Another r/antiwork post has been rocking the foundations of the internet over the last 24 hours. This post titled "Women should be given PTO for heavy periods. Do you agree?"
The topic was posted to r/antiwork by u/CallMeWolfYouTuber, which sparked the online debate. At the time of this writing, the post has earned 23k upvotes.
In the post, u/CallMeWolfYouTuber explains her stance, "I feel like women people with a uterus should be given PTO for heavy and/or especially painful periods. It's so painful sometimes, and it feels like all of the energy has been sapped from your body."
The argument for menstrual leave has been hotly debated on the internet for several years with the topic being featured on Fortune and Time within the last few months. The support for the movement has been gaining momentum over the previous few years, which is enormous strides considering Maternal Leave was being contested in the United States less than 30 years ago.1
But what defines a "heavy period"? Is that something that we want to leave a private company to decide? This is one of the things pointed out by commenters of the thread.
"I think you want a generic PTO policy - last thing you need is some idiot in HR verifying your claim." replied user reddogrjw.
It stands to reason that a more comprehensive, overarching PTO policy regulation would be the right answer. Providing an employer with too much medical history can only be disadvantageous and explicit policies for specific conditions only erodes your right and ability to maintain Medical Privacy from your employer.
Workplace Fairness describes this right as follows.
"As an employee, there are just some things that an employer does not need to know. For example, that one time you broke your arm bike riding in college, or that time you had your blood drawn to test for pregnancy. While this information may seem irrelevant and, at times, highly sensitive, your employer may have access to such information. Some employers can even require you to take medical tests or inquire about your medical history"
Other commenters seemed to be in the same frame of mind. "Everyone should have PTO for whatever personal reasons they want to use it." commented user leonardsansbees.
Less supportive commenters adopted a "suck it up" mentality. "This is the most stupidest shit I've read. Why should women get special privileges for being a woman lol. You should just get pto when needed." remarked PersimmonRecent4732.
"If women get time off for "heavy periods", men should get time off for dealing with those women, Awomen!" declared Then_Arachnid6445.
"I don't even give my woman a day off sex when she has heavy flow." commented another user, receiving a flood of downvotes on their comment.
All in all, being r/antiwork, responses were largely supportive. What's your take on the issue?
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