Research data supports paternity leaves, and results from WTW’s Leave Survey

January 23, 2024

Source: WTW 2023-4 Leave Survey  LINK

Harvard Business Review last fall featured an article “How Paternity Leave Helps Dad’s Brains Adapt to Parenting.”  The article cites a growing literature showing that functional MRIs demonstrate a change in brain matter in men who spend substantial time with their newborns and infants. 

Parental leave is much more common in much of the developed world compared to the United States. The Washington Post found in 2021 that mandatory paid parental leave, not required in the US, was 39 weeks in the United Kingdom, 68 weeks in Sweden, 82 weeks in Estonia, and a full year for both mothers and fathers in Japan. Sweden encouraged more men to take parental leave by making 90 days of parental leave nontransferable to partners, and almost a third of parental leave in Sweden is now taken by men.

The 2023 WTW Leave survey shows that respondents (517 employers across all US geographies and industries with 7.9 million employees) are increasingly offering paternity leave.  Eighty two percent offer a median of 30 days of paternity leave.  The 25th percentile was 20 days, and the 75th percentile was 56 days.

Other important findings from the leave study:

-        Employers regard leave programs as a differentiator when competing for talent.  Five percent wanted to “far exceed” competitors, and 35% wanted to “exceed” competitors.

-        Unlimited paid time off (PTO) programs almost doubled from 2021 (from 9% to 16%.)  The plurality of employers had PTO programs (45%), and 39% had separate vacation, sick and personal days.  Twice as many companies (31%) offered unlimited PTO to directors or executives.

-        One in five employers with a paid parental leave program planned to increase the value of that program.

-        A quarter of employers have a paid caregiver leave program (median duration 20 days), and 22% are planning or considering offering such a program in the next two years.

-        Bereavement leave was near universal (95%), generally between 3-5 days.

-        Over a quarter (28%) of employers offered paid leave for pregnancy loss, and 29% were planning or considering such a program.

-        One in 9 employers (11%) reported offering a sabbatical program (median 90 days, interquartile range 30 to 180 days)

Implications for employers:

-        Leave can be an important differentiator in recruiting and retaining talent.

-        There is increasingly robust research data showing the social value of paternity leave.

-        Separate sick and vacation leave have continued to decline, and PTO and unlimited PTO are more common approaches to time away from work.

Thanks for reading.  You can find previous posts in the Employer Coverage archive

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