As I approach the third trimester of my first pregnancy, there are plenty of things to worry about. If I ever forget that and find some sense of calm, a quick Google search of any random symptom I’m having or postpartum question that crosses my mind quickly reminds me.
But as a member of the team at RebuttalPR, my maternity leave is thankfully not one of the things I have to stress about.
At Rebuttal, we offer 14 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents. This benefit is one I am personally very grateful for, but also one I believe aligns with our company’s values. Our values of compassion and collaboration both come into play when considering the benefits we offer and how we practice what we preach.
Aligning your company’s parental leave with your values is especially important when you consider the climate we’re in in the U.S.
Parental leave in the U.S.
- The U.S. is the only OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) country—and one of only six countries in the world—without a national paid parental leave policy. (Bipartisan Policy Center)
- Research shows paid parental leave can reduce infant mortality by up to 20%, decrease premature births by nearly 7%, and double the duration of breastfeeding, along with a 47% reduction in newborn rehospitalization. (Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity)
- A multi-country analysis found each additional month of paid maternity leave was associated with roughly 8 fewer infant deaths per 1,000 live births, a 13% relative reduction. (NCBI/PMC)
- One study found paid leave reduced symptoms of depression among mothers with infants by nearly 30%. (Society for Research in Child Development)
- Economists estimate that paid leave, alongside other care infrastructure, could raise U.S. women’s labor force participation to match peer nations, potentially adding as much as 5% to GDP. (Washington Center for Equitable Growth)
Despite that, there have been significant rollbacks of parental leave and other benefits by large corporations in the U.S., with more predicted in the coming months and years (The New York Times; Inc.; Business Insider). With a weaker job market, employers are using their upper hand to reduce benefits and maximize profit.
Parental Leave in the Legal Field
Resisting the trend of rolling back benefits is simple enough when you believe in prioritizing your employees rather than your bottom line, but it also feels somewhat radical to offer this benefit given the nature of our work. I’ve heard far too many parents in the legal field talk about being back in the office mere days after having a child. Some say it proudly, and some say it with resentment or regret because they didn’t feel like they had a choice.
I love my job, and I feel very fortunate to get to do this work, but every parent deserves the opportunity to focus solely on their child for their first few months of life. I also know from the many, MANY people who continually remind me and my husband that our world is about to be rocked. Apparently figuring out how to keep a brand new human happy and healthy is fairly all-consuming at first.
Leading by Example
As with most things, leading by example is the only way to create a culture that lives up to its stated mission and values. This is reflected in everyday moments like how we react when an employee has an unexpected family emergency or needs to take time off to recover from an illness. By being compassionate in those small moments as well as the big moments like an employee growing their family, we signal to our team that we recognize they are all humans with their own lives outside of their jobs.
As a leader at the firm, I hope I’m demonstrating that taking time away to focus on being a new parent isn’t a weakness. I hope everyone on our team knows we stand by our values and believe in supporting the families our employees are part of.
Overcoming My Fear of Missing Out
After growing with RebuttalPR from the beginning, taking this time away is a bit daunting. Not because we don’t have an amazing team that will cover for me while I’m out – I know my responsibilities will be handled and my job will be waiting for me when I return – but because I personally don’t love the idea of missing so much. Instead of stressing about not having time to recover, figure out being a mom, or bond with my newborn, I just have a little voice in the back of my head reminding me of all the firm decisions, client developments, and team inside jokes I’m going to miss.
So essentially, I have FOMO. In the scheme of things, a pretty minor concern.
