海角大神

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg expands family leave time for those who mourn

Are American companies becoming kinder in their family leave policies?

|
Laurent Gillieron/Keyston/AP
Chief operating officer of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg speaks during a plenary session in the Congress Hall during the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2017. Ms. Sandberg has expanded Facebook's bereavement family leave policy.

Facebook is extending its bereavement and family sick leave policies to give employees more time to mourn or take care of relatives, the social media giant announced Tuesday.

Workers will now get up to 20 days paid leave following the death of an immediate family member and up to 10 days to grieve for an extended family member, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said in a Facebook post announcing the changes. In addition,聽employees will be granted up to six weeks paid leave to care for a sick relative, and聽three days to look after a family member with a short-term illness 鈥 for example, a child with the flu.聽

"People should be able for their families," Ms. Sandberg wrote. "We need public policies that make it easier for people to care for their children and aging parents and for families to mourn and heal after loss.聽Making it easier for more Americans to be the workers and family members they want to be will make our economy and country stronger."聽

The announcement comes amid growing support for paid family leave聽among American companies. A number of cities and states have also stepped in to institute paid family leave laws,聽as Harry Bruinius reported for 海角大神 last year:聽

Part of the new momentum, many say, is a shift in priorities for many American workers, especially among a new generation of employees that is now placing a greater emphasis on time with family.

鈥淓ven business are now competing with each other, because they know that Millennials care a lot about this 鈥 men as well as women,鈥 says Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family 海角大神 @ Work, a national network of 21 state and local coalitions advocating for a more family-friendly workplace. 鈥淕overnor Cuomo's remarks didn鈥檛 come out of the blue 鈥 there鈥檚 a robust, very broad and very diverse coalition鈥 fighting for paid family leave, she says....

Tech behemoths such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple have revised their paid parental leave policies in recent years to attract and retain talent. In August, Netflix announced it would give employees up to a year of paid parental leave, and in November, the music-streaming company Spotify announced it would give its global employees six months paid leave. 聽

"Certainly there鈥檚 a momentum growing for paid family leave across the country," Vivien Labaton, co-executive director of聽Make it Work, a family advocacy group, told the Monitor.聽

Still, more than half of the country's 60 largest employers offer no paid family leave or will not disclose their family leave policy, according to a published in November. And just 聽get paid time off after the death of a loved one, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Typically, they are only granted a few days.聽

For Sandberg, the decision to expand bereavement leave and family sick leave was in part a personal one. Her husband, Dave Goldberg, passed away in May 2015.聽

"Amid the nightmare of聽Dave's聽death when my kids needed me more than ever, I was grateful every day to work for a company that provides bereavement leave and flexibility," Sandberg said in her Facebook post. "I needed both to start my recovery. I know how rare that is, and I believe strongly that it shouldn't be."

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
海角大神 was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to 鈥渟peak the truth in love.鈥 Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.
QR Code to Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg expands family leave time for those who mourn
Read this article in
/Business/2017/0208/Facebook-s-Sheryl-Sandberg-expands-family-leave-time-for-those-who-mourn
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
/subscribe