Maternity leave is a period when a working mother takes leave from the office because she had or is about to have a baby. Bikroy follows the Bangladesh Labor Law and provides 120 working-days-leave to all working mothers. We talked to two working mums at Bikroy and accumulated their feelings and experiences towards this assistance.
Mother to be:
Sohana Sarker
Senior Executive, Category Management
Employment: 3+ years
Sohana is almost 8 months pregnant and is going on maternity leave this month. We asked her how she felt during her first-time pregnancy and what she experienced while balancing work and maternity together. She was happy with her experience at Bikroy and the way she was expressing her feelings and regards clearly showed her level of confidence and assurance in pursuing her career here.
Uncompromised Career
She talked about how her co-workers have helped her throughout her working days during pregnancy – even the male colleagues were there for her when she needed them. From helping her with work to taking personal care of her, she cherished the moments when her colleagues made her journey easier by helping her with day-to-day tasks and providing her inspiration when she needed it. She was proud of how her team leader and the head of the HR department took care of her delicate needs during her pregnancy. Though her working hours were regular, she received special flexibility in time and leave whenever she needed it. Sometimes she even worked from home.
Plans for the journey
She plans to devote her leave to doing more for herself and her unborn child. She was smiling as she spoke about how 120 working days of leave is actually giving her much more time as she also gets to spend her yearly leaves and public holidays. She can now enjoy more time for herself and her child as the Eid holidays, weekly holidays and her yearly leaves are also computed along with her maternity leave. This will actually give her quite a good amount of time to nurture and bond with her child. She added that the monetary benefit she is about to receive is substantial and she is planning on re-decorating her child’s room with that money. She considers this as a great support in her planning for the future and she feels honoured to receive such a convenience. She is also relieved about the fact that she’ll have an insurance coverage from Bikroy which will secure her medical needs during the delivery period.
Assurance and confidence
Sohana feels assured and confident that she will be welcomed in the same way she is now when she returns to the office from her maternity leave. She also said that her team helps her to stay updated on work whenever she is away, so she can feel comfortable in being up-to-date when she returns to work. She will be able to enjoy her leave in a relaxed and carefree manner and is super excited about it.
Mother of a beautiful daughter:
Zarin Tasnim Tany
Executive, Contact Center
Employment: 3+ years
Tany is a mother of a beautiful 9 month old baby girl. During our conversation with her, this working mother talked about her beautiful journey of motherhood and her work-life experience during and after her pregnancy.
Secured motherhood
The monetary benefit she received has also helped her in many ways. She said how relieved she was after receiving half the maternity allowance before going on leave. She saved the cash for emergency situations, but ended up saving it in its entirety since there were no such incidents. Her delivery hours went smooth as she had an insurance coverage from Bikroy. After her delivery, she informed the office, submitted some paperwork and happily received the rest of her maternity allowance. She was completely stress-free and delighted with the maternity benefit process.
Prolonged Leave
Tany was actually able to prolong her leave by adding her yearly and earned leaves along with the public holidays with the maternity leave. Therefore, Tany enjoyed a big vacation and had plenty of time to bond with her child.
Job-life Satisfaction
Tany talked about her office experience during her pregnancy, when she mentioned how her friends (colleagues) and manager were there for her the whole time. Her colleagues ensured that her convenience and comfort were not compromised in any way by providing her with a footrest and an extra comfortable chair. Also, her working shifts were adjusted according to her needs. She was able to take leave whenever she had any difficulties and the office took care of her and looked out for her every now and then. During her leave, her colleagues kept her well-informed on all the necessary information. So when she returned from her leave she could fit in and adjust to the environment with little difficulty.
She said that she had all possible facilities as a pregnant working mother, more than she ever expected. She also told us that when she talked to her friends about these benefits and her time with her baby, she found out that many of her working-mom friends didn’t receive as many benefits and conveniences as she did at her workplace. She is pleased and delighted with her work-life experience at Bikroy, starting from her team leader to loving co-workers.
