Innovative Approaches to Paid Leave

After Lori Chew’s granddaughter was born, she planned to use paid vacation time to help care for the baby when her daughter-in-law returned to work.

Her boss had another idea: Take “grandparent leave.”

Directors at the Kansas college where Chew is an administrative assistant developed the new category of paid time off within a larger package of family-friendly benefits. Eligible employees at the college may take three paid days of leave after the birth or adoption of a grandchild.

“I never heard of it. I never would have even thought that anybody would give grandparents leave,” says Chew, who jumped at the chance. “It’s a good idea.”

Many other employers have established their own priorities about the types of paid leave that will best support their workers.

For example, AnalogFolk, an international creative agency with offices in New York City, offers one day of paid menstrual leave per month to employees who experience discomfort during their periods.

And Canva, an Australia-based digital design company with offices in California and Texas, grants up to eight weeks of gender affirmation leave so nonbinary and transgender employees can take time off for physical, legal or mental health needs.

To prevent burnout, some companies are offering paid sabbaticals to highly skilled, long-serving employees—the type of perk usually offered to college professors and clergy members. Other employers are granting paid “pawternity” leave to employees who have adopted an animal to allow the owner and new pet time to adjust.

More Categories of Leave Covered

According to SHRM’s 2023 Employee Benefits Survey, more companies are supporting employees who welcome children into their homes. Designated paid maternity and paternity leave each jumped five percentage points between 2022 and 2023, and they are now offered by 40 percent and 32 percent of employers, respectively. Meanwhile, paid adoption leave rose by 6 percentage points, with about a third of employers (34 percent) now offering it. Also, the share of employers offering paid foster child leave increased 3 percentage points to 25 percent. 

Now, as in the case of Chew’s employer, companies are increasingly including grandparents in the types of parental or child “bonding” leave that previously were the domain of only new parents or their partners. This recognizes the reality that the nuclear family is harder to define today and that a sizable portion of the U.S. workforce has gotten older, workplace experts say.

“Everyone was expecting a mass exodus [from the workforce] with the Baby Boomer population, and it hasn’t happened,” says Maria M. Trapenasso, SHRM-SCP, senior vice president and national practice leader of human capital solutions for NFP, a benefits broker in New York City.

Only 8 percent of respondents to a 2024 NFP survey of employers  reported offering new-grandparent leave, but 35 percent said they would consider it in the next five years. The survey suggests that menopause leave is also on employers’ radar screens. Although only 4 percent of employer respondents currently offer some type of accommodation, 32 percent say they would be open to providing benefits, if not outright leave, for this reason when necessary.

“Employers are starting to realize that they really do need to support these employees, particularly because these are their most seasoned workers,” Trapenasso says. “They’ve got wisdom, they have institutional knowledge, they’re the ones who are mentoring other employees.”

Bereavement Leave Expanding

Employers face a changing regulatory landscape, with a patchwork of state laws that require them to provide certain types of paid or unpaid medical, family or bereavement leave. Policies that govern paid bereavement leave have undergone a noticeable transformation. A recent survey from Marsh McLennan Agency, a global professional services firm headquartered in New York City, indicates that employers are becoming more generous with the amount of paid time off a worker may take for a death in the family, which traditionally has been three to five days. The types of relationships eligible for bereavement leave have become broader too and now include deceased individuals beyond an employee’s immediate family members. Some policies have widened to include women who have had miscarriages, stillbirths or failed in vitro fertilization procedures.

For scenarios in which an employee dies or becomes disabled or terminally ill, some employers have engaged “concierge”-style service providers who will convey benefits on behalf of the company, says Luba Pale, a senior consultant with Marsh McLennan Agency.

Counselors from TenCode Benefits in Frisco, Texas, for example, will work with beneficiaries on challenges such as planning a funeral, securing life insurance payouts and phasing out a loved one’s digital presence, says Rob Combi, the company’s co-founder and managing partner. “Post-COVID, I think there’s been a big push by HR leadership to let their employees and families know they care about them,” he says.

Even pets have made their way into the bereavement space. Between 3 percent and 5 percent of large employers that responded to the Marsh McLennan Agency survey said they offer paid leave for the death of a pet, though some employers define which animals may qualify, Pale notes. “It could be a dog, a cat, a bird, a farm animal,” she says. “It’s not a going to be a fish, for example, or a lizard.” Pets are also mentioned in a very small percentage of caregiver leave policies, which typically require employees to offer medical documentation from a veterinary office, Pale says.

Specific vs. Categorized Leave

Some companies are seeking to distinguish themselves as employers of choice by creating new types of leave categories for their employees. However, there are mixed feelings among employers about that approach, however well-intentioned it is.

AnalogFolk has publicized its period leave policy and encouraged other companies to follow suit in hopes of helping destigmatize menstruation. Spain became the first European country to grant women menstrual leave if their periods become incapacitating. But critics say the measure, which is publicly financed, could end up reinforcing negative gender stereotypes.

Canva, which offers gender affirmation leave and other benefits for its nonbinary and transgender employees, has emphasized its goal of being inclusive. HireVue, a digital hiring platform provider based in South Jordan, Utah, offers employees up to one week of paid grandparent leave. This demonstrates that companies that offer such benefits “value family time and our team members at all different stages in life,” says Natalie Dopp, SHRM-SCP, HireVue’s chief people officer.

Paid Leave for All

Some experts caution that companies launching new categories of leave could inadvertently create an atmosphere of exclusion among employees with different life circumstances—including those who don’t have children. Although employment lawyer Jeff Nowak, co-chair of the leave of absence and disability accommodations practice group at Littler Mendelson’s Chicago office, says there is no case law finding that specialized categories of leave are discriminatory, he says it may be better for companies to add flexibility to existing leave, rather than create standalone categories.

Nowak gives as an example Illinois, which last year joined Nevada and Maine in mandating that employers provide a capped amount of annual paid leave to their workers for any reason. Illinois calls its measure the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. “We’re going to see increased activity in that area,” he says.

Trapenasso agrees that it’s preferable for employers to be more flexible overall with paid leave. She says companies that roll out a special category should be prepared to educate their employees about why they’re implementing it.

“There has to be some type of level playing field,” Trapenasso says. “When we keep carving these things out, unless we’re going to consider how other employees are affected and how we can make it equal for them as well, then I think employers may be missing the mark.”  

Mike Ramsey is a Chicago-based freelance writer.