#ShowUsYourLeave Spotlights Parental Leave and Why It's Critical Right Now

When theSkimm, a media company for millennial women, launched its #ShowUsYourLeave campaign last November, plenty of people chimed in with their opinions about paid parental leave. More than 6,000 people liked theSkimm’s Instagram post, and many shared their own stories of paid parental leave (or lack thereof). Over 1,000 followed the hashtag on LinkedIn. And Change.org started a #ShowUsYourLeave petition, which more than 30,000 people have signed, to fight for better paid parental leave in the United States.

The campaign has also given progressive companies an opportunity to highlight their generous leave policies. On LinkedIn, Nestle, Bank of America, Pinterest, and many more have used #showusyourleave as an employer branding opportunity, highlighting extensive leave policies to attract candidates in a tight labor market.

But many parents chimed in to tell a different story. In an Instagram poll by theSkimm, 50% of respondents said they had less than six weeks paid new-parent leave, while 25% had none at all. 

One mom wrote that her company’s COO asked what parental leave was (at a health startup, no less). Another parent had to return to work full-time before her babies were discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit because her leave had run out. Yet another mom, a pediatrician, had to spend her days counseling moms on the importance of bonding with their baby, which she wasn’t able to do because she only had two weeks leave. 

In the United States, paid parental leave can be hard to come by. But companies that do a stellar job of supporting new parents — rather than leaving them worried about how they’ll afford diapers — are much better positioned to attract and retain talent. When working parents feel like their employer has their back, they’re happier and more productive, which is better for companies too. Let’s take a look at why. 

Paid parental leave is unevenly distributed around the world

Many countries offer generous support after the birth of a baby. In the United Kingdom, working parents are eligible for 39 weeks of paid leave. In Norway, they get 49. In Estonia, they’re allowed a whopping 80+ weeks. 

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ensures that U.S. workers are guaranteed 12 weeks unpaid leave. That makes the U.S. the only developed country in the world with no national paid parental leave policy. A few states, such as New Jersey, California, New York, and Rhode Island, offer partial wage replacement for parental leave. Beyond that, it’s up to U.S.companies. According to a Harvard Business Review article, only 21% of the U.S. workforce has access to employer-provided paid leave. 

Helping families can help you attract talent too

Parental leave is more important than ever, after parents and families have been strained nearly to the breaking point by the pandemic. It also speaks to what candidates are looking for most in this tight talent market: work-life balance. 

For many candidates, paid leave — or lack of it — can be a dealbreaker when considering a job. “I’ve had people turn me down because of the paid leave,” says Patricia Sias in the HBR piece. Patricia, who was previously head of HR at a Washington D.C.–based nonprofit, adds that when she was with a larger firm that did offer paid leave, that often sealed the deal, especially for women and younger candidates. 

In a 2016 Deloitte survey, 77% of respondents said that their decision to take a job would be influenced by whether an organization offered paid leave — and how much time they allowed. Half said they’d rather have more paid leave than a raise.

Companies that offer great family leave benefits can use it as a recruiting tool and sing about it from the rooftops.

Benevity, a Canadian software company, offers 17 weeks of parental leave, as well as a two-week bonding break for the nondelivering parent and a coparenting bonus of one-month salary for nondelivering parents who choose to take two months or more leave. And social media management company Hootsuite offers 26 paid weeks off for birthing, nonbirthing, and adoptive parents, as well as six weeks paid leave for a pregnancy loss. 

It’s especially important to millennials

It’s estimated that by 2025, 75% of the world’s workforce will be made up of millennials. One of the great things about millennials is that they have a fresh understanding of what it means to be a family and they value family leave more than previous generations. In an EY generation study, roughly 83% of millennial respondents in the United States said they’d be more likely to join a company offering flexibility and parental leave. 

Patricia found that in her recruiting work too. “Millennials,” she says, “brought [paid leave] up right off the bat.” 

It helps retain top talent

Companies often worry that paid parental leave will cost too much, a concern particularly for smaller companies. But there’s an upside that organizations sometimes overlook: Employees are more likely to stay at companies that offer paid leave as well as a gradual return-to-work policy. 

A study by the Center for Women and Work found that women who take paid leave are 93% more likely to be in the workforce nine to 12 months after a child’s birth than those who take no leave. When Google expanded its paid parental leave policy from 12 to 18 weeks in 2007, the retention rate of women post-maternity-leave jumped by 50%. Accenture found that attrition among mothers dropped by 40% when the company extended its paid maternity leave from eight to 16 weeks.

Depending on the seniority level of the employee, it can cost an employer up to 400 percent of their annual salary to replace them. Parental leave may cost a whole lot less.

Everyone benefits when men and nonbirthing parents take leave too

If companies want to retain women, it’s especially important that they create cultures where men and nonbirthing parents feel like they can take parental leave too. Men have often been hesitant to take parental leave because they fear disapproval and worry that it will signal a lack of dedication to their jobs. But men also need time to bond with their babies. And studies show that when men take parental leave, women are more likely to remain in full-time employment, experience a smaller wage gap, and occupy leadership and board positions. 

A Swedish study found that for every month a new father takes off, the mother’s income rises 6.7% when measured four years later. That’s one of the reasons why Sweden gives men — “latte dads,” as they’re called there — three months of required parental leave. The Boston-based people analytics firm Humanyze does the same, mandating that its fathers take 12 weeks of paid leave to level the playing field. 

In addition to closing the wage gap, men taking leave confers another benefit: Fathers and nonbirthing partners who take extended parental leave are more likely to be empathetic and supportive of working parents when they return. Employees want empathy in the workplace now. And there’s nothing like being in the trenches, stroller and all, to make you feel for what another working parent is going through. 

Final thoughts: A surprising way that parental leave benefits companies

TheSkimm itself offers 18 weeks of paid leave for primary caregivers, as well as additional support programs for new parents. That’s smart for many reasons, including one you might not expect: When workers get paid time off to care for a baby, they develop transferable skills that are valuable, if not always recognized, in the workplace.

Anyone who can pay bills, run a household, and feed a baby umpteen times a day is likely to have developed enviable multitasking skills. Add to that their ability to keep any toddlers from stealing the baby’s toys and they’ve probably developed some serious conflict management tools too. Companies can only benefit when workers have these skills. 

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