But U.S. fares worse in global survey of family-friendly workplace policies
The United States is one of the worst countries in terms of legislating policies that ensure decent working conditions for families, according to a new report.
The study, The Work, Family and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up?, looks at legislation for working families in 177 countries.
“We knew that the U.S. was behind in maternity leave, we did not know going into it how far behind the U.S. (is) on almost every policy,” said Jody Heymann, a professor at Montreal’s McGill University, founding director of the Project on Global Working Families at Harvard University and co-author of the study.
Where 145 countries offer paid sick leave, of which more than 100 offer a month or more, the U.S. doesn’t offer a single day. At least 134 countries have laws that fix the maximum number of hours worked in a week, but the U.S. doesn’t.
But the most surprising finding in the study was that the only other countries besides the United States that don’t offer paid maternity leave are Liberia, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea and Lesotho, said Heymann.
“The extent to which the United States was far behind was certainly very striking,” she said.
However, the news for Canada is much better, said Heymann. Federal and provincial legislation guarantees at least 52 weeks of combined maternity and parental leave, with income support from employment insurance and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.
Canada is also one of the 121 countries that guarantee two weeks or more of paid vacation each year, while the U.S. doesn’t provide any annual leave.
“Canada is in a very good position in most indicators,” said Heymann.
However, there are some areas where Canada lags behind other developed countries. Just like the U.S., Canada doesn’t legislate paid sick days either.
While 10 of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories offer unpaid sick leave (ranging from three days to 26 weeks), Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut don’t have any statutes in their labour codes for sick leave.
Neither Canada nor the United States offer any breastfeeding protection for working mothers. In the study, 107 countries legislate breastfeeding breaks, of which 73 legislate that these breaks be paid.
“That matters in poor countries, but it also matters in affluent countries. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of having illness and death of infants by three to five fold,” said Heymann.
Many experts recommend that mothers breastfeed for a full year so their babies can reap the benefits. Because of Canada’s one-year maternity leave, some critics might say Canada doesn’t need to legislate breastfeeding protection. But Heymann disagrees.
“How many people do take the full year?” she said. “Not everybody gets a full year fully paid. Some people can’t take it for that reason, while others, because of their work and career tracks, might feel that it was necessary to go back sooner.”
Breastfeeding policies alleviate some of the guilt a mother might feel at returning to work early because she would no longer have to choose between breastfeeding and working, said Mary Ellen Gornick, a senior vice-president at Raleigh, N.C.-based Workplace Options, a work-life services provider. These policies also foster a sense of loyalty to the company among other benefits.
“Babies that are breastfed are sick less and that would then alleviate the need for a parent to take time off because her child is ill,” said Gornick.
A breastfeeding policy would include providing the time and the space for a woman to pump her milk and then store it until the end of the workday.
While Gornick isn’t against legislating breastfeeding policies, she doesn’t think it would be as effective as encouraging organizations to come to the decision on their own.
“I think we get stronger and better programs when companies come to the decision to do this because they’re convinced it’s the right thing to do,” she said.
However, corporations aren’t known for doing what’s right as is evidenced by so many Americans not having paid sick leave, said Heymann.
“Half of Americans who work in the private sector don’t have paid sick days,” she said. “We know that leaving it as an option has not meant that the whole country has been covered.”
Legislation also ensures all companies are on an equal playing field and many of these policies can actually result in economic benefits at the societal level with decreased health-care costs, she said.
Programs and protections that support healthy working families make countries more, not less, competitive, said Heymann.
“The data does not support the concern that good working conditions lead to job loss; none of these protections is associated with higher unemployment rates on a national level. Globally, the most economically competitive countries provide, on average, longer parental leave, as well as more leave to care for children,” stated Heymann’s report.
Despite the fact workers in the United States work more hours than any other country, the U.S. isn’t the most productive country per hour worked, said Heymann. One possible reason is that the country is overworking its labour force, she said.
“Everybody knows from their own experience that when you’re working your hundredth hour, you’re less productive than when you’re working your twentieth hour,” said Heymann. “There’s millions of Americans who don’t have a single day of paid annual leave, it’s just not a competitive or productive place to be.”
Heymann and her team are currently working on a study that will compare Canada’s policies, on a provincial and national level, to other countries.
The study, The Work, Family and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up?, looks at legislation for working families in 177 countries.
“We knew that the U.S. was behind in maternity leave, we did not know going into it how far behind the U.S. (is) on almost every policy,” said Jody Heymann, a professor at Montreal’s McGill University, founding director of the Project on Global Working Families at Harvard University and co-author of the study.
Where 145 countries offer paid sick leave, of which more than 100 offer a month or more, the U.S. doesn’t offer a single day. At least 134 countries have laws that fix the maximum number of hours worked in a week, but the U.S. doesn’t.
But the most surprising finding in the study was that the only other countries besides the United States that don’t offer paid maternity leave are Liberia, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea and Lesotho, said Heymann.
“The extent to which the United States was far behind was certainly very striking,” she said.
However, the news for Canada is much better, said Heymann. Federal and provincial legislation guarantees at least 52 weeks of combined maternity and parental leave, with income support from employment insurance and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.
Canada is also one of the 121 countries that guarantee two weeks or more of paid vacation each year, while the U.S. doesn’t provide any annual leave.
“Canada is in a very good position in most indicators,” said Heymann.
However, there are some areas where Canada lags behind other developed countries. Just like the U.S., Canada doesn’t legislate paid sick days either.
While 10 of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories offer unpaid sick leave (ranging from three days to 26 weeks), Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut don’t have any statutes in their labour codes for sick leave.
Neither Canada nor the United States offer any breastfeeding protection for working mothers. In the study, 107 countries legislate breastfeeding breaks, of which 73 legislate that these breaks be paid.
“That matters in poor countries, but it also matters in affluent countries. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of having illness and death of infants by three to five fold,” said Heymann.
Many experts recommend that mothers breastfeed for a full year so their babies can reap the benefits. Because of Canada’s one-year maternity leave, some critics might say Canada doesn’t need to legislate breastfeeding protection. But Heymann disagrees.
“How many people do take the full year?” she said. “Not everybody gets a full year fully paid. Some people can’t take it for that reason, while others, because of their work and career tracks, might feel that it was necessary to go back sooner.”
Breastfeeding policies alleviate some of the guilt a mother might feel at returning to work early because she would no longer have to choose between breastfeeding and working, said Mary Ellen Gornick, a senior vice-president at Raleigh, N.C.-based Workplace Options, a work-life services provider. These policies also foster a sense of loyalty to the company among other benefits.
“Babies that are breastfed are sick less and that would then alleviate the need for a parent to take time off because her child is ill,” said Gornick.
A breastfeeding policy would include providing the time and the space for a woman to pump her milk and then store it until the end of the workday.
While Gornick isn’t against legislating breastfeeding policies, she doesn’t think it would be as effective as encouraging organizations to come to the decision on their own.
“I think we get stronger and better programs when companies come to the decision to do this because they’re convinced it’s the right thing to do,” she said.
However, corporations aren’t known for doing what’s right as is evidenced by so many Americans not having paid sick leave, said Heymann.
“Half of Americans who work in the private sector don’t have paid sick days,” she said. “We know that leaving it as an option has not meant that the whole country has been covered.”
Legislation also ensures all companies are on an equal playing field and many of these policies can actually result in economic benefits at the societal level with decreased health-care costs, she said.
Programs and protections that support healthy working families make countries more, not less, competitive, said Heymann.
“The data does not support the concern that good working conditions lead to job loss; none of these protections is associated with higher unemployment rates on a national level. Globally, the most economically competitive countries provide, on average, longer parental leave, as well as more leave to care for children,” stated Heymann’s report.
Despite the fact workers in the United States work more hours than any other country, the U.S. isn’t the most productive country per hour worked, said Heymann. One possible reason is that the country is overworking its labour force, she said.
“Everybody knows from their own experience that when you’re working your hundredth hour, you’re less productive than when you’re working your twentieth hour,” said Heymann. “There’s millions of Americans who don’t have a single day of paid annual leave, it’s just not a competitive or productive place to be.”
Heymann and her team are currently working on a study that will compare Canada’s policies, on a provincial and national level, to other countries.
