Media company theSkimm recently encouraged companies to #ShowUsYourLeave, asking organizations to publicly share the amount and types of paid time off they offer employees. While theSkimm’s callout focuses on paid family leave, many organizations have chimed in with the different types of paid time off that they offer.
Along with theSkimm, companies including Pinterest, Estee Lauder, and Etsy all jumped on the opportunity to share how they prioritize their people, from fertility and adoption support to bereavement leave for pet loss.
Offering a wide variety of types of paid time off ensures that you’re supporting your employees at every stage of their life.
A comprehensive total benefits package is crucial to employee recruitment and retention. Many employees actually rate benefits as more important than salary, with a Glassdoor survey finding that 79% of employees “prefer new or additional benefits to a pay increase”. Research has also shown that benefits can improve employees’ overall experience with your organization, with 61% of employees surveyed saying that “benefits boosted their job satisfaction”.
Different types of paid family leave will support employees whether they are trying to start a family, dealing with a loss, caring for someone—and everything in between.
Here are some of the different types of paid time off and other benefit offerings that organizations shared as a part of theSkimm’s #ShowUsYourLeave campaign:
- Parental leave that goes beyond the minimum requirements and supports all types of families. Many organizations offer extended parental leave for parents and guardians, whether they’re biological, adoptive, or foster parents.
- Bereavement leave for pregnancy loss. There are many stories of employees having to use up their sick days after a pregnancy loss, which is a traumatic loss both emotionally and physically. Some organizations now offer their employees bereavement leave specifically for pregnancy loss.
- Including animals as family. Some organizations offer bereavement leave after the loss of a pet or offer days off for bonding with a new pet. Additionally, some employers also include pet insurance as a part of their benefits package.
- Flexible scheduling. Offering employees the option to create their own schedules around their other obligations is on many employees’ must-haves list.
- Unlimited paid time off. Many organizations are beginning to offer their employees unlimited PTO rather than specifying which types of paid time off an employee can and cannot take.
Employees’ needs haven’t changed; what’s changed is that companies are now acknowledging these needs—and being prepared as an organization to offer your employees what they need to do their best work will increase loyalty and employee satisfaction.
