Essay on Fathers Left Out of Paid Parental Leave: 40% of US Companies Offer Help

Studies show that close to 90% of children live in countries where their fathers are not eligible for any single payment of paternal leave, not even for a single day. The United States forms part of these statistics and is the only developed country with no national law on paid parental leave. Many companies are picking the slack, and 40% of US companies are now offering paid paternal leave, a rise from 25% in 2015 (Cline, 2019). Offering paid parental leave to fathers have positive impacts both to the organization and the workers and the government should reinforce laws ensuring that all-male workers are given paid paternal leaves.

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One key advantage of the paid paternity leave is that it helps to take off the pressure from fathers. The emotional and physical strain on dads is usually high when there is a newborn, and it often becomes unsustainable. Poor or no paternity pay can heighten this burden, in addition to lack of enough time for caring and bonding with the new child and partner. Such pressure can be alleviated by paid leave, which also helps in contributing to the father's morale and positively affecting productivity.

Paid paternal leave boosts the retention of staff. When fathers get paid parental leave, the organization becomes more appealing to an increasingly diverse workforce (Cline, 2019). Through this, the organization can retain its good staff, while also holding the staff it has spent money and time training. By giving men paid parental leave, the organization is investing in the employees' future, and it means that talented, skilled, and experienced employees remain with the organization after having a child.

Families benefit from the paternal leaves, and the more paternity leave men to take, the more chances of women benefiting from their work. According to a study in Sweden, the researchers found out that for every additional one month leave taken by a father, the earnings of the mother increased by at least 7% (My Bump Pay, 2018). Therefore, if the paternal leave of the father is paid, then this implies that the families will benefit more.

When men are paid paternity leave, their loyalty to the organization gets boosted. Their attitudes become flexible to the outside of work challenges, and this increases their feeling of goodwill towards their employer, especially if during the parental leave, pay in enhanced. The resultant effect of this is that loyalty is fostered to the company, which helps in the retention of working parents, who will resume their working positions after the end of the maternity leave.

Lastly, if men get paid paternity leave, this would help in reducing the gender pay gap caused by the motherhood penalty. There are high drop rates by women during the times when they have their children if the fathers get paid paternity leave, they will be able to support the mothers, and this will, in turn, help them remain in their workplace, especially if there are supportive benefits. Most women are not eligible for a pay rise or promotions while on leave, and giving paid leave for men will help in reducing this bias.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if men received paid parental leave, there would be more benefits both to the families and to the organizations for which they work. Among the significant benefits accrued by the organizations include employee retention, the attraction of new talent, and increased productivity/profitability. The families will also benefit both financially and psychologically.

References

Cline J. (2019). 10 Reasons Every Company Should Offer Paid Paternity Leave (And Every Father Should Take It). Catalyst. https://www.catalyst.org/2019/06/12/10-reasons-every-company-should-offer-paid-paternity-leave-and-every-father-should-take-it/

My Bump Pay (2018). Why Every Employer Should Offer Paid Maternity and Paternity Leave. https://mybumppay.com/benefits-of-paid-maternity-paternity-leave/