Facebook’s Updates Parental Leave Policy; Changes Include Employees Worldwide

Facebook is becoming more family friendly. Recently it came to light that the social networking site has been offering four months of maternity or paternity leave to their employees on their main headquarters. And now it was officially announced by the company that all of their employees will be enjoying the said benefits including those that aren't working at the headquarters.

According to a post written by Facebook's Human Resources head Lori Matloff Goler, they have decided to change their parental leave policies after reviewing them. They have decided to enact this change because it is the right thing to do for their employees and their families. She added that studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, the outcomes become better for the children and the families.

Goler also said that the company's approach to benefits is to support their employees and the people who matter the most to them. Facebook wants to be there for all their employees at all stages of their lives and they strive to be a leading place to work for individuals with families. She said that an important part of this is by offering paid parental or "baby" leave benefits.

Although the change in the policy is applicable only to full-time workers, the networking site has also added new benefits for their part time and contractor employees last May. The added benefits include a 4,000 USD new child benefit, 15 USD minimum wage, and at least 15 paid days off for holidays, vacations, and sick days.

The changes in the tech company's policy will start to take effect by January 1, 2016 and it will apply to all of Facebook's 11,000 plus employees nationwide. It will include new mothers, fathers, and even same-sex parents.

The social media giant is the latest tech company who has been updating their paternity leave practices. Other companies who have done so include Apple, Netflix, Adobe, Spotify, and Microsoft. These latest practice or updates done by the said companies have been part of a cultural shift within the tech industry. And it might influence or pressure other big companies to follow suit in the future.