Where do “family-friendly” workplaces leave singles?
Co-worker: “I have to leave at 6 to pick up my kid.” Me, single/childless: “Well, I have to leave at 6 because I want to.” If I had a nickel for every time I’ve had some version of that exchange, I’d be enjoying early retirement in Ibiza right now. (Note to placement professionals: My line of dialogue takes place in my head.) It got a little less frequent when I got married (on the gotta-go scale, quality time with husband ranks higher than, say, potentially pivotal date or quality time with TiVo). But even though I freelance, and have been doing so for most of my professional life, it still happens in some form or another. In fact, it has occurred while I was working as a volunteer. I do not resent the people who have to leave at 6. You gotta pick up your kid, you gotta pick up your kid. I understand that being a working parent requires a superhuman balancing act. And one day soon, universe willing, I’ll be one of those gotta-pick-up-my-kid people. But what I have resented is the impl
