Community Business, a local non-profit dedicated to help businesses “improve their positive impact on people and communities”, welcomes the new three-day paternity leave (at 80 percent pay) as a “baby step”, because even pitiful progress is still progress.
Three days is, after all, just enough time to meet your baby.
But the organisation says that Hong Kong companies should consider offering a fully paid paternity leave of at least five days, thus demonstrating that it is a “caring, family-friendly” and, possibly, humane employer.
According to Community Business, Singapore has a mandatory, fully paid seven-day leave for fathers. South Korea has for three years provided a five-day paternity leave, while Taiwan recently extended its three-day leave to five days.
Even in mainland China, the three-day paternity leave is fully paid.
The organisation found in a 2013 poll that 69 percent of child carers say a family-friendly work environment is a top consideration when deciding to leave a company, while over half said that they would be willing to leave their job to spend more time with their family.
They also cite an American study that found “happy, satisfied and engaged” employees perform better, experience less burnout, are more committed to their companies, and miss less work.
We agree: reasonable paternity leave is a win-win for everyone!
Photo: Ernesto Huang via Flickr
