Survey says: Paid leave pays off

"Paid leave pays off" is more than just clever copywriting and Cocoon’s vision for leave—it’s a conclusion we’ve come to again and again having helped our customers manage over 10,000 leaves, seeing first hand the impact paid leave makes. But we know nobody can speak to that better than employees themselves. That’s why our team partnered up with Parentaly and the Chamber of Mothers to craft a survey to understand the impact of paid leave (or the lack thereof). Paired with the results of our annual benchmark survey, you have access to rich datasets to: see what a competitive policy is, understand the benefits of having one, and make a case to update yours accordingly. We know that compassionate, competitive employers go further and get better results, but now you can see why for yourself!

Key takeaways

Though we encourage you to explore all the findings below, these were the top three that stood out for us:

1. Paid leave is a must-have. 60% of respondents said lack of a competitive paid leave package would be a deal breaker when considering a new job.
2. Paid leave outranks most other benefits. Potential job seekers ranked a competitive paid leave package as their #2 priority (a hair more important than even a competitive salary), with 100% covered health insurance being #1.
3. Paid leave impacts retention. 56% say a poor leave package was a reason they left their job, while 70% say a generous paid leave package would make them stay.

The business case for offering paid leave

Over 1,300 respondents nationwide took our survey (with the vast majority sourced randomly). Across this set of questions, we sought to understand how access to competitive paid leave policies impacts recruiting and retention.

60% say access to paid leave would be a deal-breaker in considering a new job; 56% say a poor leave package was a factor in deciding to leave a job

When it comes to recruiting and retention, not offering paid leave is a dealbreaker. Surprisingly, it’s sometimes doing as much or more heavy lifting than compensation: when we asked respondents to rank the importance of benefits, access to paid leave was ranked #2 overall—just a hair above even a competitive salary! (Number one was 100% paid health insurance.) Nearly half said they would take a pay cut to work with a company with a better paid leave package. 

Based on how unnecessarily confusing and frustrating my first leave was… I would need to forgo my dream of a very-much-wanted second child if I stay at my current company.”

I would like to have a third baby, but will have to look for another job with better leave before we do.” 

70% say a generous paid leave package would make them stay at their current employer

Paid leave can be a huge factor in keeping new parents in the workforce overall, which in turn helps them support their families and grow their careers. It’s also a good deal for employers who can spend up to double a former employee’s salary to replace them. When an employee knows they’re being taken care of in their moment of need, they return the favor by staying on with their supportive employer.

My husband has 18 weeks of paid leave through his employer and will literally never leave.”

I’ve taken paid parental leave twice and it was instrumental to my physical healing and mental capacity to get back to work at full productivity.”

58% say they would take unpaid leave if there was no company policy

Though this may be a favor in point of naysayers (“why pay for it if they’d take it unpaid?”), we think this speaks to the dire necessity of access to paid leave so employees can take the time they need to care for themselves and/or their loved ones in some of life’s most challenging moments. Leave will happen whether you have a policy or not, and we think it’s better to be prepared.

I took paid parental leave and unpaid leave following that where I was pushed out of my role, denied my annual bonus, and opportunities for advancement. That, on top of postpartum anxiety and depression, has had a significant impact on my life.”

Access, understanding, and satisfaction

This set of questions helped us understand what kind of leave respondents do or don’t have access to, and how satisfied with it they are.

Only 43% are satisfied with the process of taking leave

Though 71% of respondents were content with their access to leave, less than half were satisfied with the process of taking it. This could suggest policies might look good on paper, but when an employee goes to plan and manage their leave, the experience takes a turn for the worse. Companies should not only train and educate employees on their policies, but also provide them the tools to effectively take advantage of the policies.

I work at a company with a ‘somewhat generous’ paid leave policy… but HR is perpetually confused at how to apply our policy and state programs, and doesn’t seem to care to learn more to actually help employees. Some of my colleagues have even been given completely incorrect information meant for employees based in other states… I dread the stress involved with navigating our leave policies.”

The gender gap shows up in leave, too

Unsurprisingly, more males have access to paid leave, with 86% saying their employers offer it, while only 59% of females’ do. In general, the higher your wage, the better your access to paid leave. When males aren’t satisfied with the amount of paid leave they’re given, they’re also more likely to leave a job: 68% of males say it has impacted their decision to leave, versus only 42% of females. 

Though 77% of males say they’re very comfortable taking full advantage of their company’s paid leave policy, 50% of them also said they thought doing so would impact their career progression. Women are less comfortable using their company’s leave policy (60%), but only 19% are concerned about the career impact it could have. Given the gender and class dynamics at work when it comes to access and use of paid leave, more work needs to be done to provide equitable access to leave, inside of a culture that promotes taking leave for whomever needs it. 

Best practices for employers

1. Improve your recruitment efforts and employee retention by offering paid leave. Tap our free resources to help you draft parental, medical, caregiver, and compassionate leave policies. Check out our paid leave benchmarking data to help you determine policy length.
2. Make employees feel comfortable to take leave. Educate employees, managers, and People Ops so they can properly navigate your policies. Provide tools like Cocoon that simplify and automate the hardest parts of leave, where friction and problems can arise. Establish the kind of culture that makes anyone feel safe and supported to take a leave, and confident about what will happen when they come back.
3. Provide equitable access to leave. Craft your policies with the needs of any employee in mind–not just people you “think” will take leave, or based on the exact employee population you have today. You also reduce complexity if everybody is offered the same thing, while future-proofing your policies as you grow and expand operations.