Previously, we have looked at how being a mother affects opportunities in the workplace, and how by improving on this, companies can also increase engagement and performance within their female employees. However, it is also vital that organisations recognise how by offering enhanced paternity, they can improve the mental wellbeing of their male staff.
This article delves deeper than the "dads deserve a break" narrative. We'll explore the data-driven connection between robust paternity pay policies, employee engagement, and organisational health.
Some key takeaways:
According to UK law, employees can choose to take either one or two weeks paid paternity leave. The statutory weekly rate is £184.03, or 90% of your average earnings, whichever is lower.
To many, this is seen as drastically low for a time where it is key for new parents to bond with their child. Not only do many fathers feel that the amount of time allowed is not enough, but that the decrease in pay hinders them from being able to fully use their statutory leave.
In fact, research shows that 63.7%1 of fathers took two weeks or less paternity leave, and 70.6%2 of fathers that didn’t use their entire entitlement, didn’t do so due to being unable to afford being off any longer.
Furthermore, only 32.3%3 of fathers who used two weeks or less said they were ready to physically return to work, with a significantly lower 14%4 and 12.8%5 saying they were ready to return mentally and emotionally.
The question is, how is this affecting how men feel about their employers?
Sources differ on what percentage of organisations offer enhanced paternity pay, with one stating that only 29%6 of fathers could access this provision, and another stating that suggesting that 51%7 of organisations offered a higher than statutory rate.
However, within the Best Companies community, 73% of surveyed organisations provided enhanced paternity leave, with an average time off length of three weeks. And the effect on employee engagement and organisational health is obvious.
Firstly, when looking at the individual scores for each of the Best Companies 8 Factors, organisations that offer enhanced paternity pay outscore those that don’t in seven of the eight factors. The only factor that they don’t score higher is My Company, where both groups score an equal 73%.
The biggest difference in factors’ scores that we can see is in Fair Deal, where organisations who offer enhanced paternity leave score more than 2% higher. Clearly, employees appreciate having more time to spend with their newborns.
Furthermore, another factor that is affected by paternity leave is Wellbeing. For this factor, enhanced paternity organisations score around 1.5% higher. Again, the opportunity to spend more time with their child means that employees are feeling better about how their company cares for them.
While some of the factors are unlikely to be directly affected by paternity leave (for example, how male employees feel about their teams), the fact that nearly all factors score higher for organisations that offer enhanced paternity leave shows that by implementing a positive practice you can improve an employee's outlook across their entire working life.
By looking closer at the data provided through statements within the Best Companies survey, we can see that employees who have access to enhanced paternity pay feel better about both their work/home life balance and the benefits on offer.
From the table above, we can see that on average, organisations that offer enhanced paternity leave score 2% higher when it comes to the statement, ‘I am happy with the balance between my work and home life’, and 4% higher for ‘I am happy with the pay and benefits I receive in this job’.
Evidently, men who can spend more time with their partner and child feel more positive towards the benefits provided by their organisation and are happier with the balance between their working and home lives.
Being a parent can be stressful, particularly in those first few weeks where everything is new and difficult to adapt to. Employees who feel as though their organisation is going above and beyond to support them at this time as more likely to be less stressed, tired, and to have all round better mental health. This means that once they return to work, they will be more productive and engaged than those employees who are only able to take statutory paternity leave.
Offering enhanced paternity leave is not simply a feel-good gesture, it also provides a range of business benefits including increased employee engagement, organisational health, and happier team members.
The importance of this happiness cannot be understated. Paternity leave benefits whole families by increasing the mental and physical wellbeing of both the father and mother. Employees who are happy at home are also more likely to be happy at work, but the opposite is also true.
Find out how your paternity leave provision is affected your organisational health and employee engagement by getting in touch today.
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