N. Raghuraman’s column – Maternity, paternity leave are now a thing of the past, ‘paternity’ leave is new! , N. Raghuraman’s Column: Maternity, paternity leave is now a thing of the past, ‘paternity’ leave is new!

N. Raghuraman, Management Guru

“I won’t be able to come to work today because my only baby is no more.’ This WhatsApp message shocked the HR head because the person sending this message was still unmarried. The HR head apparently didn’t want to escalate the matter, so he quickly responded, “Oh, sorry to hear that.

Please take care of yourself, don’t worry about work and let me know how we as a company can help you. By the way, can I call you?’ And when the employee said yes, HR called him. It turned out that his pet dog had died in his sleep that very morning and he was mourning it.

He also had to perform his last rites. HR immediately arranged for a pet-van, stayed with the employee for an hour, ordered flowers and helped her with the last rites. When the employee returned to work, he was surprised to find a framed photo of himself and his pet on his desk. Those pictures were downloaded from social media. The HR head knew that anyone who has lost a belly button can tell you that it was one of the worst days of their life.

Many employees can now take leave to mourn a death in the family and pets are considered 100 percent family members. This is a new and unique feature at workplaces, which many global organizations have started offering.

They believe that having pets at employee’s homes increases their productivity, makes them more caring and provides an empathetic perspective on many issues. Many companies have begun to believe that pet ownership enhances the mental health of employees.

Not only this, companies like United Airlines, Verizon – a US-based telecommunications company – are also offering discounted pet insurance. While some companies like Abode offer subsidized online vet access through pet-telehealth services. A legal search marketing firm called 9sale offered two days off for new pets to settle in until last year, and by 2025, they are planning to increase it to three days.

Good, productive employees – who were demanding joining fees from employers – are now also demanding pet insurance and “pawternity” leave. According to the 2023 Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds of Americans own a pet, and half of them say their pets are as much a part of their family as any human member.

As many employees around the world have adopted animals following the pandemic, some companies allow employees to use their sick leave as “potency” leave. In foreign countries, if an employee is ill and takes sick leave, he has to provide a sick and fit certificate. But if they convert their sick leave into “potency” leave then they do not need to show any certificate of illness. This facility is also available for their pets.

Moreover, these employees are ready to offer their services for any work that can be completed in the ‘work from home’ system, except for the two hours when they take their pets to the vet. And as the pet’s health improves during the day, the employee contributes more to achieving the goal even while sitting at home, believe HR officials.

The bottom line is that HR in good companies are looking for ways to retain good employees without increasing the administrative expenses of the company and “Potency” Leave is one such new facility.