Announce pregnancy before or after annual review?

November 14, 2012 5:08 PM

Should I announce my pregnancy at work before or after my annual review?

I work at a small company of about 12 people. My first ever annual review is coming up in a few weeks, as is the end of my first trimester of my first pregnancy. I am planning to ask for a raise at my review, but I'm wondering how announcing I'm pregnant might affect that. Any dos or don'ts about when to announce around annual review time?

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (18 answers total)

Wait and announce afterwards. The fact that you're just at the end of your first trimester adds legitimacy to this, since most people don't announce before then anyway. (Even if your boss is a little ticked at this, the reality is that you have no obligation - ethically, socially, or legally - to tell your boss before your review, especially if you even sorta kinda suspect it might affect your review or your raise. By the time you go on mat leave and come back from mat leave, that moment of irritation will have passed, and you'll have an honest and untainted review.)
posted by Kololo at 5:11 PM on November 14, 2012 [10 favorites]

Good lord, after.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:20 PM on November 14, 2012 [20 favorites]

After.
posted by Autumn at 5:25 PM on November 14, 2012

Does you being pregnant reflect on your needs for a raise or negate the hard work and effort you have shown in your position to date?

Nope.

After. And, in fact, I wouldn't tell until people are giving you the wiggling eyebrows and meaningful glances. The fact is, you can't know what is going to happen and, further, you should keep your foot on the gas pedal of your career while you can and giving them a "heads up" before you ask for your raise is taking your foot off the gas.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Good luck on the raise!
posted by amanda at 5:26 PM on November 14, 2012 [11 favorites]

Wait.
posted by radioamy at 5:30 PM on November 14, 2012

After. After after after. If they're decent people, maybe it won't matter, but why take the risk at all?

Congrats, by the way.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:34 PM on November 14, 2012

There is absolutely no harm in waiting, but there is a small chance that telling them now could bring unintended consequences. In this economy... I would wait.
posted by brownrd at 5:55 PM on November 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

After. Always wait as long as possible to share with your boss information that, in a less than perfect world, he or she might not take well.
posted by OmieWise at 6:37 PM on November 14, 2012

Wait. Totally wait.
posted by DarlingBri at 6:57 PM on November 14, 2012

After.

As someone who manages staff, I don't want someone to even THINK that I might have been less than fair to them due to a medical or personal issue. You'll get your raise (or not) but don't mix your pregnancy announcement into that mix.
posted by 26.2 at 7:54 PM on November 14, 2012 [3 favorites]

Don't tell them until you absolutely have to for scheduling / health / obviousness purposes.

It's inappropriate (and in some cases illegal) to fire or demote a woman, or deny her a raise, just for being pregnant, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
posted by BlueJae at 9:38 PM on November 14, 2012

Just to reiterate - after.
posted by tealcake at 10:31 PM on November 14, 2012

Before. Then if they deny you the raise you can claim it was because you were pregnant and they discriminated against you.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:34 PM on November 14, 2012

After. Otherwise it looks like you're trying to trap them so that if they deny you the raise you can claim it was because you were pregnant and they discriminated against you.
posted by OrangeDrink at 10:58 PM on November 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Before. Then if they deny you the raise you can claim it was because you were pregnant and they discriminated against you.

Good God, no. First of all, pursuing a claim of discrimination is expensive, stressful and difficult to prove. Secondly, the primary law preventing workplace discrimination on the basis of sex is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which only applies to companies with 15 or more employees. Some states have statutes that would cover 12 person companies, but off the top of my head I'd guess most do not.

If you tell them before and they are scumbags, they might reduce or eliminate your annual raise. If you tell them after, there really are no potential adverse effects.
posted by Lame_username at 1:18 AM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

FWIW, a friend of mine was in a similar position and kept quiet about the pregnancy. Boss gave her a promotion at her review. When she told him later that she was expecting, he said he was he quite glad she hadn't told him at the review, because he didn't know in all honesty that he'd have promoted her if he'd known, even though he knew that would have been wrong.
posted by penguin pie at 6:19 AM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

AFTER, get the good review go for a raise.
posted by Guyatoffice at 12:17 PM on November 15, 2012

After. I would announce my pregnancy at work around about 5 months. Of course when you tell people is 110% your choice.
posted by Under the Sea at 6:49 PM on November 15, 2012