Facebook has confirmed a generous new paid leave policy which will have significant impact on grieving employees as well as those who are caring for a sick family member.
In an announcement Tuesday afternoon, COO Sheryl Sandberg said the company would be giving all of its employees six weeks of annual leave to care for ailing relatives.
Sandberg, who became a widow in 2015, also announced three additional days off for employees caring for a family member with a short-term illness, like a child with the flu, and 20 days of bereavement leave, twice as much as before.
“This is personal for me,” she admitted at Makers conference, a women’s leadership event held in California. “I lost my husband very suddenly. Facebook provided leave and flexibility, and now we’re doing more.”
Sandberg returned to work 10 days after her husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly of cardiac arrhythmia while on vacation.
The benefits bump is just the latest improvement from Facebook and last year the tech giant increased its paid parental leave to four months for both men and women.
“People should be able both to work and be there for their families. No one should face this trade-off,” said Sandberg. “We need public policies that make it easier for people to care for their children and aging parents and for families to mourn and heal after loss.”
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