Founder who worked from hospital bed during labour says Gen Z colleague’s blunt advice changed her outlook

Alli K said she is still learning to abandon what she describes as the 'martyr mindset' and offered three reminders for others.

A New York-based founder has spoken candidly about a moment that forced her to rethink her relationship with work after she found herself sending emails from a hospital bed while in labour.

Alli K, who was 37 weeks pregnant at the time, had been admitted to hospital for high blood pressure and placed on medication to induce labour. Rather than resting, she opened her laptop to deal with a backlog of work. Her maternity leave handover was incomplete, her annual self-assessment remained unwritten, and her inbox was overflowing.

Between contractions, she sent an upbeat message to colleagues: “Baby’s coming sooner than expected. Will be online for a bit and keep you posted!”

She now calls the decision “ridiculous” and “absolutely unhinged” — but at the time, it felt like the right way to prove her dedication. “I was convinced that staying online — even in a hospital gown — showed commitment,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post. “Deep down, I thought the price of being respected was constant sacrifice.”

The reality check came in the form of an unfiltered message from a younger colleague. The Gen Z team member replied: “Are you doing work while you’re in labour? Stop it.”

Although she brushed off the comment in the moment, it lingered with her and eventually changed her perspective. “That colleague saw what I couldn’t at the time — boundaries aren’t a weakness,” she wrote. “They’re wisdom and survival.”

Alli said she is still learning to abandon what she describes as the “martyr mindset” and offered three reminders for others:

You never need to apologise for logging off.
You do not have to prove you have earned the right to rest.
Commitment should never mean letting work consume you or projecting such exhaustion that others question your well-being.

The post sparked a wave of comments from professionals who had experienced similar situations. One vice-president wrote: “I can relate. I answered emails soon after my C-section in the recovery room.”

Another shared: “I can’t tell you how many Slack messages I’ve sent saying, ‘Getting on a plane for my vacation, but don’t worry, I’ll still respond.’ Out of office is out of office. I wish I’d learnt that earlier in my career.”

Others recounted their own extreme examples of working through major life events. One commenter said: “My son arrived three weeks earlier, emergency delivery at 3 am. I showed up at the hospital with my purse and my computer. Twelve hours after delivery, I sent 60-plus emails to finish pending items. Crazy — and I didn’t get any appreciation for working after major surgery.”

A fourth remarked simply: “Wow, what a story. Great lesson though — some things are more important than work.”

Reflecting on the experience, Alli said the moment taught her that stepping away is not an act of disloyalty, but an essential part of sustainable working life.