Childless deserve time off too!

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/worklife/08/29/parents.small.biz.ap/index.html

Parents, non-parents compete for time off
Some employees without kids may feel parents are given time off unfairly

NEW YORK (AP) -- With schools around the country back in session, parents who work at small businesses will be asking for and receiving time off for soccer games and class plays -- possibly leading to some friction because other workers don't have such ironclad reasons for leaving early.

Business owners and human resources executives say companies can avoid such problems with equitable time-off policies -- in other words, by recognizing that all employees regardless of their personal circumstances need a work-life balance. Encouraging an atmosphere of mutuality and goodwill among co-workers can also head off conflicts and resentments when one staffer leaves early.

Colleen Haviland, founder and president of Xsell Resources Inc. and Ready to Hire, two businesses in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, sees no difference between giving parents time off for a child's game and giving childless workers time to go to sporting or theatrical events.