Singles only want one thing this year for Christmas – and no, it’s not someone special to kiss under the mistletoe. Singles are wishing that companies would stop assigning holiday workdays to them “under the assumption that they need the time off less than their peers who are married and/or parents.”
Many single, childfree employees are experiencing a form of “singlism” by being stereotyped as “not having a life outside of work.” It could even be internalized by these employees themselves who say things like, “Well, I don’t have a family, I don’t need to be home for “insert holiday here.” This especially happens to those who work in retail or have gig jobs.
But as social scientist Bella DePaulo points out, “Single people have people who matter to them, and commitments and interests and passions that matter to them. All that should be irrelevant, anyway: [The] workplace should be about work. Everything should even out ― how often you get to leave early, come in on the holidays, get your choice of vacation times, etc. ― such that over time, every worker is treated the same, and marital status or parental status do not matter at all.“
What to do…?
Managers should be careful not to make the assumption that single and/or childfree people need holiday time less than others do.Here some ways that companies and managers could better assign holiday workdays:
- Make an equation to determine who gets time out with factors like seniority, who worked last year…
- Have a lottery
- Reward employees with extra pay or gifts
- Put holiday shifts up for grabs first
Source:Huffington Post