Johnson & Johnson India announced on Wednesday that new and adoptive fathers would be entitled to eight weeks of paid leave during the first year.
“Enhanced benefits make us attractive towards Millennials and GenZs, who are critical to our future workforce,” said Indrajeet Sengupta, Head-Human Resources, Johnson & Johnson India.
“By extending parental leave benefits to fathers and adoptive parents, we also strengthen our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and support for the modern-day family — because every family is special,”
Mothers are allowed up to 26 weeks of maternity leave since the past six years as per the company's Global Parental Leave approach.
“As a leader in the care and development of healthy babies, we know how critical it is for both parents to be able to spend quality time with a child during the first year of birth or adoption,” according to a statement from the company.
A 2013 study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that the level of interaction between father-infant during the first three months is able to predict whether the child will exhibit behavioural problems at the age of one.
In another study, lead researcher Ronald Rohner observed that the influence of a father’s love on a child’s development is as great as and occasionally greater than the influence of mother’s love. Children feeling loved by their father has an impact on their adult life – have a better sense of well-being, of happiness, of life satisfaction.
At present, there is no provision for paternity leave for private sector employees as per the Indian Labour law. Johnson & Johnson has 130,000 employees.