Dive Brief:

• The trend of extended paid family leave legislation is making waves across the U.S., albeit limited mainly to states and municipalities who are passing comprehensive family-related employment-related laws.
• According to the Harvard Business Review, employers need to move beyond simple compliance into excellence. Authors Julia Beck and Scott Behson write that in their work with employers, they find that when managers embrace new policies and regulations rather than grudgingly complying, it brings needed change to workplace culture.
• Simply, they say that employers should implement a paid leave policy with a "spirit of authenticity," rather than basic compliance. It's not expensive, though it requires "creativity and a little care."

Dive Insight:

Beck, founder of the It’s Working Project and Forty Weeks, and Behson, a professor of Management at Fairleigh Dickinson University, gave an Affordable Care Act example. The ACA requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide a place other than a bathroom for women to breast feed newborns. Unfortunately, many employers simply convert a closet or unused office (in other words, a dingy setting) into a pumping room, doing the bare minimum to comply and potentially sending the wrong message.

The authors describe how New York-based BirchBox embraced the ACA mandate with authentic interest, messaging and follow-through. According to the article, women returning from maternity leave have access to peer support groups and an on-site lounge for pumping. There’s a comfortable couch and chair, snacks, chargers for phones and laptops and even a mini-fridge stocked with coconut water. 

Employers should follow a similar mindset when it comes to new parental leave laws. The authors suggest ideas like holding a series of orientations for managers, including coverage planning strategies. As the paid leave trend continues, employers should get ahead of change, not grudgingly play catch-up. After all, being ahead of the curve brings great competitive advantages when recruiting top talent.