When we talk about the quest to "have it all," it's almost always in reference to working women trying to balance a stressful 9-to-5 with the equally difficult demands of family. To be sure, women face distinct challenges in the workplace and high expectations at home. But this Father's Day, let's not forget that dads are increasingly juggling work and home life, too.
Single fatherhood is becoming more common in the US—a 2013 Pew report found that a record 8 percent of families with children were headed by a single dad—and 60 percent of households with children are dual-income as of 2014, putting added pressure on both working parents.
While policies in the US do not mandate paid family leave of any kind—unlike parent-topia Sweden, which offers 16 months of paid parental leave and three months specifically for paternity leave—many companies are now thinking about how they can help their workers be "Employee of the Year," without sacrificing their "Dad of the Year" trophy.
Here are ten excellent companies for working dads, based on a new report from parenting resource website Fatherly.
1. Google
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
- Number Of Employees: 53,600
- Paid Paternity Leave: 7 weeks (12 weeks for primary caregiver)
- Industry: Tech
- Dad-friendly Policy Highlight: When you work with Google, your family is part of the family—really. If an employee passes away, the company provides his/her spouse with 50 percent of their salary for 10 years and immediately vested stock options, and children receive $1,000 a month until they turn 19 (or 23 if they're a student).
2. Facebook
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
- Number Of Employees: 10,082
- Paid Paternity Leave: 17 weeks
- Industry: Tech
- Policy Highlight: Procreating pays off. Facebook gives new parents a $4,000 "new child benefit," along with subsidized day care. Not to mention the $20,000 worth of supplemental insurance coverage for fertility and family planning treatments.
3. Bank of America
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: Charlotte, NC
- Number Of Employees: 220,000
- Paid Parental Leave: 12 weeks
- Industry: Finance
- Policy Highlight: Bank of America's twelve weeks of paid paternity leave is on par with countries likeIceland. Not too shabby. And, if you can handle the pay break, the company also allows for an additional 14 weeks of unpaid leave.
4. Patagonia
Photo: Shutterstock
- Headquarters: Ventura, CA
- Number Of Employees: 2,000
- Paid Paternity Leave: 8 weeks
- Industry: Retail
- Policy Highlight: Working parents don't have to stray far from their kids as Patagonia provides on-site child care for kids up to nine years old. The famously laid-back company will also provide afternoon transportation from local schools back to the office babysitter.
5. State Street
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: Boston, MA
- Number Of Employees: 29,530
- Paid Paternity Leave: 4 weeks
- Industry: Finance
- Policy Highlight: Flexible work arrangements are a must for the busy working dad (or mom). State Street's program helps take the stress out of setting up some work-from-home time by requiring their managers to approach their employees about flexible work options.
6. Genentech
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
- Number Of Employees: 14,000
- Paid Paternity Leave: 6 weeks
- Industry: Biotech
- Policy Highlight: Along with dedicated paid paternity time, Genentech also offers a sabbatical program for long-term employees. Every six years, you earn six months of time off—perfect for a long summer trip with the kids.
7. LinkedIn
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
- Number Of Employees: 6,800
- Paid Paternity Leave: 6 weeks
- Industry: Tech
- Policy Highlight: LinkedIn likes to encourage employees to think outside their cubicle and, in addition to "special projects" time once a month, you will get a $5,000 stipend for job-related education expenses. Maybe "Childcare 101" would qualify?
8. Arnold & Porter LLP
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: Washington D.C.
- Number Of Employees: 1,284
- Paid Paternity Leave: 6 weeks (18 for primary caregiver)
- Industry: Legal
- Policy Highlights: If your spouse or partner is gainfully employed and you'd like to trade some of those work hours for family time, Arnold and Porter allows employees working at least 25 hours to qualify for benefits. The firm even has an expert panel on hand to help their lawyers make the switch to part-time.
9. Roche Diagnostics
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: Indianapolis, IN (North American HQ)
- Number Of Employees: 4,500
- Paid Paternity Leave: 6 weeks
- Industry: Healthcare
- Policy Highlight: Roche employees have plenty of opportunities to teach Junior essential life lessons like how to swing a bat or grow a juicy tomato. The company spends $35,000 annually on sponsored extracurriculars like community sports leagues, and also offers an on-site employee produce garden.
10. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Photo: Creative Commons
- Headquarters: New York, NY
- Number Of Employees: 41,000 (U.S.)
- Paid Parental Leave: 6 weeks (plus an additional 2 weeks if have or adopt more than one kid)
- Industry: Professional Services
- Policy Highlight: Another company that values ad-hoc work schedules, PwC allows employees work-from-home options as well as ""Flex Days." So if you can cram 40 hours of work into less than five days and clear your schedule, you could end up with more frequent three-day weekends and more time with the kids.
Photo: Shutterstock
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