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I'm not sure that I agree with this. With the current state of Yahoo Mayer is clearly in a tough position. She can't afford to be absent AT ALL. I suspect emplo

I'm not sure that I agree with this. With the current state of Yahoo Mayer is clearly in a tough position. She can't afford to be absent AT ALL. I suspect employees may recognize that her circumstances are not the same as their own and take the time they need.

username223 11y ago
I'm inclined to agree with you. If the board is questioning Mayer's leadership, i.e. her boss thinks she is not that great independent of her pregnancy, she's on thin ice. But what do I know -- if I were her, I'd gladly take the $100 million golden parachute and retire at 40.
- ryandrake 11y ago
  I don't get it. With or without a golden parachute, she is likely already in the class of people who have enough wealth to never have to work a day in their lives ever again if they don't want to. Her children will probably not ever have to work a day in their lives either. Why choose not to take time with them? They're only babies once.
  - askafriend 11y ago
    This is why us normal people aren't hyper successful. We're not psychotic enough.
    - pen2l 11y ago
      Do you know there are guys working at Walmart who are forced to miss the birth of their children? I personally know a guy who was in this situation, he was a cashier at Walmart and was forced to miss his child's birth because he was forced to be there on a busy day. It's not just CEOs and high-paying folks not taking time off for paternity/maternity leave, it's everybody people who work in autoshops, cell phone stores, construction jobs, etc.
      - kumarski 11y ago
        That's awful. Didn't know that type of thing still happened.
        the_ancient 11y ago
        What kind of Candy coated, sheltered existence do you have? Missing a childs birth is disappointing, not being able to feed that child is awful... Not being able to get that child medical care is awful, Children working $2 a day to make your $500 pants is awful.....
      - ryandrake 11y ago
        The difference, of course, is that the high-paying folks choose to not take time off, whereas your friend was forced to.
SeanDav 11y ago
The reality is that the example is set by senior management. If anyone has any ambition to succeed in a large organization they will do a lot better if they follow the example of their leaders. It is human nature that managers tend to promote those who toe the line, and invariably, this line is not defined in the company handbook, but is a set of unwritten rules and behaviour that is set by the leaders in the organization.
- nakedrobot2 11y ago
  Oh come on. She's CEO of a company that is circling the drain. Of course she won't take 12 weeks maternity leave, that would be completely retarded.
  - SeanDav 11y ago
    Ask yourself, right now in Yahoo, all things being equal, who will get the promotion, the lady taking a 2 week maternity leave, or the one taking the 12 week maternity leave? I can guarantee you that although in theory it should make no difference, it will in reality.
    - yummyfajitas 11y ago
      In theory it probably should make a difference. The one taking 2 week maternity leave sends a much stronger signal that she cares a lot about her job.
      - lukev 11y ago
        This is absurd. Spending time with one's child instead of one's job is a massive priority for any neurotypical human. Just because someone cares about something more than their job doesn't mean they don't care about their job or do a damn fine job at it. Long(er) maternity leave allows women to manage these conflicting priorities in a way that is more workable for parents and doesn't result in a company outright losing valuable employees when they decide to have a kid.
kozukumi 11y ago
> She can't afford to be absent AT ALL. Why? It isn't like anything she has done in the past couple of years have been game changing.
- lbotos 11y ago
  I know you are trying to be funny, but exactly, she's basically on "probation".
  - kozukumi 11y ago
    Actually I wasn't being funny (or at least trying to be)! I mean honestly what has she done other than let Yahoo! carry on as business has been for a while? (stagnant). She did some publicity stunts like buying that 17-year olds summery app and that is about it. Not saying anyone else would have done a better job, I think most of us could predict the future of Yahoo! no matter who was at the helm.

username223 11y ago

I'm inclined to agree with you. If the board is questioning Mayer's leadership, i.e. her boss thinks she is not that great independent of her pregnancy, she's on thin ice. But what do I know -- if I were her, I'd gladly take the $100 million golden parachute and retire at 40.

ryandrake 11y ago
I don't get it. With or without a golden parachute, she is likely already in the class of people who have enough wealth to never have to work a day in their lives ever again if they don't want to. Her children will probably not ever have to work a day in their lives either. Why choose not to take time with them? They're only babies once.
- askafriend 11y ago
  This is why us normal people aren't hyper successful. We're not psychotic enough.
  - pen2l 11y ago
    Do you know there are guys working at Walmart who are forced to miss the birth of their children? I personally know a guy who was in this situation, he was a cashier at Walmart and was forced to miss his child's birth because he was forced to be there on a busy day. It's not just CEOs and high-paying folks not taking time off for paternity/maternity leave, it's everybody people who work in autoshops, cell phone stores, construction jobs, etc.
    - kumarski 11y ago
      That's awful. Didn't know that type of thing still happened.
      - the_ancient 11y ago
        What kind of Candy coated, sheltered existence do you have? Missing a childs birth is disappointing, not being able to feed that child is awful... Not being able to get that child medical care is awful, Children working $2 a day to make your $500 pants is awful.....
    - ryandrake 11y ago
      The difference, of course, is that the high-paying folks choose to not take time off, whereas your friend was forced to.

SeanDav 11y ago

The reality is that the example is set by senior management. If anyone has any ambition to succeed in a large organization they will do a lot better if they follow the example of their leaders. It is human nature that managers tend to promote those who toe the line, and invariably, this line is not defined in the company handbook, but is a set of unwritten rules and behaviour that is set by the leaders in the organization.

nakedrobot2 11y ago
Oh come on. She's CEO of a company that is circling the drain. Of course she won't take 12 weeks maternity leave, that would be completely retarded.
- SeanDav 11y ago
  Ask yourself, right now in Yahoo, all things being equal, who will get the promotion, the lady taking a 2 week maternity leave, or the one taking the 12 week maternity leave? I can guarantee you that although in theory it should make no difference, it will in reality.
  - yummyfajitas 11y ago
    In theory it probably should make a difference. The one taking 2 week maternity leave sends a much stronger signal that she cares a lot about her job.
    - lukev 11y ago
      This is absurd. Spending time with one's child instead of one's job is a massive priority for any neurotypical human. Just because someone cares about something more than their job doesn't mean they don't care about their job or do a damn fine job at it. Long(er) maternity leave allows women to manage these conflicting priorities in a way that is more workable for parents and doesn't result in a company outright losing valuable employees when they decide to have a kid.

kozukumi 11y ago

> She can't afford to be absent AT ALL. Why? It isn't like anything she has done in the past couple of years have been game changing.

lbotos 11y ago
I know you are trying to be funny, but exactly, she's basically on "probation".
- kozukumi 11y ago
  Actually I wasn't being funny (or at least trying to be)! I mean honestly what has she done other than let Yahoo! carry on as business has been for a while? (stagnant). She did some publicity stunts like buying that 17-year olds summery app and that is about it. Not saying anyone else would have done a better job, I think most of us could predict the future of Yahoo! no matter who was at the helm.