Pawternity leave? What has this country come to?

[lottamoxie]

I think that's a great policy, personally. I mean, why not?

Back in the late '90s when I got my 9 week old puppy, I took 1.5 weeks vacation and called it "pupternity leave." I remember I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, as I was getting up 2x a night to take her out. She was so worth it; worth every sacrifice.

[Scooby Snacks]

Originally Posted by dothetwist

Reading comprehension. I have no issue with HOW people use their vacation/personal time off. But codifying every single thing that qualifies for "extra" time off is silly. It's like saying everyone gets extra time off when they have to wait for a plumber or the cable guy. Whether someone needs time off for raising a puppy or remodeling their kitchen, let them use their personal leave time.

Give everyone a good amount of vacation, personal and sick days and let them use it as they see fit.

I totally agree. However, you're assuming that Americans get proper vacations. This pawternity leave is being offered by companies who actually care about the welfare of their employees. I worked for a company that only offered two paid days off: Christmas and Thanksgiving. Not only that, every other optical I had worked for offered at least one pair of free glasses, but this benefit was not offered by this chintzy employer. Employees had to pay for half the cost of any glasses they bought. Employers who don't offer liberal amounts of PTO or vacation time pay dearly for it in the end via high turnover rates. But many are too myopic to realize this. I left the company after a month, moving on to one that offered better pay and benefits.

[banjomike]

I don't think this is very mentally healthy. I've owned many animals, and while they might need help birthing, unless surgery was required, most animals mother their young just fine instinctually. Dogs and cats both recover from birth or surgery faster than humans do.

Though I've never thought of any of my pets as my children, I can understand why people come to think like that. More folks live alone nowadays, more have never had children, and more don't have extended families. So for all of them, a pet takes the place that was once occupied by a human.

While the love and attention that's lavished on pets is often misplaced in my view, I can understand why so many others do it. We all need love, and we all need to give love to others. Any pet can fill that hole in a lonely life, and while I can think it's over-blown and ridiculous, that will never change the person whose pets are the most important living things in their life.

In a working environment, anyone who's worrying about a sick loved one isn't going to be productive, even if the loved one is an animal. Business isn't judgmental about this; lost productivity is lost productivity, no matter the cause, and no matter what if anyone thinks the cause is ridiculous.
The pet owner isn't going to stop worrying, and the worry could cause disruption in the other workers. So if giving the worrier some time off to care for a loved one, even if it is a pet, it is only a solution to a problem.

It's probably a better way to keep a valuable employee than ridiculing them, that's for sure, or forcing them to take time off with no pay. The next worker who needed family time off may need it for a child, and making the distinction of who is to be loved the most- human or pet- and who gets paid leave or not from that distinction could cause some real disruptive problems in the work force.

It's better (and cheaper) to just give them all a sick-leave week off with pay than to start a fight that would never end in the work force. Happy workers are better workers.

That's business sense. It sometimes conflicts with common sense.

[lottamoxie]

While the love and attention that's lavished on pets is often misplaced in my view

Love and attention are never misplaced, certainly not on pets, and not on humans. Love is not a limited commodity, and you don't only get a finite budget of it to spend. Being able to love other living things and deeply care and be a caretaker, is mentally healthy and spiritually fulfilling. Those who don't understand can't fathom it and what ensues is judgey judgement.

Fortunately most employers are comprised of humans and most humans have compassion. People understand if you have vacation days or personal days to use, they are yours to use for whatever purpose you deem, no matter if someone else thinks it's worthwhile or not, and it's not anyone's business.

[Delahanty]

I certainly think it's nuts, but many companies have quirky perks.

This won't be a trend, though.

[lottamoxie]

There are companies out there who allow employees to bring their dogs to work. Not many employers, but they do exist.

One couple I read about (both doctors) have a golden and they bring their dog to work each day, the dog spends time with each of them on alternating days in their separate clinics at the hospital. Their dog helps ease the fear of children who are going through tough medical treatments (like chemo) and it gives the kids something positive and fun to focus on.

[tickyul]

Does not sound too wacky to me.

If you have a family-member that is an emotional-comfort-animal or similar, maybe a requiring employers to give a couple of weeks of paid leave would be a very good thing.