Latest news with #AlliK
NDTV
5 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
Pregnant Boss Responds To Emails From Hospital, GenZ Colleague Asks To 'Stop'
A New York startup-based founder, who was 37 weeks (over eight months) pregnant, checked into the hospital for high blood pressure and was quickly put on medication to induce labour. But instead of resting, she was clacking away at emails. Alli K was responding to emails until her Gen Z colleague stepped in, she wrote in a LinkedIn post. Initially, she found the comment easy to brush off, but now she sees it as a reminder that boundaries are a form of wisdom and survival and not weakness. Alli said she had a lot to do, and she was still three weeks away from her due date. Her annual self-review wasn't completed, the maternity leave document was not polished, and she didn't clear her overflowing inbox, she wrote. In a message to her colleagues, she said: "Hi everyone, baby's coming sooner than expected. Will be online for a bit and keep you posted!" A Gen Z colleague responded, saying, "Are you doing work while you're in labor? Stop it." First, she ignored the colleague's advice because she wanted to seem committed to work. Later, she realised she was wrong. Her colleague already understood something she had to learn the hard way. "Something that perhaps I had been conditioned to suppress: Boundaries aren't a weakness. They're wisdom and survival," Alli wrote. Alli concluded the post by advising people that you don't have to apologise for logging off, you don't have to earn your right to rest, and that "being committed" doesn't mean being consumed or performing what commitment is supposed to look like. The post quickly went viral, with many sharing their own stories. One wrote, "This made me laugh-cry out loud while shaking my head. So freaking relatable to so many of us but damn.... we gotta stop this madness." Another commented, "I can't tell you how many Slack messages I've sent that say something like, 'Getting on a plane for my vacation but don't worry, I'll still respond.' OOO is OOO. I wish I could have learned this lesson earlier in my career!" "I can relate. I answered emails soon after my c-section in the recovery room," wrote the next. "Sound like me answering a client's emails one day post delivering my twins," commented another. Earlier this year, a pregnant woman in the UK, fired for requesting work from home, was awarded 93,000 pounds (around Rs 1 crore) in compensation. A UK employment tribunal deemed her boss had unfairly dismissed her.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
37 weeks pregnant and in labor, founder was still sending work emails. Her Gen Z colleague's blunt message changed everything for her
The hospital bed was supposed to be a place of rest. Instead, one New York City founder, Alli K, sat there, 37 weeks pregnant, hooked to medication to induce labour… while clacking away at work emails. Her inbox was overflowing. Her maternity leave document was unfinished. Even her annual self-review was pending. So, between contractions, she fired off a cheery update: 'Baby's coming sooner than expected. Will be online for a bit and keep you posted!'Looking back, she calls it 'ridiculous' and 'absolutely unhinged.' At the time, though, it felt like the right thing to do. She was convinced that staying online — even in a hospital gown — proved her dedication. Deep down, she believed that the price of being respected was constant in the middle of it all, came the bluntest reply she's ever received. A younger Gen Z colleague messaged her asking if she was working while she was in labour and urged her to stop. Alli brushed it off in the moment, stubborn and sure she knew better. But over time, the words sank in. That colleague had spotted what she hadn't — that boundaries aren't a weakness. They're she says she's still working on letting go of that old 'martyr mindset' and wants others to break free from it as well. Her three reminders are simple: you never need to apologise for logging off, you don't have to prove you've earned the right to rest, and being committed should never mean letting work consume you or acting so overworked that people start questioning your well-being.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
At 37 weeks pregnant, NYC founder was still answering emails, then her Gen Z colleague called her out
A founder's post about how she learned a lesson from her Gen Z colleague who called her out for working from a hospital, during her labour, has sparked an intense discussion on work-life balance and priorities in one's life. A founder shared that she went into early labour but still checked her work emails. (LinkedIn/Alli K) 'I was 37 weeks pregnant and disturbingly uncomfortable. Checked into the hospital for high blood pressure… It happened so quickly... They were giving me meds to induce labour. And I was… Clacking away at emails!!!!' New York City-based Alli K wrote on LinkedIn. She continued that she had a lot of work to do as there were still three weeks until her maternity leave. So, she sent out a message that read, 'Hi everyone, baby's coming sooner than expected. I will be online for a bit and keep you posted!' That is when she got a response from a Gen Z colleague that she 'brushed off' at the time, but the remark later made her take a hard look at herself. The new-age employee told her, 'Are you doing work while you're in labour? Stop it.' 'Boundaries aren't a weakness. They're wisdom and survival,' she wrote, adding what she later learnt from the Gen Z workforce. How did social media react? A woman who works as a vice president in a company shared, 'I can relate. I answered emails soon after my C-section in the recovery room.' Another remarked, 'I can't tell you how many Slack messages I've sent that say something like 'Getting on a plane for my vacation ', BUT DON'T WORRY, I'LL STILL RESPOND. OOO is OOO. I wish I could have learned this lesson earlier in my career!' A third posted, 'Wow, what a story. Great lesson though, some things are more important than work.' A fourth wrote, 'My son arrived 3 weeks earlier, emergency delivery at 3.00 AM. Showed up at the hospital with my purse and the computer. Twelve hours after the delivery, I sent 60+ emails to finish all pending items. Crazy! And didn't get any appreciation for working after a major surgery.'
