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When we had our first child (in Sweden), we could divide the time (13 months total) freely between the two of us. Then we got some extra money if each of us too

When we had our first child (in Sweden), we could divide the time (13 months total) freely between the two of us. Then we got some extra money if each of us took more than 30% of that time. I think they stopped with the money bonus, but it was really great for us. We are now having our second child (now in Norway), and while the father quota is great, they now require the mother to be "in activity" (i.e. working) if the father is to have anything more than his quota. This feels like an unnecessary restriction, which we didn't have in Sweden.

radicalbyte 7y ago
This should be the norm in all of the developed world! As a freelancer I took a self-funded three-month break (it just finished) when our third child was born and it has been amazing. I wish that I'd been in a position to do the same for my other two children too. Firstly, we're trying hard to close the gender pay gap. Giving fathers the same amount of free time as the mothers goes a long way here. Secondly, it's fantastic for the father-baby bond and it makes both life and work as a young parent so much easier. Thirdly, the cost is not large. Businesses are already absorbing the lost productivity caused by the fathers being exhausted. This formalizes it.
- carierx1 7y ago
  Excellent point. I've noticed significant cognitive performance drop in new dads as the tremendous stress of your first child drains you. Its important for businesses to incorporate this reality into their planning.
- gylterud 7y ago
  > Thirdly, the cost is not large. Businesses are already absorbing the lost productivity caused by the fathers being exhausted. This formalizes it. Exactly! And in both Norway and Sweden you can be part time on leave. For some time I had 25% leave, which meant that I was working, but could go early when tired from a long night of baby cries or stay at home one day when my wife needed to get something else done. And this time I will be on 80–90% leave, which means I am at home, but can pass by the office once a week to catch up with my students.
  - radicalbyte 7y ago
    That 90% is ideal! My wife owns a business with > 100 employees, that's basically what she did during her pregnancy leave. Having me home made that possible (or at least easier, she's breastfeeding.. and that takes a crazy effort to get going).
- Lev1a 7y ago
  > Thirdly, the cost is not large. Businesses are already absorbing the lost productivity caused by the fathers being exhausted. This formalizes it. In our project management course we learned a rule of thumb that for new parents you have ~25-30% less FTE available during the first year of the child's life (due to care for sick children, getting sick themselves, being exhausted from lack of sleep etc.)
  - sneak 7y ago
    This seems like a sound argument for avoiding hiring people who might become parents soon. 30% less output for the same amount of pay seems like a bad deal for an employer.
    - raydev 7y ago
      The employer will be fine with 30% reduced output.
Zitrax 7y ago
Yes in Norway I as a father only got 10 days in total due to that rule while in Sweden I would have got 240 (if split equally), quite a difference.
belorn 7y ago
It make sense to have such restriction if the goal is the break the culture that allow/force women to spend time raising the child and allow/force men to spend time at work in order to support the child.
gvjddbnvdrbv 7y ago
Until very recently unless the mother was working the father got nothing. It only changed because a European Court ruled against the government.

radicalbyte 7y ago

This should be the norm in all of the developed world! As a freelancer I took a self-funded three-month break (it just finished) when our third child was born and it has been amazing. I wish that I'd been in a position to do the same for my other two children too. Firstly, we're trying hard to close the gender pay gap. Giving fathers the same amount of free time as the mothers goes a long way here. Secondly, it's fantastic for the father-baby bond and it makes both life and work as a young parent so much easier. Thirdly, the cost is not large. Businesses are already absorbing the lost productivity caused by the fathers being exhausted. This formalizes it.

carierx1 7y ago
Excellent point. I've noticed significant cognitive performance drop in new dads as the tremendous stress of your first child drains you. Its important for businesses to incorporate this reality into their planning.
gylterud 7y ago
> Thirdly, the cost is not large. Businesses are already absorbing the lost productivity caused by the fathers being exhausted. This formalizes it. Exactly! And in both Norway and Sweden you can be part time on leave. For some time I had 25% leave, which meant that I was working, but could go early when tired from a long night of baby cries or stay at home one day when my wife needed to get something else done. And this time I will be on 80–90% leave, which means I am at home, but can pass by the office once a week to catch up with my students.
- radicalbyte 7y ago
  That 90% is ideal! My wife owns a business with > 100 employees, that's basically what she did during her pregnancy leave. Having me home made that possible (or at least easier, she's breastfeeding.. and that takes a crazy effort to get going).
Lev1a 7y ago
> Thirdly, the cost is not large. Businesses are already absorbing the lost productivity caused by the fathers being exhausted. This formalizes it. In our project management course we learned a rule of thumb that for new parents you have ~25-30% less FTE available during the first year of the child's life (due to care for sick children, getting sick themselves, being exhausted from lack of sleep etc.)
- sneak 7y ago
  This seems like a sound argument for avoiding hiring people who might become parents soon. 30% less output for the same amount of pay seems like a bad deal for an employer.
  - raydev 7y ago
    The employer will be fine with 30% reduced output.

Zitrax 7y ago

Yes in Norway I as a father only got 10 days in total due to that rule while in Sweden I would have got 240 (if split equally), quite a difference.

belorn 7y ago

It make sense to have such restriction if the goal is the break the culture that allow/force women to spend time raising the child and allow/force men to spend time at work in order to support the child.

gvjddbnvdrbv 7y ago

Until very recently unless the mother was working the father got nothing. It only changed because a European Court ruled against the government.