workplace policy paying for employees to freeze eggs...

If you have questions about symptoms or causes of stress, or how to manage and deal with stress, please post them here. (Currently open for pre-clinic questions. These will be answered by Experts from 15 to 21 October 2014).

Moderator: talkhealth

Locked
2 posts
User avatar
talkhealth
Posts: 1782
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:29 pm
Quote

by talkhealth on Mon Oct 20, 2014 3:58 pm

workplace policy paying for employees to freeze eggs...

** A recent story by NBC news revealed that Facebook in the US helps its female employees to pay for the cost of freezing their eggs. Apple is planning to introduce this policy in January.**

What does our expert panel think about this as a workplace policy, is it likely to bring additional stress?
talkhealth
Visit our events page https://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/events

User avatar
Wendy Green
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 11:27 am
Quote

by Wendy Green on Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:54 pm

Re: workplace policy paying for employees to freeze eggs...

Hi,

I have mixed feelings about this policy. For young women who are career-minded and keen to get ahead, it might sound like a good idea to postpone motherhood until your career is well-established; but freezing your eggs isn't as straightforward as it sounds; the egg retrieval process involves hormone injections which can cause nausea, bloating and discomfort, and in rare cases lead to clots, organ failure, and hospitalisation. And a frozen egg won't necessarily lead to a successful pregnancy, so women who take up this offer may find themselves unable to have children at all.

Also the policy could be seen as saying: 'We don't want you to have a family, because it'll stop you focussing on your job.' This could make women frightened to plan to have children in their 20s, when they are at their most fertile, in case their employer thinks they're not serious about their job/career.

So women who freeze their eggs will still worry about their fertility and women who don't will worry about the effects on their careers. So I think the policy will increase the pressures women face both in the workplace and in their personal lives.
Wendy Green
Health Expert and Author

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... _green.php

Locked
2 posts