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I believe the company is less concerned with paying someone who isn't working - which is basically just a fixed cost they can absorb - than they are about the l

I believe the company is less concerned with paying someone who isn't working - which is basically just a fixed cost they can absorb - than they are about the lost productivity while that person is gone. That may or may not be replaceable, and often is not for shorter time spans (say, up to a couple of months). Unfortunately, the government paying for leave wouldn't fixed that misaligned incentive.

gpm 8y ago
You're right, but I don't know how to fix that part so let's fix the part we can. The relatively severity depends on the company and employee for sure. Software vs McDonalds... Maternity leave has the advantage of a good amount of notice, which can give time to mitigate the loss from a missing employee.
goobynight 8y ago
You're spot on. Most companies won't care about saving a few thousand. They want that money deployed and potentially multiplying in the form of getting something built or selling something.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
justtopost 8y ago
If a company is not profiting from their work more than their absence, that says little for the empolyee. Training is often estimated to be nearly a year of pay in functional terms. I think you underestimate the impact of a lost employee.
- manigandham 8y ago
  Not everything a worker does provides immense leverage like software development. Many times it is 1:1 with hours worked.
zozbot123 8y ago
Let the company include a bonus in the employment contract for every year that leave is not taken. Then leave-prone employees will self-select into companies (and lines of work) that don't bother to pay such a bonus (because they would lose a big chunk of it), while employers that do lose a lot of productivity from leave will make sure to offer it.
- zozbot123 8y ago
  As a complementary approach, one that's more strictly targeted to the issues that the article talks about: offer generous family leave (12-months or more) but after the first 8 months or so, the leave becomes strictly conditional on the employee spending some time at work (less than an ordinary part-time job), focusing on "re-onboarding" and getting familiarized with what has changed in the enterprise. This ensures that the employee's time is put to the highest and best use, in that he can properly care for the kid's best long-term interests, but at the same time he's providing much-needed reassurance to relevant stakeholders that he's not overly neglecting his future career (either willingly or inadvertently).

gpm 8y ago

You're right, but I don't know how to fix that part so let's fix the part we can. The relatively severity depends on the company and employee for sure. Software vs McDonalds... Maternity leave has the advantage of a good amount of notice, which can give time to mitigate the loss from a missing employee.

goobynight 8y ago

You're spot on. Most companies won't care about saving a few thousand. They want that money deployed and potentially multiplying in the form of getting something built or selling something.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

justtopost 8y ago

If a company is not profiting from their work more than their absence, that says little for the empolyee. Training is often estimated to be nearly a year of pay in functional terms. I think you underestimate the impact of a lost employee.

manigandham 8y ago
Not everything a worker does provides immense leverage like software development. Many times it is 1:1 with hours worked.

zozbot123 8y ago

Let the company include a bonus in the employment contract for every year that leave is not taken. Then leave-prone employees will self-select into companies (and lines of work) that don't bother to pay such a bonus (because they would lose a big chunk of it), while employers that do lose a lot of productivity from leave will make sure to offer it.

zozbot123 8y ago
As a complementary approach, one that's more strictly targeted to the issues that the article talks about: offer generous family leave (12-months or more) but after the first 8 months or so, the leave becomes strictly conditional on the employee spending some time at work (less than an ordinary part-time job), focusing on "re-onboarding" and getting familiarized with what has changed in the enterprise. This ensures that the employee's time is put to the highest and best use, in that he can properly care for the kid's best long-term interests, but at the same time he's providing much-needed reassurance to relevant stakeholders that he's not overly neglecting his future career (either willingly or inadvertently).