U.S. companies are generally behind the times when it comes to giving parents an appropriate amount of time off to raise a newborn. This is especially true when it comes to paternity leave (we’re looking at you Major League Baseball). A company looking to buck this trend is Netflix, which recently began offering “unlimited” maternity/paternity leave to all their employees in the U.S. and Canada.
Netflix’s Chief Talent Officer (which I’m assuming is a trendy term for HR person) Tawni Cranz announced the policy change on the company’s blog:
“We want employees to have the flexibility and confidence to balance the needs of their growing families without worrying about work or finances. Parents can return part-time, full-time, or return and then go back out as needed. We’ll just keep paying them normally, eliminating the headache of switching to state or disability pay. Each employee gets to figure out what’s best for them and their family, and then works with their managers for coverage during their absences.”
While the policy isn’t truly unlimited, it’s still pretty darn generous.
At least the money from the recently announced price hike on subscriptions will go to a good cause.