communicate your intentions to your boss so he/she can appropriately manage your space while you're out. You need to work with the clients and boss (within realms of possibility) for appropriate hand-offs so they still get needed services.

Just shrugging and saying too bad, I get my time off and I don't care about the fallout is the attitude I'm referring to. You can take the time off but still show consideration and concern for the fallout. It's not a contradiction.

Exactly this. Well written.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:07 pm

amother Vermilion wrote:

Do you realize that if most therapists switch to office jobs the children wouldn't be getting therapy at all? This is not like it was 20 years ago when there was a huge surplus of therapists. There is a huge shortage now. If you care about the children, you should be happy your school has therapists at all. And treat them well and be supportive of them so they dont burn out and leave, as many are.

Its interesting because I find that very few therapists remain in the field past age 40 or so, when that would be the ideal time to work because they don't have maternity leave any more. But after years of being mistreated and taken advantage of and paid pennies and looked down upon they burn out and leave.

Exactly. And if you think anyone will spend years and thousands of dollars going for therapy and then not use their degree when they are having kids...think again. You just won't have any therapists.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:30 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

I hope you are joking. No therapy is better than a few months of therapy?

Depends. Sometimes the stops and starts causes a child to regress. They can also get discouraged and not want to resume.

If you're working with children (and adults) in a helping capacity, you can't treat your job like it's an office job. You carry additional responsibility to your patients and clients.

If the responsibility is too much for someone to manage, they shouldn't be in the field. Your first responsibility is to do no harm. Leaving someone mid therapy can sometimes do more harm than any benefits. If you're not going to be able to provide services for the full year, it IS on you to communicate that to the parents so they can decide how to proceed.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:31 pm

amother Vermilion wrote:

Pray tell, why can't you communicate it to the 25 parents. You can do a bulk email or text and advise them of the situation. Then let then decide what's best for their child.

And if it takes 25 calls then so be it. These are childrens well-being we are talking about, not a trip to the zoo.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:38 pm

amother Dustypink wrote:

Then get a different job. Go into an office. This is more than parnassah. This is the mental, emotional, educational health of children. Don’t play games with them. I work in a school. I see the effect and how the kids fall behind.

This. If you're going into the therapist field solely for parnossoh, then please find another field. If you're in a helping field you need to have more than that to be successful and actually help people. You need to be caring, show consideration and most of all have a desire to actually help your patients.

If you're in it just for the money, you may be doing more harm than good.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:45 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

Ever had a teacher ask if you want your child to be in her class because she was going on maternity leave in middle of the year ? I haven't.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:46 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

Ever had a teacher ask if you want your child to be in her class because she was going on maternity leave in middle of the year ? I haven't.

A teacher is different than a therapist. If you don't see the difference, that's a problem.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:48 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

I'm assuming your talking about ot, pt, speech too. Nobody is in these fields to be rich. And I have never seen a child do worse having a few months off than not having therapy at all. You all just want everything to work out perfectly for you and your kids but that's not real life. Things happen. Your child's therapist cam have a baby without your permission.

I'm gonna assume most of these complaints are coming from mom's who don't pay private for therapy. Those parents are generally the most demanding and entitled.

If you want the perfect therapist, hire your own and conduct interviews and you can ask about their planned attendance and to let you know in advance of any absences.

B'Syata D'Shmya

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:49 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

She can take the leave she is entitled to. Just communicate and say you are taking off. But don't ask for extra compensation to come back earlier. That just doesn't look good. Especially since she works remotely.

Why not? If the employer wants to save money in hiring and training someone else, it may be win-win.
Its not all black and white. For the new mother, things can happen at any time that can influence her decision to return to work. She is entitled to delay her decision.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:56 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

No, I don't expect everything to work out perfectly. I want to be given the opportunity to work out what's best for my child based on the current circumstances.

What's wrong with that?

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:03 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

So hire your own therapist

And therein is the attitude again. Can you explain why is it so hard to work together with the parents to see what's best for the child as opposed to your my-way-or-the-highway approach?

Why is it a problem if the parents get to weigh in if they do or don't want to sign up for the year when considering the maternity leave? What kind of therapeutical approach is it when you run with 'I will start the year and drop when I need to. Too bad if it hurts my clients'.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:16 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

Because that's how it works when you work for an agency. The agency is your boss. As a parent you can tell the agency you don't want a therapist who will be giving birth this year and let them find someone for you. But it's not the therapists responsibility to tell every parent. It's her boss's...the agency.

Also, in my fourth month or even sixth I have no interest in sharing with random people that I am pregnant. Let's say I lose it...you have no idea what someone's fertility issues are and what they are comfortable sharing.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:19 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

Part of being in the helping field is thinking about your patients well-being even if it's something technically not required.

This is the problem we face when people select such jobs based solely on money and personal benefits. The patients suffer.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:23 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

No school based therapist is in it solely for the money. Read all the threads about how underpaid they are. And you clearly care more about the money that you won't pay for a private therapist for your child even though, as per your insinuations they would probably benefit so much more from it.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:31 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

Who says I'm not paying 😀. I can argue a point while not having skin in the game.

This is me just on my soapbox. I personally think that we are passively pushing lots of people into the therapy field who aren't really right for it. It fits our lifestyle and allows for flexibility for the young mothers, so people are encouraged to go into it because it works for them and not bec it's really something they want to do. And it's our children who suffer for it.

The attitudes on this thread is just proving my point. The really good therapists I've dealt with (both private and schools) are highly concerned about their clients and often go out of their way to be there for them. They don’t shrug and push them away, they really and truly want to help.

Then there are those who only view it as a job, as a chore to push through to earn parnossoh. These are the ones who shouldn't be in the field. These are actual vulnerable people they're working with, not some desk job.

Again - it's our children who suffer for it.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:36 pm

amother Seafoam wrote:

Don't worry we aren't passively pushing people into the field anymore. Most people are staying far away after hearing from veteran therapists how hard they work and how little pay and appreciation they get. Therapy programs are not flooded anymore. Agencies are desperate for therapists. All for good reason. And that's why I say if you don't like it pay privately. Because then you can control all the factors that you can't control when you are the persons boss.

amother

Garnet

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:41 pm

amother Sunflower wrote:

Only up to the 12 weeks (not 18) and she has to legally give them 30 days notice before she starts leave that she’s taking it consecutively. Which she didn’t, and she’s 4 weeks into it

I was just in maternity leave. I got 12 weeks of STD and up to 12 weeks of maternal bonding or 8 weeks if I wanted it to be intermittent. I just took it in NJ. I know what I’m talking about.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:46 pm

amother Goldenrod wrote:

BH, that's good news. In order for a system to correct itself we first need to do away with the damaging components. There is now hope that the system will reset itself and will be reworked in a better way.

I'm going to end my posts with this:

To all the therapists who truly care and go the extra mile, you do great work and you truly impact patients live for the better. So thank you for everything that you do. Even if we sometimes don't get an opportunity to acknowledge it, know that we recognize even the little things. Kol hakavod and a collective thank you from many happy parents.