While market leaders such as Netflix, Adobe and Facebook offer amazing paid parental leaves, the rest of the corporate world is still quite behind in this practice. A study by the Society for Human Resource Management shows that despite the knowledge of big-name companies introducing substantial pays for new parents and caregivers, businesses have not made many improvements since 2012. The average amount of well-paid leaves allowed in US organization is still low.
The need for parental leave programs
Unlike in the past, where the costs of taking care of a new baby were substantially lower, new parents today struggle when taking the time off work. Since a number of business provide little to no support to new parents with a parental leave program, parents find it difficult to take unpaid or low-paid leaves.
Benefits of paid parental leaves include:
Working parents and employees with family plans are more satisfied
A happy workplace is a productive workplace. Employee happiness comes from knowing that their company cares how parents take care of their new baby and other family members. This in turn improves employee loyalty.
Paid parental leaves attract top talent
What employers and manager do not understand is that there are many advantages stored in providing parental leave benefits. With a growing number of working parents, candidates look for job descriptions that include maternity and paternity leaves.
Employee retention rates are higher
Paid parental leave is not just the ethical thing to do, it actually contributes to business productivity and growth. Companies with parental leave programs see slight to immense positive effects of paying new parents, and many save money by avoiding turnovers.
Facilitating parental leave programs
Companies which administer parental leave programs should highlight these benefits from the start, detailing it in their job description. The company should make it clear that employees can approach managers to discuss leave options when expecting a new baby.
It is important to note that the company culture should not involve any discrimination between those parents who choose to take on a leave program and those who don’t. Each employee’s personal life is different, and no one person should be looked down upon for utilizing their rights.
That said, it is important that managers work with benefits planning experts who can provide resource to design parental leave programs, as well as provide regarding the essential health benefits under ACA.
JS Benefits Group provides professional assistance to employers and HR managers for moving in the right direction for supporting new parents with comprehensive benefits administration services. We provide insights on industry-leading practices to shift workplace culture towards better incorporating a parent-friendly environment.
