Parental Leave

Written By Allison Delaney

After going through “The Great Resignation” in 2022, employee retention is on the top of employer’s minds and is something employees are demanding. Parental leave can be a great way to retain employees.

Parental leave allows for employees to take time off without the stress of not having a position to return to, the financial stability to take time off, allows fathers to take time off as well, and allows more time for child/parent bonding.

If parental leave is so important, how do you use parental leave to keep employees happy and excited to return to work after leave is up? Below is a list of ways to support employees during leave and make their return to work easier.

• Have upfront conversations about expectations before leaving, how can they help others be prepared to take over their work
• Support while gone- Is someone checking their emails? Is someone assigned to follow up with projects while the employee is out? This will also help with the return to work
• Take the return to work slowly- When returning to work, have an employee ease back into their day-to-day work
• Be open to plans changing. Parenthood brings up new challenges that cannot be planned for, so the return-to-work plan may change

This is a short list, but supporting employees in their return to work can be crucial in employee retention. What else have you done to support employees during parental leave?