Paid-Parental Leave
Introduction
Currently, global companies are in the haste of providing paid parental leave to their workers. This is due to the fact that it increases business productivity. However, most of the business cooperation around the world deny their workers this paid leave with the claim that they don’t have to pay idle workers, something which is so inhumane and mean (Adema et al, 7). Also, they add that parental leave is a luxury which they can’t afford for their workers. Basically, a parental leave incorporates maternal, paternal and adoption leaves. Pursuing this further, the ILO urges that parents should be added a parental leave which is supplementary to either the paternity or maternity leave. Moreover, Adema et al (16), urges that in some countries the parental leave is usually individually entitled to a parent while in others it is shareable within the family, that is, some of the weeks are reserved for the mother while others are for the father like the case in Austria and Germany. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States about 93% of women given parental leave have a greater likelihood of resuming to work. Practically, Google even increased their leave period from 3 to 5 months accompanied by full-paid salary. Currently, business institutions need to be briefed about the significance of paid-parental leave. Also, new and effective ways of implementing this ideology need to addressed and effected.
Paid-Parental Leave in Different Countries and States
Generally, the United States is the only developed country whose government doesn’t offer paid parental leave. Although, some of the non-governmental institutions and business premises offer support to their workers through parental leave. For instance, California introduced a fully-parental leave of 6 weeks for its workers. furthermore, according to a research conducted in the state by Centre for Economic and Policy Research more than 90% of the business enterprises found that the parental leave gave them either a positive productivity or had no negative effect on them (Adema et al, 42). Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The Significance of a Parental Leave
Countries like Sweden, Argentina as well as Mongolia have discovered the essence of a paid parental leave which is entitled to cater to the needs of the parents as well as the child. In the USA, parents are entitled to a maximum of up to 12 weeks according to the country’s family and medical leave act, however, the leave is usually unpaid (Adema et al, 23). This means that a lot of pressure and struggling is directed to the parents who find it hard to cope with. The statistics of the department of labor indicate that more than 30% of workers incur credit card debts while another 15% look up to the public for assistance.
Significantly, according to Strassner (1), paternity leaves decrease the unemployment rate since a number of parents, especially mothers, find it difficult to comply with the limited duration given for their leaves. This, in turn, results in a majority of them quitting their jobs to offer parental care for their children. Therefore, with paid and sufficient parental leaves, the rate of losing employment reduces. In addition, employee productivity in their specific areas of work. This has been affirmed from a previous study in the Google incorporation after they initiated them parental leave program. The study shows that workers are more productive, happy as well as more motivated to their work after their parental leaves (Strassner, 1).
Concurrently, it keeps families economically self-sufficient during and after the birth or adoption of the child. This is because the paid salary helps in catering for the child’s care expenses and relieves the burden of finances during the period. For example, in the United States families which receive a paid parental leave have a low percentage of searching for public assistance when the child is either born or adopted. Consequently, Strassner (2) agrees that the infant mortality rate is reduced due to the provision of the care. The health society in the USA recommends for a comfortable paternity leave in order to improve the child’s health. Their research indicates that every month of paternity leave a 13% reduction of infant mortality rate is experienced. This is because of the familiarization of the child’s health needs are only known better by its parents rather than child-care professionals or family members.
Additionally, the maternal mental health is improved by the parental leave since this leave has been professionally linked to reducing the risk of postpartum depression which most of the mothers are battling with due to lack of finances after giving birth. Also, employee loyalty is promoted since they are regarded as more valuable assets when they resume working by their employers.
Ways of Promoting Paid-Parental Leaves.
The most effective way of ensuring a universal paid-parental leave is through the formulation of policies by the business sector which is aimed at implementing the ideology. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, more than 1 out of 3 employers in the USA offers a fully paid-parental leave to their workers an appreciation for working parents which is said to offer not only financial support but also psychological appeal (Ben & Angela, 1). The government has a huge role in order to make the paid-parental care comprehensive. First is should review and change its paternity leave act and policies in order to cater to the larger percentage of workers. The process should be inclusive of gender equality. The government ought to escalate their priorities of working parents by providing a universal paid parental leave. This can be achieved through the initiation of parental care programs funded by the government to cater for the compensation of working parents. For instance, working parents in Denmark are covered by a program that pays for their parental leaves up to 50 weeks of child-care. Also, California, New Jersey, and the Rhode Island have also joined the campaign of paid parental care provision by introducing a program that caters for medical and family leaves (Ben & Angela, 2). Moreover, more awareness of provision of paid-parental care should be made to both private and public corporations.
In conclusion, the business sector should show support and concern of their employees at all times. Paid-parental leave is an example of showing appreciation of their employees before, during, and after their parturition period. Significantly, it should be taken positively and implemented by all the organizations in support of our workers. Globally, a huge percentage of both governmental and non-governmental organizations are yet to comply with the ideology of paid-parental leaves regardless of them having the knowledge of its benefits. Despite the process of implementation of the programs being costly initially, the process is beneficial to the workers’ fraternity and the productivity of businesses too.
References
Adema, Willem, Chris Clarke, and Valérie Frey. “Paid Parental Leave.” (2015). https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/paid-parental-leave_5jrqgvqqb4vb-en
Ben G, Angela R. Affordable and Targeted: How Paid Parental Leave in the US Could Work – AAF. AAF. https://www.americanactionforum.org/solution/affordable-targeted-paid-parental-leave-us-work/. Published 2017. Accessed November 24, 2018.
Strassner E. 8 Reasons We Need To Support Paid Maternity Leave. Bustle. https://www.bustle.com/p/8-reasons-we-need-to-support-paid-maternity-leave-57578. Published 2017. Accessed November 24, 2018.