Feature - "Bringing Paternity Leave Into the Mainstream" by Robert Neubecker

Came across an article in the New York Times this morning, "Bringing Paternity Leave Into the Mainstream" by Robert Neubecker, which highlights the amount of paid paternity leave by some large companies including Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix. This represents a great step forward and paradigm shift in thinking by leading members of industry in the U.S. and it's about time these companies consider the impact a newborn has on a person's life and overall productivity during those early months of life. These changes also reflect this society's cultural attitude towards childcare. The "mommy brain" or the "fog" does not just apply to mothers. Many fathers are very involved with night feedings (cleaning pump accessories), diaper changes, care of mom, etc.. The tasks are endless, round the clock and stressful, as all parents know. Perhaps some folks hesitate to admit it while at the office or in the Board room in corporate America, but fathers want to be with baby and child just as much as mom does. That's instinctual, so don't try to deny it. Paid paternity leave is not a cost to society and "brain drain", insofar as a company loses resources (for a short period of time), but overall productivity and the growth of the world's economy should benefit from life well-managed and the overall health of its working population. Fatigue and exhaustion, as I heard recently, is one of the leading causes of car accidents, and it can't be underestimated. The true brain drain is having an employee work full-time while daydreaming about his newborn, operating on interrupted sleep and while in the fog, ie "Oops, I added an extra 0, sorry!"