Dive Brief:

• Employers looking to wins the hearts and minds of their workforce might want to consider pet bereavement leave as a twist on a pet health insurance benefit.
• According to a report at Employee Benefits News, Trupanion, a pet medical insurance company located in Seattle, for the past 15 years has given its workers an optional paid day off to mourn the loss of a family pet.
• About 12 employees a year take advantage of the benefit, Dani Kahn, pet director at Trupanion, told EBN. “If the impact of the loss is so great they need time off to grieve, we certainly want to acknowledge that. If they need more than one day, they can take PTO,” Kahn told EBN.

Dive Insight:

No one who owns a pet doubts that people have close relationships with their animals. A Harris Poll cited by EBN found that that more than three in five Americans (62%) have at least one pet in their household, with ownership highest among the two youngest generations (65% among millennials, 71% among Gen X).

Employers considering pet bereavement leave or, at the very least, encouraging employees to take paid personal leave off for such an event, should keep in mind that offering leave sends two strong engagement messages to employees: The company cares about them and their family and they work for a compassionate employer.

“Look at your numbers and see if it is something you want to do, but I think in this day and age animals are no longer something you leave tied up in the back yard,” she told EBN. “They are in our homes, our bedrooms and on our couches. The death of a pet can be [a significant loss].”