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"When Google increased paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, the number of new moms who quit Google dropped by 50%." This seems to be such a spectacu
by sanxiyn 11y ago
"When Google increased paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, the number of new moms who quit Google dropped by 50%."
This seems to be such a spectacularly good result that I wonder why they haven't tried it sooner.
- malandrew 11y agoIf maternity leave policies are a major reason for retention, what are the figures for other industries? It's not like only women in tech want to have kids and are impacted by maternity leave policies.
- troels 11y agoWell, they didn't know, did they. But I would say that with such good results, they might want to increase it even further. 18 weeks is still rather short.
- tracker1 11y agoI'm sorry, but paying someone to take off for more than 1/3 of the year? Is this based on how long they are with the company before said leave? 4.5 months of maternity leave is very generous, and honestly enough for a physical recovery and to spend time with the baby. I'd even be in favor of 4-8 weeks maternity leave for new dads. I'm all for maternity leave, I think it's important, and there are too many companies that don't offer any, or enough. That said, there's a point where you really aren't an employee anymore. I'm not saying they should shorten their leave, but making it longer probably isn't a great idea.
- troels 11y agoRaising it from 12 to 18 clearly had a very positive effect. I'd wager that there is more to be had by raising it further. So this is a cold hard HR calculation - not something I suggest they do out of altruism. Although that would be OK too. Just for perspective, where I live 52 weeks is mandated by law. Now, a private company doesn't have to offer full payment during that period (or any), but it's quite common to do. Personally, I have a hard time imagining passing my child on to day care at the age of 4 months. So that means at least one of the parents needs to stay out of work. For various reasons, that usually ends up being the mother.
- nasalgoat 11y agoHere in Canada, maternity leave is a Federally-mandated full year. Before having a baby I thought that seemed excessive, but after having one, I see the value it brings at a critical time in a child's life. Now the idea that the US only allows for 2 weeks seems cruel and unusual.
- tracker1 11y agoI agree that two weeks is insane... and I understand why many would leave a job to stay at home for the first few years of a baby's life. I'm not sure I entirely understand having paid leave for that long though. It would be easier to handle if the U.S. adopted a basic wage, and eliminated most of the welfare and subsidy programs.
- nasalgoat 11y agoWell, the Canadian method involves the parent going on Unemployment for the duration of the leave, so it's not 100% salary. Still, a better option than a child missing out on key parental bonding time.
- kalleboo 11y agoI'm from Sweden where parental leave (at 80% of pay) is 14 weeks for the mother, 2 weeks for her partner, and then an additional 65 weeks that can be distributed between the partners as they wish. 4 months seems short - I wouldn't want to have to leave my 4 month old baby with child care.
- danieltillett 11y agoWhat was the base of this drop? Do the vast majority on moms at google stay or leave? If 99.9% of moms before the change stayed then a 50% change in the 0.1% who left is not too informative, but if 80% previously left then it is very significant.
- easytiger 11y agoAlso given the sample size and a plethora of other unknown variables, it maybe doesn't even mean anything.