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I’m not surprised. This is so different to how workplaces are usually run in the US that organizations, or society even, has no institutional memory on how to d

I’m not surprised. This is so different to how workplaces are usually run in the US that organizations, or society even, has no institutional memory on how to deal with it. In Sweden, where 400+ days of parental leave has been mandatory for years organization have adapted and learned patterns and ways to deal with people dissappearing for around a year. It’s a shame the Gates Foundation didn’t research this better before diving in.

chrisco255 8y ago
People aren't easily replaceable...especially high talent individuals. It's also a big burden for an organization to pay for non-productive workers. And if someone has several children in a row...then what? What are the limits?
- minikites 8y ago
  Are you implying that someone will try to game the system by perpetually having children for a decade or more?
- tomp 8y ago
  > It's also a big burden for an organization to pay for non-productive workers That's absolutely true, but hopefully the government (or social security) pays for it. Same as for medical leave (in Slovenia, only after 30 days though - first month is paid by the employer). That way, the government is supporting entrepreneurship and small businesses, which would otherwise be disproportionally affected by a single person leaving (in a big company, the law of large numbers makes it easy to predict, and therefore manage, absences).
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- fastbeef 8y ago
  Its paid by the government, funded by taxes, at the same level as sick leave/disability. Some (most) companies actually chip in a little (or a lot) to ease the income loss as a perk.
- Fomite 8y ago
  This would make more sense if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation wasn't also notorious for having extremely high turnover.
Rebelgecko 8y ago
Are those 400+ days per parent or divvied up between the parents? I imagine that can have a big impact on how the leave affects companies.
- fastbeef 8y ago
  It’s per child, with a percentage ear marked for each parent and the rest is up to the parent to decide to gets them.
- kzrdude 8y ago
  480 days together. Of those, 90 days each are non-transferrable (between the parents).
  - souprock 8y ago
    Wow. I would almost never work. I'm having my 12th kid soon, and my wife doesn't work. At 390 days (roughly 13 months) per kid, I could pretty much just not work. Why don't people do this in Sweden? There are so few kids!
    - danans 8y ago
      People want to work, and do other things that work avails to them, including provide better experiences and lifestyle for the smaller number of children in their household. Even in the 1960s in the US, when the working class had much more economic security, and it was easier to financially support children than today, the median number of children per family was still < 3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/718084/average-number-of-own-children-per-family/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/718084/average-number-of...
      - souprock 8y ago
        I think "better experiences" should include the value of siblings. There is always somebody to play with. You form a team against bullies. Being able to attend classes together or share dorm rooms is great. Even later in life, there will be family to share life with.
noidea_ 8y ago
Yeah, but in Sweden, it's not a huge deal if the person that makes the Ikea meatballs takes a year off
- pfyra 8y ago
  While in the US it is a big deal, or what?
- FlorianRappl 8y ago
  You got my smile ;). Also in Germany its no problem since all we do is sausages. Wonder why a burger so different that the person making it cannot be on parental leave for a year.
  - noidea_ 8y ago
    The burger has many more layers. It's significantly more complex. As someone who spent some time working in Germany, my coworkers were obsessed with hamburgers. And mayo on everything.
tyoma 8y ago
Could someone from Sweden talk about how a year or more ofleave works in practice? I am curious about: * what percentage of parents take the full year or more of leave? * how much of a salary reduction happens on leave? * how much of the leave salary is paid directly by the employer versus by the government? * does the year have to be taken consecutively, or can you break it up into chunks? * what happens to the temporary employee once the parent is back from leave? * if the parent has another child while on leave, can they extend leave by another year?
doggydogs94 8y ago
The Gates Foundation did not have to research it, they experienced it.

chrisco255 8y ago

People aren't easily replaceable...especially high talent individuals. It's also a big burden for an organization to pay for non-productive workers. And if someone has several children in a row...then what? What are the limits?

minikites 8y ago
Are you implying that someone will try to game the system by perpetually having children for a decade or more?
tomp 8y ago
> It's also a big burden for an organization to pay for non-productive workers That's absolutely true, but hopefully the government (or social security) pays for it. Same as for medical leave (in Slovenia, only after 30 days though - first month is paid by the employer). That way, the government is supporting entrepreneurship and small businesses, which would otherwise be disproportionally affected by a single person leaving (in a big company, the law of large numbers makes it easy to predict, and therefore manage, absences).
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
fastbeef 8y ago
Its paid by the government, funded by taxes, at the same level as sick leave/disability. Some (most) companies actually chip in a little (or a lot) to ease the income loss as a perk.
Fomite 8y ago
This would make more sense if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation wasn't also notorious for having extremely high turnover.

Rebelgecko 8y ago

Are those 400+ days per parent or divvied up between the parents? I imagine that can have a big impact on how the leave affects companies.

fastbeef 8y ago
It’s per child, with a percentage ear marked for each parent and the rest is up to the parent to decide to gets them.
kzrdude 8y ago
480 days together. Of those, 90 days each are non-transferrable (between the parents).
- souprock 8y ago
  Wow. I would almost never work. I'm having my 12th kid soon, and my wife doesn't work. At 390 days (roughly 13 months) per kid, I could pretty much just not work. Why don't people do this in Sweden? There are so few kids!
  - danans 8y ago
    People want to work, and do other things that work avails to them, including provide better experiences and lifestyle for the smaller number of children in their household. Even in the 1960s in the US, when the working class had much more economic security, and it was easier to financially support children than today, the median number of children per family was still < 3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/718084/average-number-of-own-children-per-family/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/718084/average-number-of...
    - souprock 8y ago
      I think "better experiences" should include the value of siblings. There is always somebody to play with. You form a team against bullies. Being able to attend classes together or share dorm rooms is great. Even later in life, there will be family to share life with.

noidea_ 8y ago

Yeah, but in Sweden, it's not a huge deal if the person that makes the Ikea meatballs takes a year off

pfyra 8y ago
While in the US it is a big deal, or what?
FlorianRappl 8y ago
You got my smile ;). Also in Germany its no problem since all we do is sausages. Wonder why a burger so different that the person making it cannot be on parental leave for a year.
- noidea_ 8y ago
  The burger has many more layers. It's significantly more complex. As someone who spent some time working in Germany, my coworkers were obsessed with hamburgers. And mayo on everything.

tyoma 8y ago

Could someone from Sweden talk about how a year or more ofleave works in practice? I am curious about: * what percentage of parents take the full year or more of leave? * how much of a salary reduction happens on leave? * how much of the leave salary is paid directly by the employer versus by the government? * does the year have to be taken consecutively, or can you break it up into chunks? * what happens to the temporary employee once the parent is back from leave? * if the parent has another child while on leave, can they extend leave by another year?

doggydogs94 8y ago

The Gates Foundation did not have to research it, they experienced it.