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posted by martyb on Thursday August 06 2015, @04:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the in-dependent-views dept.

On Tuesday, August 4th, Neflix announced on their blog that they would begin offering new parents a progressive parental leave policy:

...Today we're introducing an unlimited leave policy for new moms and dads that allows them to take off as much time as they want during the first year after a child's birth or adoption.

The Boston Globe picked up the story earlier today and compared Netflix's new policy to Google's, which offers 18 weeks of paid maternity leave and 12 weeks of "baby bonding" time. The Boston Globe also notes:

The US and Papua New Guinea are the only countries among 185 nations and territories that hadn't imposed government-mandated laws requiring employers to pay mothers while on leave with their babies, according to a study released last year by the United Nations' International Labor Organization.

This new policy "covers all of the roughly 2,000 people working at [Netflix's] Internet video and DVD-by-mail services, according to the Los Gatos, California, company."

However, not all media voices are pleased with this change. Suzanne Venker, author of the recent book The Two-Income Trap: Why Parents Are Choosing To Stay Home, writes for Time :

Offering new parents full pay for up to one year is akin to putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. The needs of children are huge, and they do not end at one year. On the contrary, they just begin. Taking a year off of work to meet those needs merely scratches the surface.

What does Soylent think? Should companies offer new parents lengthy paid leave after they bring a new bundle of joy into the world, or do generous policies do more harm than good?


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  • (Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Friday August 07 2015, @02:34AM

    by TheGratefulNet (659) on Friday August 07 2015, @02:34AM (#219381)

    lets talk about what else you have to change when you move.

    I hear a lot of talk about moving to 'red states'. I'm a very progressive liberal person. how well will it work out for a guy like me to move to a conservative red state?

    you think that sounds good to me? move to a place where, if you're not christian and white and some other things, you're not accepted?

    I live in the bay area for many reasons, but one main one is that acceptance of those who do NOT believe in god. it is not a step-up for a guy like me to move to the deep south or midwest, for example. people do not accept you if you are not one of them. I see no good reason to live there among folks like that.

    but I'm told to 'just move' because its cheaper.

    no. I do not want to live in such places. and being forced out of your chosen area is NOT in ANY WAY an acceptable solution for an industrialized and modern (and still VERY RICH) country like the US.

    I'm mad because we are going backwards. well, some of us are. the 1% are going forward at the highest rate in history. but its because WE are being forced to pay for them and send our income their way. transfer of wealth is evil and telling me to 'just accept it and leave' is not a solution anyone should be proud of.

    this is not the fucking third world!!!

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  • (Score: 1) by OwMyBrain on Friday August 07 2015, @03:01PM

    by OwMyBrain (5044) on Friday August 07 2015, @03:01PM (#219588)

    you think that sounds good to me? move to a place where, if you're not christian and white and some other things, you're not accepted?
    I live in the bay area for many reasons, but one main one is that acceptance of those who do NOT believe in god. it is not a step-up for a guy like me to move to the deep south or midwest, for example. people do not accept you if you are not one of them. I see no good reason to live there among folks like that.

    You act as though states are a homogeneous group of hive-minded group-think drones. Are you telling me there are no conservatives in California? I'm an Atheist and I've lived in Atlanta for over 20 years. Your fear of not being accepted for not being a Christian fundamentalist is extremely ignorant. Sure, there are people like that, but they're easily ignored. I'm also sure you'll find those kind of people in CA as well. After all, large geographical areas are diverse and full of many different kinds of people.

    Even in the deep south, we get the same 4chan and reddit and Internet debauchery that you do. Plus, you have the advantage of being in the tech industry. Most people I work with as a programmer tend to lean left (maybe there's some correlation with logical thinkers and liberalism ;)

    Really, I don't see any reason why you'd have a hard time being an atheist here unless you're walking up to random people and saying "Your God is dead" or whatever. Sure, you may be a minority, but aw hell, just don't be afraid to be around people that aren't just like you.

    And the cost of living is pretty attractive.