意外懷孕需要告訴老闆嗎

I have been in my current position (for which I was headhunted) for just over three months and have had excellent feedback. But I am now 12 weeks pregnant. I want to raise my profile and gain managerial support without pregnancy clouding the issue. My plan, therefore, is to wait a couple of months before telling colleagues. Is this realistic? Should I refrain from asking for professional investment (conferences, committee memberships) now if I know I will be asking for maternity leave later?

我現在這份工作（獵頭找到了我）才做了三個月，獲得了很高的評價，但現在我已懷孕12周了。我希望提升自己的形象，獲得管理層的支持，而不被懷孕拖後腿。因此，我的計劃是先等幾個月再告知同事。這種想法是否現實？既然我知道自己過不了多久就會提出休產假的要求，現在我是否不應要求他們對我進行職業方面的投資（參加會議、委員會的成員資格等）？

Lawyer, female, 31

律師，女性，31歲

Lucy’s advice

露西的建議

From the wording of your question I get the impression you feel guilty about being pregnant. Stop it at once. You won’t be “asking” for maternity leave. You will be getting it because it is your right. As Sheryl Sandberg has told the world: the women who don’t dare move jobs just because they might want to start a family soon are those whose careers tend to get bogged down forever.

從你的遣詞造句中我得到的印象是，你對懷孕一事心懷愧疚。立刻停止這種想法。你不用“要求”休產假。你將獲得產假，因爲這是你的權利。正如謝里爾?桑德伯格(Sheryl Sandberg)告訴全世界的那樣：有些女人僅僅因爲可能希望在不久之後組建一個家庭而不敢換工作，這樣的女人通常在事業上會永遠停滯不前。

Yet I think your plan to say nothing for the next couple of months is a good one. Even if people notice your bulging waistline, they are most unlikely to risk saying anything lest the bulge turns out to be the result of too many visits to the vending machine.

但我認爲你打算在未來幾個月中保持沉默是個不錯的主意。即使有人注意到了你不斷膨脹的腰線，他們也不太可能冒險說些什麼，唯恐你隆起的腹部是過於頻繁地造訪自動售貨機的結果。

The law in the UK says you do not have to tell your employer until the 25th week. The law also says that you cannot be discriminated against because you are pregnant. Yet even though your managers will almost certainly claim to be hugely in favour of pregnant women, it is silly to pretend that this joyous thing in your life will be anything other than a nuisance to them.

根據英國法律，你在懷孕25周以前無需告訴僱主。法律還規定，僱主不能因你有孕在身而歧視你。但即使你的經理幾乎一定會宣稱將竭力關照懷孕婦女，如果你自以爲是地認爲，這件你生活中的喜事絕不會讓他們覺得麻煩，就太愚蠢了。

So it will not hurt to spend the next few weeks reinforcing their idea that you are a thoroughly good thing. The first six months with a company are generally when the sheep get sorted from the goats. That division, once made, tends to stick. With any luck, by the time you declare yourself pregnant, their only concern will be that you return to work afterwards, as keen as ever.

因此，用未來幾周時間加強他們對你完全是個人才的印象沒有壞處。公司通常會在員工入職後的頭6個月內區分出新人們的能力高下。而這種劃分一旦做出，通常就不會改變。如果幸運的話，當你宣佈自己懷孕的時候，他們唯一擔心並且極其希望瞭解的問題將是你是否會在孩子降生以後重返工作崗位。

As for those committees and the conferences, if I were you I would skip them – but that is because I tend to avoid them even when not pregnant. Yet as you seem to like that sort of thing, I recommend you go for it. Far from feeling short-changed, your managers will surely see your ambition as further evidence of your long-term value.

至於那些委員會和會議，如果我是你，我不會參加，不過這是因爲我即使在沒有懷孕的情況下也傾向於避開它們。但鑑於你似乎喜歡這類事情，我建議你大膽提出要求。你的經理不但不會感到吃虧，還會把你的進取心看做證明你長期價值的進一步證據。

Some readers urge you to have a heart-to-heart with human resources to explain that the timing of conception is unfortunate: that you weren’t trying to trick anyone. This is shockingly bad advice. It is none?of your employer’s business whether you planned to get pregnant, or whether you did a Cherie Blair – who (bizarrely) revealed her last child was conceived when she forgot to pack her diaphragm on a trip to Balmoral.

一些讀者建議你與人力資源部做一次開誠佈公的談話，解釋一下懷孕的時點很不恰當：以此表明你並不是有意戲弄大家。這是一個糟糕透頂的建議。你的僱主根本不關心你是否計劃懷孕，還是做了和切爾西?布萊爾(Cherie Blair)一樣的事——她奇怪地透露，自己的最後一個孩子是因爲在一趟去巴爾莫勒爾(Balmoral)的旅行中忘記帶避孕用具而懷上的。

Your advice

讀者的建議

Unplanned plan

計劃外的計劃

I also got pregnant about a week after I started a new job. I stretched the truth a little and said that I had been trying for a long time, so was not using?contraception and it happened. I did not want my HR manager to think I had done it on purpose and I did not want them to think I had been irresponsible and it was unplanned!

我也是在開始一項新工作大約一週以後懷孕的。我稍微誇大了一點事實，稱自己爲了懷孕已經嘗試了很長時間，因此沒有采取避孕措施並意外懷孕。我不希望人力資源經理認爲我是故意這麼做的，我也不希望他們認爲我是一個不負責任的人，因爲這本不在我的計劃之內。

I did not tell until the last day legally required – i.e. at 25 weeks. I decided to take shorter maternity leave than I might have done otherwise. And, yes, I continued with conferences and so on. I ended up working until 39 weeks and I had all my antenatal care done by my GP (rather than at hospital) which meant I could schedule it for 8am or 6.30pm.

我直到法律規定的最後期限才告訴僱主我懷孕了——也即是第25周。我決定縮短產假。而且我還繼續參加行業會議等活動。最終我一直工作到懷孕第39周，我所有的產前護理都是由我的全科醫生（而不是去醫院）完成的，這意味着我可以將護理時間安排在上午8點或下午6點半。

Accountant, female

會計，女性

Law behind you

法律爲你撐腰

Congratulations. You have employment law behind you to ensure you are treated properly and given all that is required.

恭喜你，你有勞動法在你身後撐腰，確保你得到恰當對待，並獲得應得的一切福利。

Your integrity, however, is questionable – new job when trying for baby? Headhunted = big recruitment fee. New job = more money. Employer sees only cost and now a delayed benefit. When you tell your employer you had better have a plan on how you are going to repay them for the support they are obliged to give you.

不過你的誠信則存在問題——在準備懷孕的時候接受一份新工作是否合適？公司通過獵頭招聘要花掉一大筆招聘費。新工作則意味着更高的薪水。你的僱主只看到了付出的成本，而且現在他們的收益還被延遲。當你要告訴僱主你懷孕的時候，你最好就如何回報他們必須給予你的支持準備好一套方案。

Male, anon

男性，匿名

Depends on size

取決於你公司的規模

An issue to consider is the size of the business. I ran a small firm with around five employees and employed a lady who turned out to have been pregnant at the interview.

一個值得考慮的問題是你公司的規模。我經營一家只有五六名員工的小公司，並聘用了一位直到面試時才被發現已經懷孕的女士。

For me it was devastating and extremely costly as I had to cover a salary with no corresponding income. If you work for a big employer just enjoy the pregnancy and the wonder that goes with it.

對我來說，這是一件極其嚴重並且成本極高的事，因爲我必須在不產生相應收益的情況下支付一份薪水。不過如果你是爲一家大公司工作，享受懷孕以及由此帶來的奇妙變化就行了。

Manager, male

經理，男性

Go for it

勇敢去衝

Don’t hold back. Your firm needs you, whether you are pregnant or not. Plus they can handle it and should support you.

不要退縮。你的公司需要你，不管你有沒有懷孕。此外他們能夠處理好此事，並且應當支持你。

Anon, male

匿名，男性

Invest in career

爲你的職業生涯投資

By all means invest in your career and ask for all that you are entitled to – it shows that you are motivated and that you are likely to return to your job after your maternity leave with your motivation and commitment intact.

用各種方法爲你的職業生涯投資，並就你有權得到的所有福利提出要求——這能顯示出你充滿幹勁，並表明你有很大可能在產假結束後懷着同樣的進取心和責任心重返工作崗位。

Anon, female

匿名，女性