Are you going back to work?

So, I don't think I've really talked about my work situation in a while and thought this might be a good time to update everyone. A lot of people at work and elsewhere have been asking whether I'm going back to work after the babies are here. Since every employer is different, I thought I'd let you all know how it works at the State and what my options are.

Everyone assumes that as a State employee, we have fantastic benefits. I think this used to be the case years ago, but not so much anymore. My friends who work for large corporations clearly have much better benefits (but, they also work much harder at their jobs!) At the State of NC, I accrue 8 hours of sick leave per month, as well as 11.17 hours of vacation leave per month. The amount of vacation I accrue is directly related to my years of service (right now I am earning in the 5-10 years of service category). When you get sick or have to go out on maternity leave, you must use your sick leave to cover the days you miss from work. When that runs out, you then must use your vacation leave, as well as any other leave you may have accrued (comp time, special bonus leave, etc). The State offers no paid "maternity leave."

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) is a federal Act that allows employees to miss up to 12 weeks of work per year and still have a job to return to. It doesn't have to be the same job they left, just the same pay and a similar status. Obviously, an employer could choose to let an employee be out longer than 12 weeks, but 12 weeks is a guarantee.

So, at the State, FMLA runs concurrent with sick & vacation leave. In my case, I have about 7-8 weeks of sick and vacation leave I have accrued over my 6 years. I will be required to use that leave for the first 7-8 weeks I'm out of work with the babies. The additional 4-5 weeks will be unpaid. I do have a short-term disability policy, however, so that will help cover some of those weeks I will not see a paycheck.

Okay, so the question is whether I will return to work at the end of my 12 weeks. I an incredibly lucky to have a choice in the matter, but it doesn't make the decision any easier! (And if any of you know how good I am at making decisions..... sarcasm!) Other mothers I've talked to say you can't know until you're home with the babies, and that I shouldn't put pressure on myself to decide. Easier said than done! Without going into too much detail, there are a few issues that make it a hard decision, either way.

1. The economy sucks and that makes it incredibly hard to quit your job!
2. Daycare for two?? When you get to the bottom line, looking at my salary, benefits, daycare, etc, I would be mostly working for myself - not for much financial reward.
3. The State is in a horrible budget crunch and has frozen all positions. Thus, if I left, my boss wouldn't be able to hire my replacement (ie, I'd feel hugely guilty b/c she's been so great) and there would be no opportunity for me to return to the agency in the foreseeable future, should I change my mind down the road.

A few weeks ago, my boss and her boss began asking me whether I'm coming back. I've managed to push them off a bit, with the promise of saying "I won't wait the entire 12 weeks to let you know." Also, there might be the option of staying out a bit longer before coming back (14-16 weeks?), especially if they couldn't fill my position. No one in my job works part-time, but I wonder if that option could be put on the table considering the pressure for agencies to cut their budgets (although, it may be worse for the agency in the long run to do this). Anyway, so the answer to the question, Are you going back to work?, is not an easy one. I guess I'll be playing it by ear over the next two months or so...