How pet bereavement policies can boost staff retention
Last May, Erika Skinner, CEO and founder of life sciences company Directorie and author of Pets Are Family, lost her dog Kingston to cancer a week after getting the diagnosis. Her other dog Edmund was diagnosed with cancer less than a month later.
As an employer herself, her company has a pet bereavement leave policy, allowing staff grieving the loss of a pet to take five paid days off. After taking that leave she realized how crucial it was for more employers to extend these kinds of policies. “I didn’t realize how it would feel and the shame associated with it, you almost wonder if you have to have permission to be grieving an animal,” Skinner said.
Many workers today consider their pets to be family, and losing a loved animal can be just as painful, traumatic and impactful on someone’s ability to do their job as the loss of a family member. But few employers have written policies around time off allowed when grieving the loss of a pet, like they do when an employee loses a human family member.
Offering pet bereavement leave though and extending other pet-friendly policies are increasingly necessary for employers to boost retention and loyalty as more employers recognize the need to support staff through major life events outside the workplace, experts say.
Ultimately, staff view pet-friendly practices as a source of support from their employers that makes them feel more connected to the organization, leading to higher levels of psychological safety, well-being and life satisfaction, a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found.
“I knew how much I needed it for myself, that I can’t imagine the weight of emotion and what it would feel like for an employee working for an organization that didn’t have a black and white policy,” added Skinner.
When grieving the loss of a pet, it’s also important for employees to feel like they have the support of their direct manager. Managers can help work through tasks that need to be reprioritized and provide other support for staff struggling with their loss, Skinner said.
But also, they should refrain from making comments like “it’s just a dog, or just get another one, or they’re in a better place. It’s all of the same things that would apply when someone loses a human, and think about what you would say to them. You would never say well just get another family member.”
Pet-friendly policies and cultures that support pet parents are increasingly important to employees and job seekers — over 30% of pet owners said having pet-related benefits available would influence them to stay at a current employer or leave for a company that does, a survey from Nationwide including over 2,000 respondents found.
Other benefits supporting pet parents include offering pet insurance, which more employers have extended in recent years. “Pawternity” leave, or policies allowing staff time off or to work remotely after adopting a new animal that needs supervision, are another new benefit. Corporate staff at dog-walking and pet-sitting app Rover can get paid pawternity leave to help a pet adjust to a new home, according to a company webpage.
Employee experience platform Reward Gateway doesn’t have an official pet bereavement leave policy but allows staff in those circumstances to take time off if they need it, said Kaitlin Howes, HR business partner. The company does give up to $250 to employees to adopt a shelter animal, and workers can do that twice a year.
The company started offering the adoption benefit during the pandemic and remote work. “We were seeing how impactful having a pet was for people’s well-being, and so that is something that we really value as an organization,” Howes said.