Why every woman deserves maternity leave

It's pretty crazy to be working while you're pregnant, because you know: in a few weeks I'll be out for a long time.

As if you have a long vacation ahead. A spontaneous sabbatical. A break in your career. You get maternity leave for 16 weeks, you can divide the weeks before or after the birth yourself. With twins, you get 20 weeks off. I don't think I've ever had twenty weeks off since I started working. And before that, by the way, I didn't either, because I studied for about ten years in a row. Every workday is therefore also different during your pregnancy: you are working towards a kind of mega break, which you know is coming. That's strange, but sometimes also nice.

And that's why we believe that every woman deserves maternity leave at some point in her life. Just a few months off, and getting some salary for the fun. Doesn't that lift everyone's spirits? Even if you don't have or want children, a few months for yourself does wonders. Reading nice books, sleeping in, figuring out what you really want in life, and spending time with your husband, friends, and family. To put those dreams on paper and pursue them. That own business, go for it. That career switch or second study or parachute jump or trip to Alaska, oh well, plenty of time for that.

Rest for your mind does wonders. You can't just work every day from the age of 18 and keep that up endlessly, because then your light life just flutters by. Especially in your younger years, free time is your most valuable possession. The best prize you can get cannot be expressed in a monetary amount, but in free time. Yes, yes, just believe us. Vacation days. That leave we are talking about, that is priceless. Of course, as a mother-to-be, you need all that time to spend with your offspring, but even without children, a few months for yourself does surprisingly well.

Maybe it will happen someday in the business world. That they listen to us at Amayzine. That you can just take three months off without too much hassle. That it's even recommended to you, after so many years of working, by your boss. That you just move to Southeast Asia for a month with a backpack because you finally have the time for it. You can't see the world from your desk. And not even when you're eighty-four and finally retired.