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Maternity Leave = Quitting... again!
I'm so frustrated with my co-workers. I work in an office that's mostly women and we have TONS of pregnancies. I've been there for almost 5 years and there have been 16 pregnancies!
Today we found out that yet another one isn't coming back from her maternity leave. This is the 3rd one in the past year! And 2 other women came back from their leave within the last couple of years but they moved to part-time. I feel like nobody can have a kid and work full time any more!
I know, I know, this is mean. But I'm almost offended as a woman. If my office is an accurate sampling, why does any woman 20-35 get a job? They work for a year, use the insurance and 2 months paid maternity leave, then they quit!
Maybe it was how I was raised. My parents were divorced since I was born so my mom always worked. 8-5, every day ever. We had babysitters in the summer, family didn't watch us or anything. I felt like that was normal, but I guess not!
I know part of this is just jealousy. I would NEVER have the choice to not work. I wouldn't have the choice to work part time. I wouldn't have the choice to have free day care like so many people I know have. If I could have any of these things, I would consider us trying to have kids earlier, but we just can't afford it. Yet, all of my co-workers are just quitting all over the place to stay home!
Ugh. Thanks for listening. My co-workers who are already Moms really didn't see it this way. 
Re: Maternity Leave = Quitting... again!
Hello and welcome to the board!
I can understand much of your frustration, especially if some of the job tasks are being pushed on you while all the leaves/new hire training time periods keep occurring.
In my opinion, we have it better being in the workplace rather than being a SAHM. At least for me, I can leave my work stress and duties AT WORK and walk away to a completely different setting to forget about it. SAHM's can't do that, they are there at their "jobs" all the time and the tasks never really end.... right mombie martyrs? hah
You can't compare your situation to everyone else's, it will just drive you batty and cause stress. Stress causes wrinkles and grey hairs, neither of which go away easily, so try not to work yourself up about everyone else not working and raising babies. They might be on food stamps for all you know, and they likely wouldn't admit it to you if they are. Be happy with where YOU are right now, that is the most important thing.
Well, of course they can't work full time!
It's a full time job being a mom!
::vomit::
Haha!
I understand your frustration. My parents always had full time jobs (except for a few years when my mom had a hard time getting one and those years sucked-ass). I have never thought that NOT working was an option. (unless of course, we won the lottery. HA!) But there are people in this world who were raised differently.
One couple I know, she is a SAHM. His salary supports them, but they wouldn't mind a few extra dollars. Still, she stays at home to take care of the baby because that's what her mom did and that's what her mom's mom did.
Another couple just pisses me off. The mom works maybe 20 hours a week and the dad works whenever he wants. (note, they are perfectly capable of getting full time jobs with benefits.) They survive on food stamps. As a tax-paying citizen this pisses me off because I know that they could be better off without depending on government help like they do. And again, that is the way he was raised and she's just lazy. (Just for the sake of complaining, I'll mention that they were given family land, house, furniture, etc.) But I try not to think about these people and their way of life because I just get pissed off.
So the moral of my story is this: Everyone is raised differently, but like OPS said, be happy with the person that you are, where you are in life, and your own personal ethics and standards.
While I completely understand how frustrating it is to have such a high turnover rate, I sort of like being the only woman in my office that my bosses know without a doubt, I don't plan on getting pregnant any time soon, if ever.
I don't want any misunderstandings or misconceptions when it comes to my career since I'm young and married.
I can deal with not receiving a long leave of absence if that meant no pregnancy and no baby.
I agree with this. It helps that my boss is a never-ever.
Same here!