Netflix stirred envy in sleep-deprived parents nationwide by saying it will give its employees up to a year of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child.
Advertisement
With this new policy, it is possible that both Microsoft and Netflix might attract a larger percentage of female employees, considering that the companies’ policies stress on the importance of family, women’s health, and transitional phases for employees. They might choose to return to work part-time or to come back full time for a few months and then leave again.
“We’re competitive in this space in order to engage employees and retain them”, said Mike Scannell, senior vice president of global human resources for State Street. Many tech corporations supply beneficiant advantages as they compete to draw gifted engineers and different staff. “Experience shows people perform better at work when they’re not worrying about home”.
“This fits with the growing trend with respect to leave”, Sean Crotty, an attorney at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, told InsideCounsel when asked about the company’s announcement. She says new parents in the 21st century have different expectations for parental leave.
“This [Netflix’s announcement] is the next step”, Crotty said, adding that it is “quite a big step”.
Stewart Friedman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, has been researching work-life balance policies since 1991 as the founding director of the school’s Work/Life Integration Project.
Does your employer offer parental leave?
While he expects Netflix will deal with challenges around employees that take either too much or too little of the benefit to the detriment of the company, he’s optimistic about the direction the company is taking and what it means for all American companies.
“We are going to see other employers follow suit”, Chamberlain says.
VIDEO streaming firm Netflix has unveiled what is thought to be the most generous parental leave policy of any major US business, offering new mothers and fathers unlimited paid leave for the first year after having a child.
But it may not fit well with some needs in other sectors, he speculated.
The company says the policy covers all of the roughly 2,000 people at its Internet and DVD-by-mail services.
Advertisement
Federal law requires only unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. “It remains to be seen how far that will go”, Crotty said.
