A new workplace policy has been condemned by some as barking mad.
Taking sick days for pet parent-related duties — from vet trips to potty training — is slowly being implemented in offices, especially in New York City, where lawmakers recently proposed a bill in favor of granting sick leave for pet care.
But the “pawternity leave” policy has drummed up controversy, as some people argue it’s giving employees too long of a leash.
“Needing an hour or two to run to the vet is one thing, but it is not fair to the other employees on the team for someone to be out because of a personal decision that their co-worker made,” Ross Snyder, the president of the Phoenix-based event production company White Tie Productions, told the Wall Street Journal.
A survey conducted by pet wellness plan provider Wagmo found that 75% of employed pet owners missed at least one day of work within the last year to care for their pet, and 26% missed six or more days. Sick or injured pets also contributed to distraction at work, pet owners reported.
Discussing the proposed bill — which calls for an expansion of the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, which guarantees time off of work for employees to take care of themselves or family — LinkedIn users sparked a heated debate.
“Employees should be able to use sick leave in any manner that includes sickness. Pets or children or family members,” argued one person.
“Does that mean we would need to ask the vet for a doctor’s note to excuse an employee for being out for a certain period of time to take care of their sick pet?” mused another.
“As a pet owner I wholly support this. As an employer advocate, however, it leaves me baffled,” wrote someone else.
Annika Cha, who works at the New York-based 9Sail, told the Journal that the company offers two days of leave — soon to be three — to help new pet owners, a policy that inspired Cha to adopt a pooch herself and take the days off to prioritize potty training.
“I was like, that is so cool,” she said.
A similar idea was slammed online when British businessman Roger Wade asked his LinkedIn followers whether managers should allow paid leave for puppy care and training. A resounding majority of respondents voted “no,” while 39% agreed with the policy, prompting critics to question whether people had “lost their minds” or “gone mad.”
Meanwhile, some employers have expanded benefits to include pet bereavement leave, should a beloved animal die.
Samantha Brooks, the owner of the Colorado Springs financial services firm Taro Financial, has experienced losing a pet first-hand, which prompted her to implement a new workplace policy to include three paid days off to grieve a lost pet.
“Anyone who has lost a pet will tell you that it was one of the worst days of their life,” she told The Journal.
