'SINGLISM': Here's How Singles Finish Last for Vacation Time or at the Holidays

Tired businessman working late on laptop while sitting at illuminated desk in office

Many people get holidays off; but workers in certain industries need to stay on the clock on typical days off. And, all too often, companies assign holiday workdays to people who are single and/or don’t have children.

They may do it under the assumption that singles need the time off less than their peers, who are married and/or parents.

But that’s not necessarily fair. It’s “singlism.” That’s what Social Scientist Bella DePaulo calls the stigmatizing of – and discrimination against – people who are single.

DePaulo tells the Huffington Post, “Single people have people who matter to them, and commitments and interests and passions that matter to them. All that should be irrelevant, anyway: [The] workplace should be about work. Everything should even out—how often you get to leave early, come in on the holidays, get your choice of vacation times, etc.—such that over time, every worker is treated the same, and marital status or parental status do not matter at all.”

Some suggest work places should offer incentives for workers to take holiday shifts; while others say companies should put holiday shifts up for grabs as there are “definitely folks who prefer to work those shifts for a variety of reasons.” Then, any remaining gaps which need to be filled, should be done with some type of rotating schedule – or by pulling worker names out of a hat.

You’ll find more, here: (HuffPo)