How Father-Friendly Are Your Small Business’s Policies?

By Rieva Lesonsky

I’m sure your small business offers maternity leave to new moms. And maybe you even congratulate yourself on mom-friendly policies such as letting employees work from home so they can stay home with a sick child. But is your business equally father-friendly? If not, you could take a lesson from what some major corporations are doing these days.

Big companies like IBM and SAS are wooing male employees with father-friendly policies, reports Human Resources Executive Online. IBM, a leader in the father-friendly arena, won an award from the National Fatherhood Initiative recognizing its policies, which include a two-week paid paternity leave. According to a 2011 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, just 16 percent of U.S. companies offer paid paternity leave.

One reason big companies are taking the lead in this area is that they have global workforces—and in many parts of the world, benefits for fathers are far more generous than is typical in the U.S. For example, the SHRM study found that 66 countries have paid paternal leave policies.

In the U.S., the Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for reasons including caring for a child. But the Act doesn’t apply to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, and even in companies where it does apply, many dads are too scared to take advantage of it. They’re worried they’ll get shunted onto the “mommy track,” or lose their jobs in a time when hanging on to employment is key.

For many dads, flexible work arrangements are the best way to help them adjust to life as a new father (and life as the children grow up). Allowing dads to work at home part of the time is a great benefit that many dads are likely to take advantage of. One reason this appeals to fathers is that, since many employees (not just parents) are likely to telecommute, doing so doesn’t call as much attention to them as taking paternity leave does.

Whatever option you choose for handling the fathers in your workplace, keep in mind that fathers increasingly have the same concerns as mothers do about balancing work and family. Where the dad of the past may have thrown himself into work with renewed fervor after the kids were born, today’s dads—especially those of the younger generations—are determined to make time for their children. Anything you can do that helps them accomplish that goal will pay off in greater loyalty and dedication to your business.

Image by Flickr user rtopalovich (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Friday, November 18th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Small Business, small business, Workforce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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