PATERNITY LEAVE … CORPORATE VISION, TOKENISM OR\ APPEASEMENT?? [MONOJIT LAHIRI investigates.] It was a close buddy of mine, heading the HR division of a multi-national corporate who first brought this subject to my notice, a while ago. He spoke – with a mixture of amusement and admiration – of a kid who, during a Campus Recruitment session, wrote down in the Suggestion Column, the critical importance of Paternity Leave as a legit Employee requirement, benefit & perquisite in the Corporate blueprint. He confessed he was astounded at the young man’s insight, vision and maturity! He however added, that contrary to popular knowledge, Paternity Leave was already mandated as a policy in the Central Government dossier of rules & regulations way back in 1995. It allowed the Dad-to-be 15 days leave before – or within – 6 months from the date of delivery of the child. He would be paid leave salary equal to the pay last drawn immediately before proceeding on leave. Ditto, the case for adoption too. However, he added, Private Sector organizations were not obliged to follow this blueprint and it was totally a case of discretion of the top Management/Board, to take PL forward or let it be. For example, the Indian arm of Cisco System granted its employees 12 weeks of PL. The Indian biggie Infosys, in comparison, offered only 5 days … Corporate-observers tell us that it was Sweden who first woke up the self-absorbed, tunnel-viewed and bottom-line obsessed corporate world to the need of PL. It was however clearly an idea before its time, because it was reported, only 5% of the Fathers-to-be responded! The Swedish government noticed and was clearly not amused. They went into agro-mode by announcing categorically that while their PL scheme was on, there was attached a solid caveat: If they did not avail of this leave, their families would lose out on a month’s government subsidies! This, obviously, hit the Swede dads-to-be hard because overnight levels of both divorces & separations dramatically dropped! So, for whatever it was worth, it did play its part in marital bonding, huh? Cool- but what about the India Story? How does PL play out – on the ground – in a land of one billion plus population, where procreating is a time-pass, hobby, given, command from elders in the family & society and generally, a way of life? Where it is seldom if ever, greeted by any formal, regulated fuss and marches casually to the tune of Business as usual? In recent times, has consumerism, globalization, media exposure and a more expansive world view [along with New India’s cosying up with the reality of nuclear families] played its part in factoring in the PL clause in the more CSR-conscious corporate agenda of organisations? Further, have visionary corporates viewed PL in the light of the changing contours and cultural shifts colouring both the mindset & complexities of new-age parenting in a society in transition? Evolved H.R. Pundits insist that it’s the Nuclear Family that it is the single biggest driver of organizations incorporating this into their agenda. “Devoid of the secure, traditional joint family support, it is the husband today who is forced to play many roles. In this kind of scenario, the guy definitely needs dedicated time to address and attend to his multifarious tasks away from the tensions & distractions of his office. This is also the reason why in all forward-looking companies, all policies are gender-neutral. PTMs too make it quite clear that today both parents should attend. In the light of these developments, PL should be viewed as a totally acceptable & desired perk.” Social Commentators & Behavioral Scientists however dismiss this exalted claim and believe that in these ferociously competitive times in the corporate jungle, it is nothing but a smart Employee-retention technique/ploy! “We live in a time of unprecedented challenges and opportunities where the anxiety to lead the good life is overwhelming among the upwardly-mobile youngistan. Peer pressure leads to envy, temptation & greed which propels the ambitious young males to dump loyalties and move on to the highest bidder. How to ease the nightmare and lessen attrition levels? PL is a master stroke reflecting the right amount of cosmetic/ fake concern of organisations about the young dads-to-be well-being!” Ooooops! There are differing voices however on this issue. Delhi-based Ad Executive Sanjay Chauhan is totally for it. The 40 year old who is a hands-on Dad and was present – physically – in the OT during the birth of both his kids believe that “the rules of the game have changed and the Dad-to-be is required to be an equal partner in child-rearing & CEO of the wife’s well-being department! That requires special & dedicated time, so Paternity Leave is not just a HR clause thrown in, but an informed, insightful decision representing an idea whose time has come.” London-based Graphic Designer , Seema Sethi agrees but believes that “it applies to the young only! The older lot – 35 plus – in metros or mini metros in India are hardly likely to live either the letter or spirit of this particular facility because they are both lazy and not really interested in actively buying into this strange idea! Why? Because they are used to the armies of Daadis, Naanis, Mommy, Bhaabi, Mausis, sisters invading and owning this space before, during & after the birth of the child. It’s a mindset thing and connects best with the young, city-based husband-to-be in a nuclear family situation.” Social Commentator Santosh winds up the debate, agreeing with Chauhan, at a basic level about it being a very meaningful concept but wonders whether India, with its skewed values & focus, can pull it off as it is meant to be. “There could well be a situation when the pregnant wife – knowing how utterly useless her husband is regarding household chores – would be happy to have him at work instead of home, making demands of her [in typical dominating lord n’ master style] and generally being a pain around the house! PL then becomes a liability rather than an asset.” However, Desai concedes that mindsets are changing and goes along Ms. Sethi’s view, that it is likely to be of help mostly to the young, progressive & liberated metro-couple. Lets wait & watch, but the friendly, neighbourhood cynic insists, PL & India will take a long time to tango and invites us to have a look at the scorecard where even the biggest, brightest & smartest profit-making conglomerates are real kanjoos with PL days granted. Why? “Boss, they know that most of them will be involved more in mauj & masti with friends than being with their biwi. Bula lega na, paltan ko …??”
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 14:48:40 +0000
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