Universal paid family leave was once again in the news recently, as a will-it or won’t-it be part of President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan. Originally in the plan for 12 weeks, it wound up in the Senate where it is now in the plan for a laughable four weeks. The U.S. is one of only six (!) countries with no national paid leave and there are doubts that even the four weeks will pass.
By now, we know that paid leave is good for families, but that it is not easy or cheap for businesses to offer. However, as our CEO Beth Monaghan said on Capitol Hill in 2018, “when we dig deeper the benefits are clear: it costs 150 percent of someone’s salary to replace them, and paid leave improves retention.”
In today’s economic climate and cultural shifts at work, retention is more important than ever, and employees want benefits that matter. Parents make up more than 25% of our employee base at Inkhouse and are vital to our success. We are really proud that in 2022, we will begin offering 20 weeks of paid parental leave for parents at Inkhouse.
Alison is the Chief Operations Officer at Inkhouse where she oversees HR, staffing, client service, training, and overall operations excellence.