On why me taking parental leave is a good thing for my employer

For my firm, it’s a work week like any other.

For me, it’s a non-work week—my wife and I are home from the hospital with a new baby and work doesn’t enter the picture.

But somewhere in the multiverse, I am logging on in my home office and join that work week, despite having a newborn at home.

The funny thing is that my firm is better off in his universe, with me not working.

Why?

It’s simple: the exhaustion and euphoria of life with a newborn means that I’m operating with about 50% of my normal mental capacity.

You wouldn’t want to read a cover letter written by me right now—it would be poorly framed, punny (in a bad way), overlong (or -short [is there such a thing for a cover letter?]), and, well, sloppy.

(If you check this post, I’ll bet you can find a typo.)

I wouldn’t want me working for me right now: I can barely juggle a few simple tasks at once.

So why would my firm want me at my desk, mucking around?