Benefits June 16, 2006

Paternity Leave not Valued by Men Surveyed

June 16, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Not one of the 291 respondents to the father-specific portion of a recent Monster.com survey listed paternity leave as a valued benefit.
Reported by

SHRM reports that the survey found that working fathers value employee sports leagues, parties and company-subsidized cafeterias over paternity benefits. Ironically, eight of the respondents had used paternity leave time themselves.

Lori Erickson, Monster.com’s vice president of human resources, told SHRM that paternity leave is considered a bonus benefit and not a core need such as vacation. She said fathers are often overlooked when it comes to work/life balance, and some actually feel uncomfortable asking for or using work/life benefits.

In cases where supervisors did not support such a balance, only 11% of men said they liked their jobs. When a company did not offer a working father-friendly environment, only 14% liked their jobs.

Another recent survey from CareerBuilder.com found that working fathers do not feel their companies are as flexible for them as for working mothers (See Working Dads Don’t Think They Spend Enough Time With Kids ).

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