If you’re a new mom or dad, it’s a really good time to work for Netflix.
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In a blog post, the video streaming company said parents could take off as much time as they wanted during the first year after a child’s birth or adoption. “What Netflix did today was offer the opportunity for employees to focus on work and not have to worry about what that childcare in the first year looks like”, Doyle said.
The new policy gives parents “the freedom to make their own decisions along with the accompanying responsibility, ” Ms Cranz said, adding: “Experience shows people perform better at work when they’re not worrying about home”. Employees will be allowed to return and leave again if necessary and continue to earn their normal pay throughout.
This new policy goes way beyond the minimum requirement by federal law, which mandates that companies with more than 50 employees must offer at least 12 weeks off for new parents, with no requirement to pay employees on leave. In fact, the US stands alone among wealthy countries in not providing paid maternity leave. New fathers will get 12 paid weeks, instead of four paid and eight unpaid.
What do you think of these new parental leave policies?
The firm’s expanded leave outstrips generous packages offered by other Silicon Valley firms such as Yahoo!, which doubled its paid leave for maternity and paternity in 2013 to 16 weeks for mothers and eight for fathers.
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. “A key component of this is supporting our employees with benefits that matter most to them”.
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Former Netflix chief talent officer Patty McCord wrote in the Harvard Business Review that the company’s time-off policy had the benefit of eliminating additional accounting and human-resources costs, while also having positives that come from a corporate culture that treats employees like responsible people.
