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An old memo President-elect Joe Biden sent to his staff as vice president in 2014 was replayed online this week as the 2020 presidential election draws to a close.
In the note, sent in November 2014 ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Biden reminded staff he neither expected nor wanted anyone “to miss or sacrifice important family obligations for work.”
This includes celebrations, such as birthdays, anniversaries or weddings, he writes, as well as the time needed to be away from work due to illness or death in the family.
Biden says his support for staff taking time off work to focus on family responsibilities has been an “unwritten rule” since his time in the Senate.
Biden’s note in full reads as follows:
To my wonderful staff,
I would like to take a moment and explain something to everyone. I don’t expect and I don’t want any of you to miss or sacrifice important family obligations for work. Family obligations include, but are not limited to, family anniversaries, anniversaries, weddings, all religious ceremonies such as First Communions and Bar Mitzvahs, diplomas, and times of need such as illness or illness. loss in the family. It is very important for me. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if I find out that you are working with me while missing important family responsibilities, it will disappoint me greatly. It is an unwritten rule since my days in the Senate.
Thanks everyone for the hard work.
Biden’s emphasis on putting family first despite a demanding workload has been a part of his political career from the start. In 1972, weeks after he became the second youngest man elected to the Senate, Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and one-year-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car crash. Her two sons, Beau and Hunter, were 3 and 2 at the time and were seriously injured.
Although he considered resigning before taking office as senator from Delaware, Biden was convinced by his colleagues to complete his term. Eighteen days after the accident, Biden was sworn in at the hospital where his two sons were being treated.
“I felt like I should be sworn in with my kids today,” Biden told reporters next to Beau’s bedside, according to an AP report at the time.
From then on, Biden became known for his commitment to family, including his daily four-hour train ride from Wilmington, Delaware, to Washington, DC, so he could come home each night to spend the evening with. his sons.
“By focusing on my sons, I found my redemption,” Biden told Yale University class day students in 2015.
The president-elect married his now wife, Jill Biden, in 1977, and the two have a daughter, Ashley, together.
Biden retired from his political career and withdrew from his own presidential election in 2016, largely to mourn the death of his son Beau from brain cancer the previous year.
Following the posting of his post on work-life balance in a 2016 Esquire profile and shared by California Governor Gavin Newsom, Biden explained his take on work-life balance in a segment for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“There is no quality time,” Biden said. “Every important thing your child tells you will be out of script, as they say, will be at a time when you don’t expect it.
“I don’t want anyone on my team to feel pressured to do something for me when there is something that matters in the family,” he added. “There is nothing noble about it.”
Biden went on to say he follows the same principle and finds people who work with him happier and more productive.
As a presidential candidate, Biden has put forward policy proposals to further support working parents and their families. In July, it released plans for 12 weeks of paid family leave and access to free universal preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.
Its $ 775 billion strategic plan includes resources to better support and develop the child care industry; make it easier for families with children under 5 years of age through tax credits or subsidies; and calls for expanded access to after-school, weekend and summer day care for school-aged children.
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