One for the working moms
I supervise a small team and one is a mom of small children. She has great childcare (mom in law) and there's no issue with anything on that score. What does bother me though - and this is something I've never encountered at work before - is that she tries to use the fact she has children as leverage with me when she doesn't get her own way, to try and sway things round to her side. I know her family is her number one priority and rightly so.
The most recent example: We have to request vacation time in advance (except for emergency leave which is different) and as there's only a few of us the 'first come first served' rule applies to ensure we have enough staff to cover shifts. We all know this. She came to me about a week ago asking if she could have her son's birthday next week off - when I checked the planner other people are already off so I had to say no. She then became very agitated and said her son would never understand, it would ruin his birthday, and how do I suggest she tells a 5 year old that mommy can't come to his party!
We also have a flexibility clause in all our contracts to say we'll work extra hours here and there as necessary, but whenever it is her turn to stay late she starts complaining that her kids never see her, they'll forget who she is etc. - always in front of another employee who will undoubtedly offer to cover the shift out of guilt over what she is saying.
I've worked with plenty of moms and never seen this before. What do you moms think - am I being the jerk here?