53 ms·

Upboat for rationalisation. Also, from the European perspective (and specifically speaking of the technology sector, as that's what I have first-hand experienc

Upboat for rationalisation. Also, from the European perspective (and specifically speaking of the technology sector, as that's what I have first-hand experience with), taking sick leave to take care of a child at home isn't a thing, whatsoever. You would just send an email to your team saying that you're sorry but you're working from home because your kid is sick and that would be the end of it. No compulsion to take vacation. No compulsion to take sick leave. No punitive punishments for being human and for your family members being human. It really is a different world, over here. However, given the American exceptionalism showing up in the thread, I'm going to wager that this probably going to see some vitriolic response.

zeroname 8y ago
> (specifically speaking of the technology sector, as that's what I have first-hand experience with) In other words, you're out of touch with ordinary, less privileged workers. > It really is a different world, over here. The antithesis to the apathetical, if I may be so bold... Oh, come on. If you're a developer you can have a "work from home" day in the US as well. Plus, you can earn far more and you pay less in taxes.
- renholder 8y ago
  >In other words, you're out of touch with ordinary, less privileged workers. Just because I'm "out of touch" with ordinary, less privileged workers doesn't equate to my experience and observations in the sector as being invalidated, yeah? Isn't the site "Hacker News" and not "ordinary, less privileged workers'" news? >Oh, come on. If you're a developer you can have a "work from home" day in the US as well. That might be true for you but is it true for developers in the overall society? Let's take this to an extreme example: A coworker missed over two months, last year, for 'x' medical reasons. What would've surely driven him to the poor house in the states was paid through those taxes you later commented on and there was no threat to his job because of it. >Plus, you can earn far more and you pay less in taxes. What does that have to do with anything related to kids and the propensity to send them to school because you haven't the time to take off to take care of them or the funds to have a minder? Surely, those less taxes (and more pay) should equate to more days from school, yeah, if it really is as exceptional as you're trying to make it sound. Personally, I like paying taxes for a better society (e.g.: education, health, infrastructure, etc.) but that's just me. However, that has nothing to do the topic.
  - zeroname 8y ago
    > Just because I'm "out of touch" with ordinary, less privileged workers doesn't equate to my experience and observations in the sector as being invalidated, yeah? It means your experience doesn't scale to broader society, but you were making a point about broader society. If the ordinary secretary or the shift worker or the policeman don't get their "work from home days" there's essentially no difference in your example to what's going on in the US. > That might be true for you but is it true for developers in the overall society? Working from home on occasion certainly isn't unusual. > Let's take this to an extreme example: A coworker missed over two months, last year, for 'x' medical reasons. What would've surely driven him to the poor house in the states was paid through those taxes you later commented on and there was no threat to his job because of it. "Surely" you have no idea about the US system. Paid sick days is something your insurance may or may not cover. You get the choice of whether you want to pay for that or not. States laws also may protect workers from getting fired during longer illness. > What does that have to do with anything related to kids... Nothing, just rubbing it in. If you're successful in Finland (or some other little Euro country), you're going to be far less wealthy than in the US. You'll be paying for everyone else to live. If that makes you happy, go for it. Pat yourself on the back.
    - renholder 8y ago
      >Working from home on occasion certainly isn't unusual. Occassion and modus operandi are two entirely different precepts but you know this, yeah, and your trying ever-so hard to be pedantic. It's cute. >Paid sick days is something your insurance may or may not cover. I thought it was the employer who paid the sick days in the states. What you're talking about falls under the FMLA, I believe; which is an entire different set of principles - independent of the actual employer, yeah? Then you reinforce the point that it's not an overall societal protection with the statement, "States laws also may protect workers from getting fired during longer illness." >Nothing, just rubbing it in. You've brought nothing of attainable consequence to the conversation, much less any evidence of your assertion. How can you rub in that which you assume to be true but have no evidence for or against? The arrogance is astounding, to say the least. >If you're successful in Finland (or some other little Euro country), you're going to be far less wealthy than in the US. I'm assuming you're speaking of purely fiscal wealth, which is a pretty myopic perspective to have. You've provided no evidence of this claim. Are you sure we, the europoor, are actually poor or is this just something you're reverberating from the echo chambers of American exceptionalism. >You'll be paying for everyone else to live. Do you not do this with the current Social Security system? The irony is palpable... >If that makes you happy, go for it. Already doing it, so this is pretty pedestrian. >Pat yourself on the back. Is this not what you're trying to do with your own argument around more pay and less taxes? Pot meet kettle. The banality of this tangible irony is already starting to bore me. Do you have anything of consequence to proffer or is it going to continually be this mundane level of effort, deriving from your bravado? If the latter of the two, then, you're bringing a knife to a gun show and it wouldn't be fair to keep being you with your own phantom limbs, so I'm dipping out. Have fun!
- _of 8y ago
  > Oh, come on. If you're a developer you can have a "work from home" day in the US as well. Plus, you can earn far more and you pay less in taxes. What about the ones that are not developers?
  - taejo 8y ago
    They very often don't get to work from home even in Europe.
umanwizard 8y ago
I work in the technology sector in the US and my experience is exactly the same as yours. > However, given the American exceptionalism showing up in the thread, I'm going to wager that this probably going to see some vitriolic response. I actually don't believe in American exceptionalism at all. Nor European exceptionalism. But I am fed up with people from the most developed part of the world acting shocked and morally outraged when life isn't as amazing everywhere else. You probably didn't intend it that way, but it comes off as extremely smug.
- newen 8y ago
  You are implying Europe is more developed than America? America has per capita GDP comparable to Europe's top countries. If not what's wrong with comparing your country's labor laws to a similar country's labor laws?
  - ddebernardy 8y ago
    Yeah, but that's usually comparing a mean income per capita. Personally I'd be curious to see a comparison of what's left of the median income after factoring in the cost of taxes, education, and health care.
    - newen 8y ago
      But mean income per capita is what should be compared when talking about social services such as healthcare, etc. If you take a developed country, add a bunch of wealth inequality to it, and then say that you can't compare that country to other developed countries because wealth inequality is part of equalition of being developed, you are just going around in circles.
    - DangitBobby 8y ago
      Any comparison should take other effects of work culture into account as well, such as how much time per week we can devote to living once you subtract work and commute times.
  - umanwizard 8y ago
rayiner 8y ago
You’re comparing apples and oranges. The low income workers the CDC study looks at can’t “work from home”—they’re cashiers in retail, etc.
rootusrootus 8y ago
If one of my kids is sick, i just email the office to tell them I'm going to be working from home. Not a big deal. I've never worked anyplace where it would have been a problem.
- beardedwizard 8y ago
  Low income folks probably aren't working a cushy office job. It's probably manual labor.
  - dahfizz 8y ago
    Do people in equivalent jobs in Europe also get to "work from home"?
    - cf498 8y ago
      You take a separate additional sick leave as a parent with a sick child in Germany. Working from home is something the employee can do to mitigate his absence. Each parent gets 10 days per year with one kid and up to 25 with multiple kids. If you are a single parent it doubles, so 20 for one kid and up to 50 for 2+ kids edit: kids up to the age of 12. edit2: it can be unpaid. However you get sickpay instead.
      - dahfizz 8y ago
        Is this only for salaried employees or everyone? Does a grocery bagger get paid sick leave?
        cf498 8y ago
        We dont have grocery bagers. I assume you mean people whos sole income are tips? Thats not legal here. You can tip the pizza guy and waiter, but they are employees getting a paycheck from their employers. Tips are a bonus for a job well done and unrelated to them making a living.
_they 8y ago
American here. I would like to point out that places with amazing health and vacation benefits exist. I work at one in academia. Amazing health insurance, amazing sick leave and vacation (that you are actually allowed to use, guilt free). Paternity and maternity leave, six months (so a total of a year for one couple). If you have a family or value those things, it pays to quit looking solely at that salary field and look for culture and benefits.
- cblum 8y ago
  The problem in America is that those things are exclusively dependent on one’s employer. More developed countries like Finland or Sweden give everyone those things via national policy.
crankylinuxuser 8y ago
On the converse... I'm an American whom lives in Indiana. Let me share my experiences. I worked at Starbucks for 5 years. When I got sick, I showed up to work. I know I worked while having the flu, and making drinks for people. If we didn't show up, our hours for next week would be messed up badly and intentionally. We would go from 35 hours to 15 hours, or we'd be scheduled "clopens" - close at midnight, and open at 4:45a the next morning. If you wanted your job, you showed up and vomited on the floor. I also worked at wal-mart. I was a 3rd shift stocker. I was fired for getting injured on the job by a faulty pallet jack falling on my foot, and "costing the company money" (exact quote). I even have my discharge paper stating that. Needed x-rays and a tetanus shot. And with someone at the time who had little money, lawsuits are out of the question, especially for a corp like Walmart. I'll take some of that 'commie socialistic European perspective', if you don't mind :)
- kbutler 8y ago
  If you have official paperwork showing you were fired for an injury on the job, lawyers would be happy to do the lawsuit on a contingency basis. It would be a foregone conclusion.
  - crankylinuxuser 8y ago
    You'd think. But there's no governmental agency or office to assist with these illegal actions. I'm depending on the charity and hope of profit of a lawyer. One attorney I talked with didn't do cases on contingency. Another refused because it was against Walmart. And that was that. Sure, I was wronged. Not a damned thing I can do about it.
    - kortilla 8y ago
      You needed to talk to more lawyers. If the case is like you said, it’s open and shut. Walmart gets successfully sued all of the time when they are at fault for workplace accidents. I personally know of two separate acquaintances’ relatives who were hurt at Walmart, fired, sued with no up front legal fees, and won. One got hit by a parking lot shopping cart train and the other got injured in the mechanic shop.
ktjfi 8y ago
Maybe in the rich countries of the EU.
ddebernardy 8y ago
What you said only applies when you're part of the workforce that can take its work home. When you're more like the rest of the workforce, you show up where you're expected to man the cash register, nurse your patients, drive your truck, clean up the office, etc.
todd3834 8y ago
FWIW work from home because your kid is sick is extremely common at every company I’ve worked at in America as a software engineer as well. No one gets mad and it doesn’t make you look bad. Maybe I’ve been lucky or it could be an industry thing not necessarily a country thing.
supercanuck 8y ago
If you are able to work from home, you are probably not living in poverty. I work for a European multinational, and it is most certaintly a thing.
nabla9 8y ago
It seems that your argument directly supports the headline claim. How about European low-income people? Low-income people work mostly in retail, transports and logistics, cleaning, construction, and physical jobs. They can't work from home.
- Tepix 8y ago
  They can stay at home, take care of their kids and receive money from the national health insurance (that's how it's in Germany).
  - nabla9 8y ago
    aka. take a leave. In Germany every employee is entitled to leave of absence if their child is ill - up to a maximum of ten working days per child in the calendar year. Many children are sick more than that. A doctor’s note from the first day is required. Employees typically receive their full income the first few days taken off, but it varies.
nerdponx 8y ago
You can't work from home if you work at a gas station, warehouse, hotel security, etc.
- dfilppi 8y ago
  Or if you are a doctor, lawyer, politician, etc..
  - sabujp 8y ago
    uhh no, doctors lawyers and politicians, basically anyone making >>$100k have way more leeway. You seriously think a dr is going to run around in a patient care setting while he's contagious, .e.g has the flu or some stomach infection? Maybe if he's the only dr in a rural setting he might go if it's a minor cold, same as with a lawyer for a court date, or politician who really needs to go vote or attend some important meeting. Not to mention that these people also have $ to hire nannies
jackconnor 8y ago
This is janitors and cashiers at McDonalds, there’s no “working from home” and i guarantee it’s the same in Europe. We’re not talking about IT jobs here dude.
- Tepix 8y ago
  McDonald's in Germany is unlikely to pay your wage when you stay at home to take care of your kids, but many other employers do. Anyway, you still have a right to get Kinderkrankengeld for 10 days per year, paid by the national health insurance. Enjoy!
  - saltcured 8y ago
    Kinderkrankengeld. Child-sickness money. Seeing this new (to me) word gave me a little meta-joy this morning. Not for the topic at hand, but for the wonderful German word compounding. Not quite as musical as my favorite three-part compound to date. The Thai word pronounced "malang-tao-tong" is roughly insect-turtle-gold and describes what we would call a ladybug in the US.
- Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  Ok. So instead of working from home, they'd stay home from work. Norway has protected days so parents can stay home with sick children. Paid days.
Tepix 8y ago
In Germany if you child is sick you have a right to stay home and take care of it. No need to work from home either during that time (but you can of course choose to do so). Who pays for this will depend on your employer. Many of them pay for a few days per year. If you need more days or if they don't pay, you can get "Kinderkrankengeld²" from your national health insurance (another 10 days per year). --- ² https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderkrankengeld https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderkrankengeld
sabujp 8y ago
an email to your team?!?! HAHHAHAHA did you even read the part about low income. People in families making <$35000 aren't sending emails to their "team"
- paulddraper 8y ago
  Yeah, it's laughable to think that more than 5% of HN's experience is relevant to these situations.
refurb 8y ago
If you’re talking a white-collar office job, I just did the same this past week in the US. It’s pretty common in the US as well.
ams6110 8y ago
Uh TFA is talking about low income parents. In the tech sector here, it's the same. I can "work from home" to take care of a sick kid, or I can just use a sick day, which I have in plentiful supply, and avoid the pretense of pretending to work while I'm not at the office. A waitress, housekeeper, janitor, or someone else who actually has to be at a specific place to perform their work, doesn't have that kind of flexibility.
baud147258 8y ago
> working from home Even in IT, if the company doesn't support any remote working (and there are many company that still don't), you'd have no choice but to use a day off.

zeroname 8y ago

> (specifically speaking of the technology sector, as that's what I have first-hand experience with) In other words, you're out of touch with ordinary, less privileged workers. > It really is a different world, over here. The antithesis to the apathetical, if I may be so bold... Oh, come on. If you're a developer you can have a "work from home" day in the US as well. Plus, you can earn far more and you pay less in taxes.

renholder 8y ago
>In other words, you're out of touch with ordinary, less privileged workers. Just because I'm "out of touch" with ordinary, less privileged workers doesn't equate to my experience and observations in the sector as being invalidated, yeah? Isn't the site "Hacker News" and not "ordinary, less privileged workers'" news? >Oh, come on. If you're a developer you can have a "work from home" day in the US as well. That might be true for you but is it true for developers in the overall society? Let's take this to an extreme example: A coworker missed over two months, last year, for 'x' medical reasons. What would've surely driven him to the poor house in the states was paid through those taxes you later commented on and there was no threat to his job because of it. >Plus, you can earn far more and you pay less in taxes. What does that have to do with anything related to kids and the propensity to send them to school because you haven't the time to take off to take care of them or the funds to have a minder? Surely, those less taxes (and more pay) should equate to more days from school, yeah, if it really is as exceptional as you're trying to make it sound. Personally, I like paying taxes for a better society (e.g.: education, health, infrastructure, etc.) but that's just me. However, that has nothing to do the topic.
- zeroname 8y ago
  > Just because I'm "out of touch" with ordinary, less privileged workers doesn't equate to my experience and observations in the sector as being invalidated, yeah? It means your experience doesn't scale to broader society, but you were making a point about broader society. If the ordinary secretary or the shift worker or the policeman don't get their "work from home days" there's essentially no difference in your example to what's going on in the US. > That might be true for you but is it true for developers in the overall society? Working from home on occasion certainly isn't unusual. > Let's take this to an extreme example: A coworker missed over two months, last year, for 'x' medical reasons. What would've surely driven him to the poor house in the states was paid through those taxes you later commented on and there was no threat to his job because of it. "Surely" you have no idea about the US system. Paid sick days is something your insurance may or may not cover. You get the choice of whether you want to pay for that or not. States laws also may protect workers from getting fired during longer illness. > What does that have to do with anything related to kids... Nothing, just rubbing it in. If you're successful in Finland (or some other little Euro country), you're going to be far less wealthy than in the US. You'll be paying for everyone else to live. If that makes you happy, go for it. Pat yourself on the back.
  - renholder 8y ago
    >Working from home on occasion certainly isn't unusual. Occassion and modus operandi are two entirely different precepts but you know this, yeah, and your trying ever-so hard to be pedantic. It's cute. >Paid sick days is something your insurance may or may not cover. I thought it was the employer who paid the sick days in the states. What you're talking about falls under the FMLA, I believe; which is an entire different set of principles - independent of the actual employer, yeah? Then you reinforce the point that it's not an overall societal protection with the statement, "States laws also may protect workers from getting fired during longer illness." >Nothing, just rubbing it in. You've brought nothing of attainable consequence to the conversation, much less any evidence of your assertion. How can you rub in that which you assume to be true but have no evidence for or against? The arrogance is astounding, to say the least. >If you're successful in Finland (or some other little Euro country), you're going to be far less wealthy than in the US. I'm assuming you're speaking of purely fiscal wealth, which is a pretty myopic perspective to have. You've provided no evidence of this claim. Are you sure we, the europoor, are actually poor or is this just something you're reverberating from the echo chambers of American exceptionalism. >You'll be paying for everyone else to live. Do you not do this with the current Social Security system? The irony is palpable... >If that makes you happy, go for it. Already doing it, so this is pretty pedestrian. >Pat yourself on the back. Is this not what you're trying to do with your own argument around more pay and less taxes? Pot meet kettle. The banality of this tangible irony is already starting to bore me. Do you have anything of consequence to proffer or is it going to continually be this mundane level of effort, deriving from your bravado? If the latter of the two, then, you're bringing a knife to a gun show and it wouldn't be fair to keep being you with your own phantom limbs, so I'm dipping out. Have fun!
_of 8y ago
> Oh, come on. If you're a developer you can have a "work from home" day in the US as well. Plus, you can earn far more and you pay less in taxes. What about the ones that are not developers?
- taejo 8y ago
  They very often don't get to work from home even in Europe.

umanwizard 8y ago

I work in the technology sector in the US and my experience is exactly the same as yours. > However, given the American exceptionalism showing up in the thread, I'm going to wager that this probably going to see some vitriolic response. I actually don't believe in American exceptionalism at all. Nor European exceptionalism. But I am fed up with people from the most developed part of the world acting shocked and morally outraged when life isn't as amazing everywhere else. You probably didn't intend it that way, but it comes off as extremely smug.

newen 8y ago
You are implying Europe is more developed than America? America has per capita GDP comparable to Europe's top countries. If not what's wrong with comparing your country's labor laws to a similar country's labor laws?
- ddebernardy 8y ago
  Yeah, but that's usually comparing a mean income per capita. Personally I'd be curious to see a comparison of what's left of the median income after factoring in the cost of taxes, education, and health care.
  - newen 8y ago
    But mean income per capita is what should be compared when talking about social services such as healthcare, etc. If you take a developed country, add a bunch of wealth inequality to it, and then say that you can't compare that country to other developed countries because wealth inequality is part of equalition of being developed, you are just going around in circles.
  - DangitBobby 8y ago
    Any comparison should take other effects of work culture into account as well, such as how much time per week we can devote to living once you subtract work and commute times.
- umanwizard 8y ago

rayiner 8y ago

You’re comparing apples and oranges. The low income workers the CDC study looks at can’t “work from home”—they’re cashiers in retail, etc.

rootusrootus 8y ago

If one of my kids is sick, i just email the office to tell them I'm going to be working from home. Not a big deal. I've never worked anyplace where it would have been a problem.

beardedwizard 8y ago
Low income folks probably aren't working a cushy office job. It's probably manual labor.
- dahfizz 8y ago
  Do people in equivalent jobs in Europe also get to "work from home"?
  - cf498 8y ago
    You take a separate additional sick leave as a parent with a sick child in Germany. Working from home is something the employee can do to mitigate his absence. Each parent gets 10 days per year with one kid and up to 25 with multiple kids. If you are a single parent it doubles, so 20 for one kid and up to 50 for 2+ kids edit: kids up to the age of 12. edit2: it can be unpaid. However you get sickpay instead.
    - dahfizz 8y ago
      Is this only for salaried employees or everyone? Does a grocery bagger get paid sick leave?
      - cf498 8y ago
        We dont have grocery bagers. I assume you mean people whos sole income are tips? Thats not legal here. You can tip the pizza guy and waiter, but they are employees getting a paycheck from their employers. Tips are a bonus for a job well done and unrelated to them making a living.

_they 8y ago

American here. I would like to point out that places with amazing health and vacation benefits exist. I work at one in academia. Amazing health insurance, amazing sick leave and vacation (that you are actually allowed to use, guilt free). Paternity and maternity leave, six months (so a total of a year for one couple). If you have a family or value those things, it pays to quit looking solely at that salary field and look for culture and benefits.

cblum 8y ago
The problem in America is that those things are exclusively dependent on one’s employer. More developed countries like Finland or Sweden give everyone those things via national policy.

crankylinuxuser 8y ago

On the converse... I'm an American whom lives in Indiana. Let me share my experiences. I worked at Starbucks for 5 years. When I got sick, I showed up to work. I know I worked while having the flu, and making drinks for people. If we didn't show up, our hours for next week would be messed up badly and intentionally. We would go from 35 hours to 15 hours, or we'd be scheduled "clopens" - close at midnight, and open at 4:45a the next morning. If you wanted your job, you showed up and vomited on the floor. I also worked at wal-mart. I was a 3rd shift stocker. I was fired for getting injured on the job by a faulty pallet jack falling on my foot, and "costing the company money" (exact quote). I even have my discharge paper stating that. Needed x-rays and a tetanus shot. And with someone at the time who had little money, lawsuits are out of the question, especially for a corp like Walmart. I'll take some of that 'commie socialistic European perspective', if you don't mind :)

kbutler 8y ago
If you have official paperwork showing you were fired for an injury on the job, lawyers would be happy to do the lawsuit on a contingency basis. It would be a foregone conclusion.
- crankylinuxuser 8y ago
  You'd think. But there's no governmental agency or office to assist with these illegal actions. I'm depending on the charity and hope of profit of a lawyer. One attorney I talked with didn't do cases on contingency. Another refused because it was against Walmart. And that was that. Sure, I was wronged. Not a damned thing I can do about it.
  - kortilla 8y ago
    You needed to talk to more lawyers. If the case is like you said, it’s open and shut. Walmart gets successfully sued all of the time when they are at fault for workplace accidents. I personally know of two separate acquaintances’ relatives who were hurt at Walmart, fired, sued with no up front legal fees, and won. One got hit by a parking lot shopping cart train and the other got injured in the mechanic shop.

ktjfi 8y ago

Maybe in the rich countries of the EU.

ddebernardy 8y ago

What you said only applies when you're part of the workforce that can take its work home. When you're more like the rest of the workforce, you show up where you're expected to man the cash register, nurse your patients, drive your truck, clean up the office, etc.

todd3834 8y ago

FWIW work from home because your kid is sick is extremely common at every company I’ve worked at in America as a software engineer as well. No one gets mad and it doesn’t make you look bad. Maybe I’ve been lucky or it could be an industry thing not necessarily a country thing.

supercanuck 8y ago

If you are able to work from home, you are probably not living in poverty. I work for a European multinational, and it is most certaintly a thing.

nabla9 8y ago

It seems that your argument directly supports the headline claim. How about European low-income people? Low-income people work mostly in retail, transports and logistics, cleaning, construction, and physical jobs. They can't work from home.

Tepix 8y ago
They can stay at home, take care of their kids and receive money from the national health insurance (that's how it's in Germany).
- nabla9 8y ago
  aka. take a leave. In Germany every employee is entitled to leave of absence if their child is ill - up to a maximum of ten working days per child in the calendar year. Many children are sick more than that. A doctor’s note from the first day is required. Employees typically receive their full income the first few days taken off, but it varies.

nerdponx 8y ago

You can't work from home if you work at a gas station, warehouse, hotel security, etc.

dfilppi 8y ago
Or if you are a doctor, lawyer, politician, etc..
- sabujp 8y ago
  uhh no, doctors lawyers and politicians, basically anyone making >>$100k have way more leeway. You seriously think a dr is going to run around in a patient care setting while he's contagious, .e.g has the flu or some stomach infection? Maybe if he's the only dr in a rural setting he might go if it's a minor cold, same as with a lawyer for a court date, or politician who really needs to go vote or attend some important meeting. Not to mention that these people also have $ to hire nannies

jackconnor 8y ago

This is janitors and cashiers at McDonalds, there’s no “working from home” and i guarantee it’s the same in Europe. We’re not talking about IT jobs here dude.

Tepix 8y ago
McDonald's in Germany is unlikely to pay your wage when you stay at home to take care of your kids, but many other employers do. Anyway, you still have a right to get Kinderkrankengeld for 10 days per year, paid by the national health insurance. Enjoy!
- saltcured 8y ago
  Kinderkrankengeld. Child-sickness money. Seeing this new (to me) word gave me a little meta-joy this morning. Not for the topic at hand, but for the wonderful German word compounding. Not quite as musical as my favorite three-part compound to date. The Thai word pronounced "malang-tao-tong" is roughly insect-turtle-gold and describes what we would call a ladybug in the US.
Broken_Hippo 8y ago
Ok. So instead of working from home, they'd stay home from work. Norway has protected days so parents can stay home with sick children. Paid days.

Tepix 8y ago

In Germany if you child is sick you have a right to stay home and take care of it. No need to work from home either during that time (but you can of course choose to do so). Who pays for this will depend on your employer. Many of them pay for a few days per year. If you need more days or if they don't pay, you can get "Kinderkrankengeld²" from your national health insurance (another 10 days per year). --- ² https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderkrankengeld https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderkrankengeld

sabujp 8y ago

an email to your team?!?! HAHHAHAHA did you even read the part about low income. People in families making <$35000 aren't sending emails to their "team"

paulddraper 8y ago
Yeah, it's laughable to think that more than 5% of HN's experience is relevant to these situations.

refurb 8y ago

If you’re talking a white-collar office job, I just did the same this past week in the US. It’s pretty common in the US as well.

ams6110 8y ago

Uh TFA is talking about low income parents. In the tech sector here, it's the same. I can "work from home" to take care of a sick kid, or I can just use a sick day, which I have in plentiful supply, and avoid the pretense of pretending to work while I'm not at the office. A waitress, housekeeper, janitor, or someone else who actually has to be at a specific place to perform their work, doesn't have that kind of flexibility.

baud147258 8y ago

> working from home Even in IT, if the company doesn't support any remote working (and there are many company that still don't), you'd have no choice but to use a day off.