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Men at work do not understand pregnant coworkers and often are too quick to throw them off the bus. In a NYTimes article on December 20, 2016,  Pregnancy Changes the Brain in Ways That May Help Mothering, the following lead paragraph appeared, œPregnancy changes a woman’s brain, altering the size and structure of areas involved in perceiving the feelings and perspectives of others, according to a  first-of-its-kind study  published on Monday.

In essence, the study has shown that women who become pregnant appear to be œless perceptive of the thoughts and feelings of others. The author of the study stated the changes in the brain reflect the woman’s brain’s adaptation to permit œa mother’s ability to recognize the needs of her infant, to recognize social threats or to promote mother-infant bonding. These findings account for the problems pregnant women experience at work at the hands of their male handlers and the near  constant rate of pregnancy discrimination claims filed each year.

The bottom line as I see this issue playing out at work is simple. Male employees should respect that a pregnant coworker is magically building a human being inside. We as men should anticipate that our pregnant coworkers may require more of our time, attention, empathy and patience.   What does not work is a lack of empathy, disparate treatment, isolationism and crass male bullshit behavior.  If you’re a man dumb enough to cross this line at work, and believe me I have dealt with many of them, it is a 100% certainty you will violate your company’s code of conduct and state and federal law. Worse yet, you will contend with me. You can bet I will make sure you lose your job, because that’s the fair and just punishment for your stupidity.   Gentlemen, what if you were a woman, would you want some a-hole doing this to you while you were pregnant at work? I didn’t think so and you can call me to discuss this further if you didn’t get the point of the study and this article.  I would be delighted to agitate your cranium.

Why Men At Work Don’t Understand Pregnancy. If you would like more information about this issue, please contact  Carey & Associates PC at 203-255-4150.

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