Today I'm thankful for....

My Job! More specifically, the great company I work for.

Today I was reading this article on msnbc.com about how people are afraid to take their entitled time off work. One woman had just had a double-mastectomy and she was in chemotherapy and she was feeling pressured to come back to work or lose her job. She went back to work. Her healing slowed down and she ended up getting fired because one day her husband came to work to help her move some boxes.

She sued and won, but the damage was done. There are apparently quite a few people who go to work sick because they are afraid if they take any time off work, they will lose their job. In fact, the article said that almost 1/3 of workers who needed to take leave didn't because they were afraid of getting fired. That is so sad.

The article goes on to say: "The United States is one of only a handful of industrialized nations that does not provide workers with paid leave under federal law. Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland also don’t have mandatory paid time off. However, Holland gives workers 16 weeks of sick leave at 100 percent of salary, and Sweden offers 56 weeks of parental leave at full salary, according to a Catalyst study from last year."

While I may be still in a country that is very behind in certain paid benefits, I am very thankful to work for a company who values their employees and provides great benefits. I was able to take off a full 3 months after JJ was born and they didn't bat an eye. In fact, my office threw me a baby shower before I went on maternity leave.

It may not have been the full year they get in Sweden, but that's another topic for another day...