Or, I should say my job is just now recovering.

I have missed a good bit of work over the past few weeks due to school events, especially those of my 8th grader who just graduated.

I thought it was just me overwhelmed with the end of the year school activities, but it turns out I’m not alone, many other working parents feel the same way about the end of the school year:

But as thousands of working parents across the country know, this can be the cruelest season of the year, logistically speaking, when dozens of these end-of-school-year events collide with work obligations, over and over again.

It’s not just a matter of having an understanding employer, although that certainly helps. Even for those in the most flexible workplaces, a series of three-hour absences can sabotage a week.

I joke about taking my entire vacation 4 hours at a time, and I feel like I’m actually doing it. I’ve loved every minute of the activities and I am fortunate that I got to attend, but I’ve used a lot of vacation time, and will barely be able to cover my actual vacation.

Predictably, the article quotes some expert who blames parents over scheduling kids (don’t they always?), but almost every obligation I had was school related and had nothing to do with outside activities.

Indeed, it’s an especially rough time of year for working parents, and I hope workplaces begin to acknowledge it.

Post from: Blisstree

End of the year school activities and working parents