I wasn’t surprised to learn of the Harvard / McGill Universities study by Jody Heymann that the US lags behind most of the world in helping workers balance work and family, but it reflects the sad state of affairs in our country anyway…here’s what they came up with:
According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, the study released last week found that the US was one of the five countries out of 173 studied, that didn’t guarantee paid maternal leave.
Francine Knowles, Business Reporter at the Sun-Times, said that:
“It also found the U.S. is not among countries that do the following:
• • Mandate that employers provide a day of rest each week so workers aren’t required to go for long periods without a day off. At least 126 countries do so.
• • Give fathers either paid paternity leave or paid parental leave; 68 countries do, with 31 countries offering 14 or more weeks of paid leave.
• • Protect working women’s right to breast feed; 107 countries do, and 73 offer paid breaks.
• • Provide paid sick days for short- or long-term illnesses; 145 do, and 127 provide a week or more of sick days annually. The U.S. provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for serious illnesses through the Family & Medical Leave Act. But the act does not cover 40 percent of private sector workers.
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) said he will push for legislation to provide up to six weeks of paid leave for an employee to take time off to care for children, tend to immediate family members or recover from illness. It would be funded by the employer, employee and the federal government, he said at a press conference Thursday without detailing the cost.”
Isn’t it time we did something about this?
We can ask our local representatives to help, but more urgently, we need to empower ourselves by making it a priority in our companies.
Your thoughts?
-Susan Martin, NYC Business and Work Life Balance Coach
