If you were a US business owner, would you offer 100% paid maternity & paternity leave?
For how long?
Would you also offer 100% paid child care?
If so, what impact do you think this would have on the health of your business (and its survival)? Especially if you started to attract many people wanting to start families?
Answer:
I guess it would depend on how big my business was.
If it were a small business, then no, I would not be able to afford 100% paid maternity and paternity leave, especially if I allowed both husbands and wives to work for the company. Same goes for child care.
On the other hand, if I had a big Fortune 500 company, then yes, I'd said at least partially paid maternity and paternity leave should be offered. Maybe 100% paid for 6 weeks or so, or 40-50% for the entire leave. And, I would certainly not force the employees to use up all their vacation and sick time just for their leave, as many companies do.
As far as child care, well, I'd probably look into having onsite care. Or maybe offer to pay up to a certain amount for child care. Not 100%, though, because then I'm sure I'd be paying every nanny's salary in the country. ;-)
If I owned my own business, I would offer free childcare and doggy daycare on site - Not sure about 100% maternity / paternity leave. That would cost the company a lot of money. I think free childcare is a big deal for people who have families. I don't have kids but would love to bring my dog to work - she is like my child. I work with several people who have young kids. Many times they are sick or can't find childcare if school is closed and it forces them to take time off from work. Having it free and onsite would be a huge attraction. I think it would be a positive thing for the company because you wouldn't lose as much work time from the parents.
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