While one woman in Quebec recently lost a battle against her former employer over the right to stay home and mourn the death of her cat, another employer is going the extra mile in offering benefits for workers with pets.
Nina Hale, a marketing company based in Minneapolis, recently revised its employee benefits to include “fur-ternity leave.” As you might have guessed, the policy allows employees to work from home for a week to welcome their new pet to the world.
“This is kind of a no-brainer,” said company VP Allison McMenimen. “The idea of offering benefits that just help keep employees at the office, that’s over.” And to think, many Americans (and even Canadians) can’t even get enough days off a year to go on a vacation.
While fur-ternity leave isn’t completely unprecedented, Nina Hale’s policy marks a shift towards a more pet-friendly workplace – even when that work doesn’t take place at the office. It’s not uncommon for employees to bring their dog to work, and many companies are exploring other ways to retain employees by offering perks for pets.
Notable examples include Mars Inc.’s everyday take-your-dog-to-work policy, or one Italian university’s decision to let an employee take paid leave to care for her sick 12-year-old dog. With an estimated 15 million-plus cats and dogs in Canada, we can expect companies to continue expanding pet benefits as part of their HR policy.
Anything to get those Millennials to stop bitchin’ about their work.