Adopting the Right Assistance at Work

As a small business owner, you have a few different roles to play than the CEO of a large, multi-branched company does.

Often as a small business owner, your employees become your family and you may find yourself in roles you never imagined.

For instance, what if an employee becomes pregnant and decides to put her baby up for adoption? What can you do to help and how much are you obligated to help?

Pregnant women cannot be discriminated against under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. While this law pertains to companies with 15 or more employees, and yours may be under this number, it's still a good idea to abide by these guidelines.

If your employee should decide to put her baby up for adoption, she may come to you for guidance.

Consider Counseling for Some Workers

Though you're not obligated to provide these services, if you have some sort of counseling you can offer (through you or a counseling service you provide), you probably want to consider providing this assistance.

She will be going through some confusing and emotional times and will need support. Though you may not be forced by law to provide this, you may choose to do so as a helpful benefit to your employee.

Hopefully, she will stay on with you and your company, and you'd like see that she can stay focused on her job during the pregnancy and after the adoption. Your company and her job may be more important to her than ever during this time for her.

During the pregnancy

Remember even though she will not be keeping her baby, your employee is going through the complete pregnancy experience.

She may not feel well; she may be up and down with emotions and wonder if she is doing the right things. The more tolerant you can be, the more helpful it will be for her.

If she is open with you about her situation, take the care to respect her decision - don't spread undue or negative talk throughout the office, and if you happen to hear of it from others, remind your employees to stay professional.

After the adoption

It's hard to say how she will feel after the adoption process and pregnancy, but she may need some extra time or extra support.

Remember, there is still recuperation after giving birth and this should be taken into consideration.

You may want to learn about other women who have given their babies up for adoption, many are willing to share ... my adoption story ... and this could help you with assisting your employee.

Pregnancy can be tough, so will putting the baby up for adoption.

Though there may not be definitive guidelines to go by with your employee, use your good judgment and your gut; these may be the most important things in helping your employee get through this.