Companies Are Offering Employees Paid “Pawternity Leave” to Bond with Their New Furry Friends

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These days, in order to stay competitive, companies offer more and more benefits that aim to help employees maintain a good work-life balance. From free lunch and dinner to at-work massages to nap pods, we thought we’d seen it all. But pawternity leave—paid time off to bond with your new dog—may be one of the greatest job perks yet.

Pawternity leave is similar to maternity leave and paternity leave in the sense that it offers you paid time off to bond with your newest family member. When you bring home a new pup, you want to do everything in your power to help them adjust to their new settings—and leaving them by themselves for eight hours a day right away is not easy. Taking time off isn’t always an option, and not everyone is keen on using up all of their vacation days at once. But pawternity leave makes the decision much easier.

Pawternity leave takes a load of stress off of a new dog downer. It gives them the chance to bond with their new dog, establish routines, and introduce them to their new home. Not to mention, it’s helpful to set up vet appointments and figure out a daytime dog-walking routine without having to worry about making phone calls or setting up appointments during business hours.

mParticle, a tech company based in New York City, offers pawternity leave to its employees to help them foster a good work-life balance.

“If we can find people who are passionate about animals and animal welfare, and they’re also passionate about technology, we should hopefully be at the very top of their list,” Michael Katz, the CEO of mParticle, told Today.

Though we can’t ignore the need for better paid parental leave policies in the U.S., we still think pawternity leave is a great idea. Spending those first few days with your new dog is crucial to setting the groundwork for a loving relationship for years to come.