“As we ask our employees to bring their “A” game to work every day to achieve our mission, we believe it’s our responsibility to create an environment where people can do their best work”, Hogan wrote. Experience shows people perform better at work when they’re not worrying about home.
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With the policy, Netflix joins a host of other tech companies offering substantial paternal leave packages.
The U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act entitles employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off annually in the event of a birth, adoption or arrival of a foster child.
Microsoft Corp. already has followed Netflix’s lead, revealing that it too will grant more paid leave time to employees. Hence, the chances of the company wanting to hire men instead of women, for the fact that women would end up taking a year-long leave, gets minimized.
In a blog post on their website, Netflix stated that the policy was intended to allow new moms and dads to easily balance the needs of growing families without worrying about their job or incomes.
Several big US companies have recently taken steps to improve the quality of life of their staff. Retail giant Wal-Mart and fast-food chain McDonalds have recently announced salary increases for their lowest-paid workers.
At the time the video-streaming firm announced this policy, CEO Reed Hastings said Netflix evaluates employees based on what they have done, not on how many hours they worked. A study of OECD countries found that on average, mothers in those countries receive 17 weeks of paid maternity leave around childbirth.
The costs of the global expansion have been holding down Netflix’s profits, but investors haven’t minded because the company has been quickly winning over new customers.
Google, for instance, offers 18 weeks of paid maternity leave. “The question is, ‘What else are they going to do?’ As soon as you see one of the top executives of the company using the policy, then it’s for real”, because it changes workplace culture.
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Extended maternity leave is common in large Silicon Valley companies. It’s a pretty competitive world out there, and the more days a person takes off, the more pressure there will be on them to catch up once they get back on board-or risk getting replaced.
