Netflix done good. Netflix done reeeeeeal good. According to a recent post on Netflix’s blog, Netflix employees now have unlimited maternity and paternity leave. You read that right: unlimited maternity and paternity leave. Not only do both mothers and fathers receive leave after the arrival of their new child, but “parents can return part-time, full-time, or return and then go back out as needed. We’ll just keep paying them normally, eliminating the headache of switching to state or disability pay.”
Is this not fantastic? It’s fantastic. America has been slow in developing leave that matches the needs of new parents. As in, mothers (not fathers) get twelve weeks of leave, with no guaranteed paycheck. Other countries, such as Sweden, offer 420 days of leave with 80% of wages paid. Serbia offers 52 weeks of leave with 100% of wages paid. I’m not a mother, and I do not personally understand the struggle of balancing work and children, but I have seen family, friends, and mothers I’ve worked for reluctantly return to the workforce for fear of losing the job they worked so hard to achieve, simply because they had a child.
Paternity leave is pretty fantastic, too! Dads have to work on their dad bods, you know? Netflix is setting the precedent for parental leave. When you’re not stressed about your home life, you can focus on work. When you’re not stressed about work, you’re happy in your home life. And happy people just don’t shoot their husbands! (Legally Blonde? Anyone?)
Image via Forbes
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