Some companies are changing their work-in-office policies – @Amazon and @JP Morgan – and reversing long-standing progressive policies – @Meta – and surely, they believe these changes will help their bottom line. Personally, I think they’re going to prompt people to leave, and those leavers will be their top employees who have options to go elsewhere, not the ones they hope to squeeze out. We’ll see about that.
But here’s a policy I’d like to see all companies take up because I KNOW it will improve their corporate culture in the short term, their bottom line in the medium term and their viability as a resilient business long term: Give men equal parental leave – and make them take it.
Companies that do not have equal leave policies are implicitly discriminating against their female employees. Companies that don’t train managers – who rose through the ranks in a different work culture – to message leave policies positively are holding back men and women, especially when they roll out tired statements. (Are you going to take all of your leave? When I was in your position, I never took time off.)
Policies built on unequal or discouraged leave for men hold back individual career advancement for women, but those policies also dilute the pool from which companies will select future leaders. Why? If a mom takes 12 weeks off and a dad takes one week off, that’s an 11-week difference. Multiply that across thousands of people at a large organization, and that difference in office time begins to put men at an undeserved advantage. Why again? Too many managers are still inclined to promote the people they see in front of them or on Zoom because it’s easy and that person is, well, there.
The best companies have figured out equal leave matters to their business. @Seramount gathers data each year from scores of companies for its annual list of the 100 best companies for working parents. This year, the average maternity leave on that list was 12 weeks, while the average paternity leave was 10 weeks. That’s way, way above the national average, and while it’s not equal, it’s so much closer than at most companies.
Importantly, the Seramount winners are significant companies with a for-profit mindset and incredible longevity. @Johnson & Johnson was No 1. Others in the top ten included, @EY, @KPMG, @Bank of America, @Merck and @S&P Global.
What they’re doing is supporting current employees and setting up these companies for success in the future. That is what great management does.
This photo was taken on an afternoon when I took my daughter to an afterschool activity. I worked all that day – and I wrapped things up that evening. That hour that I got to watch her do something she loves was a rewarding part of my day. It also refocused me on the work I had to do for @The Company of Dads that evening and the rest of the week.
