Maternity/Paternity Leave & Mental Health Benefits: How Does It Affect Workplaces?

   Introduction

Maternity/Paternity leave policies reflect the prioritisation of families and work-life balance. As a working person, it’s always pressure for a woman to sacrifice her career for childbearing as it’s hard to juggle both simultaneously. But a paid maternal or paternal leave is an essential team member welfare program that protects the team member to cater to family needs and job security, as bringing up a child is also an expensive affair.

What Is Maternity/Paternity Leave?

Maternity or paternity leave is the practice of taking paid leave by a working mother or father after childbirth to care for the newborn. According to the labour law legislations of the country and the health conditions of the mother and child, an extension of the duration of the leave is possible.
Paternity leave is the practice of taking paid leave for the father that ensures the father can also bond with the newborn child and healing spouse, feel financially secure, and don’t get overwhelmed by the responsibilities of fatherhood.

What Is the Relation Between Maternity/Paternity Leave and Mental Health Benefits?

• Childbirth is an overwhelming task that affects the mother’s physical and mental health. Most mothers, as well as some fathers, undergo postpartum depression, especially those mothers with a previous history of depression are more prone to this. If left untreated, it can lead to severe late-life depression. 
• The burden of old-age depression is a severe issue that may damage a person’s social, economic, and mental well-being. Women who took at least 12 weeks of paid maternity leave show a significantly lower incidence of anxiety and depression.
• It enhances infant and parent bonding and child development. The initial forming years of a child are crucial for the child’s cognitive, behavioural, and mental development. Better attention to the child leads to healthier babies, more accurate immunisation, and timely postnatal visits to the doctor. A healthier family means a healthier nation and a better workforce.
• Paternity leave is also crucial for expediting the healing of the new mother. It doesn’t mean mere sharing of household responsibilities, but it also strengthens the bond between partners and helps to cure postpartum depression of the mother quite notably. The father also develops a deeper emotional bond with the infant and is more satisfied. All this, in the long run, positively affects later life crises.
• Gender-neutral parental leave has effectively reduced the infant mortality rate and incidence of preterm delivery.
• The rehospitalisation of both infant and mother in the same year of childbirth has also decreased for women who get a minimum of 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.
• It has also been proven to increase breastfeeding among lactating mothers, as stress is an essential factor in the decline in lactation. As recommended by U.D.F.D.A., the financially secure mother can better attend to her newborn and initiate six months of exclusive breastfeeding.

Why Are Maternity/Paternity Leave and Mental Health Benefits Important?

1. Paid paternity or maternity leave motivates working mothers to participate in the nation’s labour force, thereby increasing the G.D.P. and productivity of the country. It also supports more economic flexibility in a dual-earning family structure.
2. It also encourages childbirth and helps balance the future workforce as youths usher in new ideas and achievements more than an ageing workforce. 
3. Hardships surrounding pregnancy and career decline make the younger generation sceptical, decreasing the country’s fertility ratio and essentially hampering a nation’s overall progress.
4. Paid leave for both the parents, mother, or father ensures that the parent can take time to care for the infant and respective spouse and strengthen the filial bond. 
5. Studies show that working fathers who spend quality time with their children and family can positively affect their work progress, prevent burnout, and are happier than others and, thereby, more motivated.
6. It is also crucial for a better neonatal health rate. The neonatal mortality rate indicates a nation’s overall health, socioeconomic growth, and essential public health and living standards.

What Are the Effects of Maternity/Paternity Leave and Mental Health Benefits?

1. Companies with parental leave benefits attract more new talents. Studies show that these gifts are highly sought after by job-hunting youths who also plan to start a family.
2. It also increases team member retention in companies. New parents are more likely to return to work at the same company, and they can take better care of their infant and refrain from childcare services. They feel more secure about job retention, thereby happily returning to work after leave.
3. Parental leave is linked with increased job satisfaction, boosts gratitude towards the employer, and enhances team member productivity.
4. Equal parental leave also helps decrease racial discrimination among minority groups and reduce the gender gap in wage differences. It is an essential public investment in a country like India with the morale of “unity in diversity.”
5. Sufficient maternity leave also prevents ‘occupational sex segregation. It means there is a shift towards women working in a particular sector more than males. It ensures a family-friendly working environment. In the long run, it prevents equal distribution of a nation’s workforce. This can hinder national progress in specific sectors.

Conclusion

A happy person always adds more value to work. So maternity/paternity leave helps maintain a good work-life balance, a state of mind necessary after a child’s birth, and it reduces attrition. A parent spending sleepless nights at home taking care of the newborn will lack productivity. If the employer looks after the team member’s needs, the team member will certainly pay back the help through hard work and dedication.
Thus, we can see the immense importance of paid maternity/paternity leave for the best outcome for the parent and child. It provides long-term benefits to the employer by increasing team member productivity and significantly shaping a nation. So, it’s high time to incorporate such beneficial policies in all workplaces, whether government or private sector. If employees feel they cannot achieve a proper work-life balance, they will look for an organisation that provides more flexibility.
 Visit unitedwecare.com to refer to many more insightful guides.

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