Why should US businesses invest in paid parental leave?

54 of the 217 countries in the world offer statutory paid parental leave. The US isn’t one of them.

The Chinese get it. Indians get it. Pakistanis get it. Russians get it. Ukrainians get it. Ethiopians get it.

The US is the only developed nation on the "fend for yourself" list. Our peers in parsimony are all distressed or destabilized developing nations like Nigeria, Afghanistan, and South Sudan.

With three more states' programs coming online in 2026, a total of only 13 states now offer some form of state-paid parental leave in 2026 (1 more planned to start in 2028). 

Everywhere else, it’s up to the business whether to pay its new parents, or not.

Many choose not to pay.

I get that it’s expensive to pay someone not to work for several months, but there are strong business reasons why you should do it anyway. 

1️⃣ Some parents may not be ready to come back sooner

Having kids comes with biological imperatives that are more persuasive than a passive-aggressive manager or an aggressive deadline.

Nausea, lack of sleep, nursing, the physical effects of childbirth, and a whole lot of really powerful hormones.

Trying to force someone to come back to work too soon when they’re distracted by other priorities can be like pushing a string.

---

2️⃣ They need the money

Babies come with a ton of expenses. Not everyone has the savings to absorb the cost on a partial (or no) income. 

State programs and private insurance often aren’t enough.

State benefits (where they exist) are often poverty wages and may not last for the full duration of leave.

Private disability usually only covers 6-8 weeks of 60% of salary. If it covers them at all, since non-birth parents aren’t usually eligible. 

Many parents are forced back to work before they’re physically or logistically ready for a full-time workload.

---

3️⃣ The juice isn’t worth the squeeze

Many employers try to “save” money by topping up state benefits and disability, which can create a terrible experience for both the new parent and the person administering the leave. 

Costs are out of your control. Payments are held up while the state and insurance company process the claims and assess benefits. Confidentiality rules mean that the company must rely on the employee to report the outside income. And what are you supposed to do about healthcare deductions while you’re waiting to find out how much to top up?

You’ll spend more on lost productivity and lose the good will of the employee, who has other things on their mind right now.

---

4️⃣ Parents will look elsewhere if they can’t get their needs met

If work doesn’t give a new parent the support they need to balance the demands of work and life, they’ll look for a job that offers more support and flexibility. 

Statistically, parents tend to be more experienced than their childless counterparts. Their lives are more settled, so they’re less prone to job-hopping. Parenting is also a phase of life that many of your most promising young workers may eventually go through.

Why would you push these workers out?

When you consider the cost of turnover and retraining, it’s cheaper to just pay them for a few months until their lives are more settled.

---

If you can afford to pay your team their full salary for the full leave period, just do it. On balance, it’s cheaper than the alternative.

If you can’t, invest in a generous short-term disability policy and work on non-monetary strategies to support them.

---

Want to offer a parental leave policy but overwhelmed by the cost and all the regulations?

Let's talk