62% of Americans are pet owners, according to a 2015 Harris Poll.- The vast majority of your employees probably have at least one pet.
62% of Americans are pet owners, according to a 2015 Harris Poll.What do they do when their precious pets passes away?
We give our workers time off to grieve the loss of a family member, but do we expect them to just bounce right back after the loss of their companions, return to work as if nothing has happened, and do their job?
If offering pet bereavement leave sounds silly to you, keep reading! It might have some serious merits.
Pet bereavement leave as a recruiting tool:
Some companies are now offering pet bereavement days as a special benefit to attract and retain some workers, particularly younger ones.
- 65% of Millennials and 71% of Gen X are pet owners
- This is a higher rate of pet ownership than any other generation.
Since 95% of the people polled said they regarded their pets as a member of their family, having the ability to take a paid day off when losing their pet is an attractive benefit to those workers.
Should your company offer pet bereavement leave?
Pet bereavement leave is not a common benefit at this time. The Society for Human Resource Management doesn’t even measure this yet in its annual benefits survey of employers.
The fact that pet bereavement leave isn’t currently a common benefit outside of the tech industry might make it all the more striking and valuable if you offer it to your employees.
As the demographics of the workforce keep changing, this is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that you’ll need to give your recruiting a cutting edge!