Total Rewards; Employee & Labor Relations: Global HR

Total Rewards; Employee & Labor Relations: Global HR

Examples of Time Away From Work Policies Found in Private-Sector Organizations Today

All companies have a set of policies governing the types of leaves in the workplace. The policies are in most cases guided by federal acts such as the Fair Labor Standard Act. The leaves are categorized as either paid or unpaid leave. The leaves also vary based on the number of days an employee spends without working. The main types of leaves include medical or sick leave, vacation, and family care leave which includes parental leave, childcare leave, and maternity leave (Alpert & Woodbury, 2000). Besides the regular leaves advocated by government employment laws, some companies offer long-term and short-term personal development leave through bereavement leave and sabbatical leave. The most important leave policies in the private sector among many private companies are the family care leave policy and the Paid sick leave policy. The Family Care Leave policy is structured to allow parents to take care of their newborns and developing children. The policy also applies to male employees who want to take care of their partners during childbirth. According to Rossin-Slater (2017), the policy was structured so that parents would have enough time to take care of their children and improve the children’s well-being as well as the well-being of future generations. In most companies, the policy defines paid paternal and maternal leave (Milkman & Appelbaum, 2013). However, employees may take extra days and extend their leave. They, however, do not receive any pay for the extra days.

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One of the companies that has an established Family Care Leave policy is Facebook. The company has been offering six weeks of paid family leave to allow workers to take care of their sick family members. The company also provides 20 days’ leave for workers who lose their family members. Another company with an established Family Care Leave policy is Starbucks. The company offers payment for maternal leaves lasting for six months. Netflix allows new parents to take unlimited time off during the first year after the adoption or birth of a new child. Under the policy, Netflix employees can flex leave time and work, including a reduced or continuous schedule or returning to work and taking additional leave within the year when needed. The employee is only expected to work with his or her manager to ensure that they cover the required work during any absence. Paid Sick leave policy offers employees time off when they are sick. The rationale of an effective sick leave policy is to promote public health (Stearns & White, 2016). The average absenteeism rate resulting from sick leave in the United States is as low as 5 or 4 days per year, with most cases being recorded in the public sector. Most private companies in the United States apply the Family and Medical Leave Act, demanding that they offer unpaid leave to specific workers to take care of their children or family members (Stearns & White, 2016). However, only a few private companies offer paid leave for personal family care during sickness. Netflix provides paid sick leave for its employees to maintain their productivity and boost their morale while ensuring that they are less distracted. They can extend the leave with unlimited paid vacation and resume work when their sick family member fully recovers.

King Company: Unlimited Vacation Policy

Companies can implement an employee time-off policy or unlimited vacation policy based on the organizational culture and the intended purpose of the Paid time-off policy. According to Wise (2005), the Employee Time-Off policy includes allowing employees to set some paid days off regardless of the reason, while the unlimited vacation policy includes allowing employees to take as many personal or sick leaves and vacations as they want as long as they complete all the work assigned to them. Companies mainly offer unlimited vacations to attract talented workers, particularly Generation Z and millennials, with higher benefits. Unlimited vacations also support employees’ work-life balance because employees are allowed to spend more time with their family, take their time to achieve full recovery after sickness or relax to stay energized to work (Osland, 2020). Unlimited vacations also enable workers to enjoy their leave without accruing vacation days or spending them conservatively.

Based on the information provided in the video on the characteristics of unlimited vacations, such as improving employee morale and saving operational costs for companies (CBS Mornings, 2015), it would be better for the King Company to have something similar to the unlimited vacation policy discussed in the video. Currently, Dugas still offloads most of her work on others and cannot be depended on for project completion, but she still receives the most bonuses at the end of the year. An unlimited vacation policy would, therefore, eliminate the lack of dependability because Dugas would be forced to complete the tasks assigned to her on time to continue enjoying the leave. An unpaid vacation would also create fairness because the bonuses awarded to Dugas would be worth the work she completes within the year. The case study also indicates that the other HR department employees in King Company feel that their work is not supported by management and that there is little feedback on progress towards goals. An unlimited vacation policy would help create collaboration between employees and managers because the managers would be required to continuously monitor the work done by the employees to ensure that they effectively complete the tasks assigned to them on time. Managers would also be giving employees feedback on their work because they would be providing continuous evaluation.

References

Alpert, W. T., & Woodbury, S. A. (2000). Employee benefits and labor markets in Canada and the United States. W E Upjohn Inst for.

CBS Mornings. (2015). Work vs. vacation: from unlimited time to no time off [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV4hPjmZVyA&t=2s

Milkman, R., & Appelbaum, E. (2013). Paid family leave and California business. Unfinished Business, 55-84. https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9780801452383.003.0004

Osland, A. (2020). Move to unlimited vacations or remain with a defined vacation policy? https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529710113

Rossin-Slater, M. (2017). Maternity and family leave policy. https://doi.org/10.3386/w23069

Stearns, J., & White, C. (2016). Can paid sick leave mandates reduce leave-taking? SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2865904

Wise, S. (2005). The right to time off for dependants. Employee Relations, 27(2), 126-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450510572667

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Assignment Overview
Read The King Company Background and Total Rewards to review information on the Company.

Case Assignment
Address the following in an essay format which includes an introduction and conclusion (not a Q & A format):

Companies often have several policies on time away from work. What are some examples of time away from work policies found in private-sector organizations today? Provide employer names from your research.
Click on the video below to learn about “unlimited vacation” jobs where employees can go to work whenever they feel like it.

(CBS This Morning, 2015)

As you see in the video above, some employers have an “unlimited” vacation policy. Others have an “Employee Time-Off Policy” that allows employees a set number of paid days off regardless of the reason (instead of individual absenteeism, sick days, vacation, short-term leave, long-term leave, FMLA, and other policies). Would it be better for the King Company to have an Employee Time-Off Policy, something similar to the unlimited vacation policy discussed in the video above, or something else? Why? Support your response with research.
Utilize information from at least two Trident Online Library sources to help strengthen and validate your discussion.

Paper length: 3 pages (not counting the cover and reference pages).

Provide private-sector employer examples of HRM programs, systems, processes, and/or procedures as you address the assignment requirements. Provide names of the employers. Use examples of different employers in this course than those previously used in your other papers and courses.

Bring in related court case decisions to help augment your discussion, if applicable.

Make reasonable, cost-effective assumptions in your paper. It is not an option, however, for you to hire additional help (temporary or otherwise). State your assumptions at the beginning of your discussion.