As Kara Crissman’s maternity leave came to an end, she took to to reflect on the pros and cons of being home with a newborn.
Crissman, ’13, Communication Studies, and her husband, Mike Crissman, ’13, Journalism, welcomed their second child, Harper, earlier this year.
Having the opportunity to step back from her role as director of marketing at Gravyty provided Crissman with an opportunity not all new parents receive. noted several studies that highlight the positive short- and long-term impacts that maternity leave has on parents and the entire family.
Crissman shared:
“As my maternity leave dwindles to its last few days, I’ve been reflecting on what it means in our society to be a working parent.
It means sometimes feeling like you’re failing your company or on the flip side, failing your kids.
It means sleepless nights leading into groggy, long work days.
It means dropping off a meeting to collect your sick child from daycare.
It means shuffling and reshuffling your schedule to accommodate appointments, meetings, and unexpected obligations.For mothers specifically, it typically means working (albeit gratefully, usually) through the physical burdens and stresses of pregnancy and months - if not years - of postpartum.
As a workplace, it’s critical to provide employees with the thoughtfulness and care to live their lives outside of work. That doesn’t mean giving working parents a pass and demanding less of them. It simply means making it easier for them to work smarter for you (and for them) in a way that’s sustainable and keeps mothers in the workforce.
I’m choosing to be a working mother, with all its trials and tribulations. I’m excited to see how our society evolves to fit this growing portion of professionals in our world today.”
Kent State Supports Leave For New Parents
The university's policy register lays out the guidelines for paid parental leave for staff who are not in a recognized bargaining unit. To be eligible for paid parental leave, an employee must have become a new parent as a birth mother, birth father, adoptive parent, foster care parent with legal custody or guardianship, or domestic partner.
Six weeks of parental leave is paid at 100% of the employee’s regular base rate of compensation at the time leave is taken, and an additional six weeks may be used from the employee’s accumulated sick leave or from leave donated by others in accordance with university policy.