this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2026
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A society should always prioritize its weaker members. Children are among these. The flexibility given to the parents is not a gift to the parents, but to the children.
Some people dont have children, but look after grandparents, or a chronically ill or handicapped person, or they take on a lot of responsibilities in the community.
Its very rare and not normal for people not to be involved in their community.
In my experience, people taking care of a family member are given equal flexibility at work. It's not like Sandra gets to leave early cause her kid is sick, but Matt doesn't get to leave early when his wife has chemo.
Regrettably, this focused flexibility has an unintended side effect. It makes people with children less desirable in the job market. If it is a universal right, then it has the effect of pulling those with kids into parity with the non parents.
We have a lot of things an employer has to afford to parents in Germany. The only significant discrimination is against women who might have children in the future and that's more to do with them not being able to work for a while.
This is why not only should fathers get the same amount of time off as mother's, but they should be required to take it.
From each according to there ability, To each according to there need.
People with children need more from society, as long as those people are also contributing as much as they are able, they deserve to have that need me
Why not both? I chose not to have kids because I think this world is idiotic and don't want more unnecessary suffering.
And it's your choice, which is absolutely respectable. But refusing to support your society's children because you're childless is not better that being against DEI because you're white.
When it's possible to give the same flexibility to everybody, that should be done of course, but it's not always the case.
It’s not “society’s children” they’re refusing to support, it’s their shitty employer under capitalism. If we lived in a utopian society, you’d have a point. It’s not the employee’s role to sacrifice for some other person the employer is accommodating at your expense.
Capitalism is not an excuse not to stand in solidarity within the working class. And capitalism doesn't make society disappear, in spite of what they would want us to believe.
But we're not talking about whether or not childcare would be subsidised (it should) or education and healthcare be free (they should). We're talking about whether being flexible to work from home or have flex hours should be allowed. And they should. For everyone, regardless of parental status.
Yeah, anyone who has to take care of a sick family member should get to work from home that day, whether it's a child or an elderly grandparent. That's what the same flexibility means, not getting to work from home the same amount of days as a parent tit for tat.
It's not always possible. When it is, of course it should be for everyone; but children should have their parents with them when they're sick or when school is closed. And that often means that childless workers can't be on holiday at the same time.
That's exactly what this debate was about, you're agreeing now.
The post says "flexibility".
If the ability to shift hours or wfh is provided to those with children, it should be provided to everyone.
Sure, comment op chose to not have kids, but parents also chose to have kids (or chose to not practice safe sex).
Parents chose to have kids; kids don't chose to be born. Flexibility should be given to everyone; priority should still be given to those to need it to take care of others. Because if you give a lot of flexibility to everyone, schedule conflicts will occur.
This I agree with (mostly). As an employee and an employer, this is how I treat things. I expect those without kids to plan their flexibility with a bit more foresight, as "oh shit" timing happens a lot less. But if there is conflict due to a preplanned flexibility and a parent's emergent issue with a child, the business deals with it, that's life. The. if an employee who was using flexible time can help out, all the better, but not required.
I know I'm not the norm as a business leader, and have had conflicts about that with other less accommodating leaders in the past, but that's how things should be. Flexibility is a priveledge, and a requirement, for the business and employees alike.
Kids are what form the next generation. Society needs them. You can choose not to contribute to the future of humanity by directly producing offspring, but if you also don't support those who do, you have less value to society.
Bullshit.
We aren’t talking about supporting these kid’s education and shit that society does which most are us are totally fine with, we are talking about missing out on our own lives because employers prioritize parents taking time off over us.
I’m not less valuable to society because I don’t want to sacrifice my family time for some entitled asshole coworker’s kids. And the entitled asshole (I’m sure we’ve all worked with one) is always first in line to complain if they don’t get their holiday.
The thing is, that as politically incorrect as it is to say, you are objectively less value to society and to humanity, if you don't have kids. Whether that should be a factor in what rights one has is fraught with moral tripwires.
“Entitled asshole” - interesting word choice and value judgement
Yes, the entitled assholes who think because they have kids they deserve special privileges, sometimes even above other people with kids. I’m not talking about all parents. Thought that was pretty clear with the parenthetical, but guess I have to spell it out. That’s ok.
If someone is normal about it, doesn’t abuse their status as parents for special accommodations, I’ve got no problem with it beyond management being wildly unfair. But literally everywhere I’ve worked has had a handful of people who demand flexibility to pick their kids up, frequently take days off due to their kid needing something, etc. leaving everyone else to pick up their slack. Then you find out later they went to the spa or some shit. If they don’t get the vacation time they want, they complain about how their kids need it so much, and try to talk childless coworkers into covering for them.
Those entitled asshole.
You seem to encounter these “entitled assholes” frequently - perhaps you are too broadly applying your lens, and even if not you may want to be careful using it in other circumstances where it may not carry over or be used to take rights away from workers
That’s what happens when you work shitty jobs, man. Idk what to tell you. You end up with shitty coworkers who don’t get fired for being shitty.
I’m just going to ignore the implication that I’m overreacting to my own lived experience and the downsides that have come with it. I’ve only had to miss out on tons of family stuff because of it with people who are dead now, as a result of entitled parents throwing their kids around as an excuse, so..
Have a nice day.
Therapy may help if you are in a US state where there is sufficient health care coverage
Have a nice day as well
Oh fuck right off with that shit. You don’t know shit about me beyond this limited exchange.
You neglect to consider adopting parents.
That’s it! I’m taking “smoke breaks” every hour for my health…
Many who don't have children are among its "weaker" members. Flexibility and being treated well should be a cornerstone of society no matter if you have kids or not, especially now when the vast majority are having a hard enough time.
Good thing our benevolent overlords grant us such gracious “gifts” 👌🏼🍆
Gift may not be the right word, you're right; but English is not my mother tongue and I didn't find a better one.
Your phrasing was an excellent change of perspective.
No problem. Your English is fine. It’s the concept in general, regardless of what words we use.
do you wanna go pick up janes feverish toddler from daycare today? shes gonna scream and cry and you arnt getting sleep, also, be on alret because the fever may not break tonight and you may have to call out tomorrow too.
I mean yeah, if I can get time off work with no consequences in order to take care of a sick kid in need, of course I am choosing that over fattening some investors' portfolios.
Idk what your job is, so maybe it is wildly taxing on the average afternoon, but taking care of a sick kid sucks. They're miserable so you're miserable and it also means you're either already sick or about to be sick yourself. You can't bring them to the park or the library or the store or out to eat because then you're damning other parents to the week you're having. If you're a good parent it's not just sitting the kid on the couch with the TV and some ginger ale. Maybe it gets to be that easy when your kid is like 10. I hope so.
I'd pick my old office job 10/10 times when they're sick, but it's also not zero consequences. It's either you're taking PTO hours or you're calling in favors, or you're taking an FMLA day which is unpaid (in my state at least) and it also makes your coworkers resent you, which is a very real consequence.