Sociology--How is the american workplace responding to the needs of Essay

Sociology--How is the american workplace responding to the needs of working parents - Essay Example Although it is stipulated in the Law that for reasons of illness or arrival of a new child, a parent can take an unpaid leave of up to two weeks. However, not many can take the financial risk of enjoying an unpaid leave. This puts lower income families at a disadvantage. In situations where illness of a child happens, one of the parents would be forced to stay at home with the child and not receive income. Working parents who have young children have more issues than those with children who are already grown-up. For one, daycare centers are relatively expensive and it is the parent’s burden to shoulder the expenses. This problem is compounded by the fact that not all workplaces have daycare facilities. This brings a parent trap wherein the working parent has no choice but to delegate the responsibility of childcare to unreliable daycare centers. Although America is one of the most modern civilization which highly values independence, freedom and humanity, its value system on child rearing is undermined. Unlike its European counterparts, America is not taking childcare seriously. In an article published by the Atlantic, it stated that France’s daycare is heavily subsidized by the government since most of European countries highly respect childcare as a national responsibility ( Kornbluh 2003 ). Children are viewed as economic assets in European countries since the future belongs to them. The main issue for working parents now can be summarized as companies must provide additional benefits to working parents since this contributes to employee productivity. Presently, there are only few companies like JC Penny that allows working parents to trade shifts. Another ideal company is Ikea, as reported by American Prospect : Paid leave, child-care assistance, and other benefits are par for the course at some model companies. Ikea, which offers paid sick days, maternity/paternity leave, and time off for