Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#1

Post by johngorse » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 3:34 PM UTC

The other day I talked with a friend who is searching for a new job. His expenses got higher when he got a second child. He went to some interviews and he got an impression that he wouldn't handle new job, because he doesn't have free time like he used to for studying new frameworks and languages and work hours were from 9 to 6 (or 7). And he would love to spend some time with his family. Is your company family friendly? If it is, please help me build a list of companies who offer family friendly jobs.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WcwFlqppHmLZ1kIqinqPedYjQpsfcGjCXTDF_4tuQEE/edit?usp=sharing

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#2

Post by beilabs » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 3:53 PM UTC

I once declined a job as it wasn't a good fit.

The company that I did go with had some great childcare attached with the position; Anyhow, upon declining i mentioned that we were planning on having a kid in the future and this childcare was a nice bonus.

The response from the company that I declined? 'If we had known you were going to have a child then we would not have made an offer'.

Bullet dodged.

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#3

Post by softawre » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 3:55 PM UTC

9-6 is 40 hours/week with unpaid lunch, and pretty standard in US tech jobs as far as I know. Asking the team to sometimes work 45 hours during busy times seems reasonable to me.

I give my team time to learn new stuff on the job. Obviously I strive to hire smart people so that doesn't take forever.

I am not sure exactly what you are asking for. Companies OK with working 35 hour weeks?

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#4

Post by xyzzy_plugh » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 3:57 PM UTC

beilabs wrote: post #2

I once declined a job as it wasn't a good fit. The company that I did go with had some great childcare attached with the position; Anyhow, upon declining i mentioned that we were planning on having a kid in the future and this childcare was a nice bonus. The response from the company that I declined? 'If we had known you were going to have a child then we would not have made an offer'. Bullet dodged.

Jesus. That's haunting. I'm sorry you experienced that.

I imagine you won't name the company, but can you comment on its size?

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#5

Post by cableshaft » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 3:57 PM UTC

Not sure what you mean by additional time off, so not sure how to answer that.

While my company doesn't strictly fit several of those things, I do think it's generally pretty good for people with families. Most people in my department are raising families (including the management), and there is some flexibility. But really we're just one office in part of a much larger company too.

It's 8-5, where it's rare that people work overtime (unless they're architects or higher, they tend to work about 45-50 hours), if you need to take a couple hours off here and there it's not usually a problem if you let them know ahead of time. There is a remote work program but it's not a remote culture company, yet. There are a few employees that work remotely, though, including the CTO.

Oh, the healthcare benefits aren't very good though (used to be, until we got swallowed up by the larger company and were forced to switch to their plans). Several people have left because of it. Yeah, nevermind. I'll leave it off this list.

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#6

Post by spike021 » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 3:58 PM UTC

Probably depends on your friend's location and the number of companies he's interviewing with.

I'm single, but at my company (at least on my team) the start and end hours are pretty flexible as long as you're getting work done. For instance, I generally get in about 10-15 minutes before 9AM, and then I can usually leave either around 4:25PM or 5PM (depending on which train I'm taking back home) and I'll take a 30-60 minute lunch break.

I know not all companies are so flexible, but I'm sure there are still quite a few that are.

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#7

Post by fulafel » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 3:59 PM UTC

softawre wrote: post #3

9-6 is 40 hours/week with unpaid lunch, and pretty standard in US tech jobs as far as I know. Asking the team to sometimes work 45 hours during busy times seems reasonable to me. I give my team time to learn new stuff on the job. Obviously I strive to hire smart people so that doesn't take forever. I am not sure exactly what you are asking for. Companies OK with working 35 hour weeks?

You should at least get the same amount of overtime off after the crunch.

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#8

Post by beilabs » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 4:00 PM UTC

xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #4

beilabs wrote: post #2

I once declined a job as it wasn't a good fit. The company that I did go with had some great childcare attached with the position; Anyhow, upon declining i mentioned that we were planning on having a kid in the future and this childcare was a nice bonus. The response from the company that I declined? 'If we had known you were going to have a child then we would not have made an offer'. Bullet dodged.

Jesus. That's haunting. I'm sorry you experienced that. I imagine you won't name the company, but can you comment on its size?

Well funded startup 3-5 million with traction. About 5-10 employees at the time.

Also, it's not like I would be the one doing all the hard work, that would be up to my wife.

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#9

Post by payne92 » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 4:01 PM UTC

My anecdotal experience: companies are much more "family friendly" when the CEO and senior managers themselves have families.

Stated differently, paraphrasing the CEO that just had their first kid: "holy crap, this is a lot of work!!!!" You have not truly experienced sleep deprivation until you have had sustained, parental sleep deprivation.

Re: Ask HN: Is your company (job) family friendly?

#10

Post by devmunchies » Fri, Apr 07, 2017, 4:04 PM UTC

payne92 wrote: post #9

My anecdotal experience: companies are much more "family friendly" when the CEO and senior managers themselves have families. Stated differently, paraphrasing the CEO that just had their first kid: "holy crap, this is a lot of work!!!!" You have not truly experienced sleep deprivation until you have had sustained, parental sleep deprivation.

Seems about right. My company is HQ'd in (typically family friendly) Utah (I'm in Seattle office) and the CEO is a family guy. The culture has pretty healthy expectations.