State Civil Service: 420 employees used paid parental leave; survey respondents reported high satisfaction

State Civil Service presented results from its parental-leave program survey, reporting that 420 employees took paid parental leave during the year and that survey respondents overwhelmingly described the benefit as having a positive impact on job satisfaction.

Why it matters: Paid parental leave affects employee retention, workplace morale and operational coverage. HR staff and appointing authorities will use the survey results to assess impact and to plan supports.

A meeting presenter summarized the survey: 256 classified employees participated in the survey sample; 97% of leave incidents were for the birth of a child, 2% for foster care and 1% for adoption. Of survey respondents, 94% reported the program had a positive impact on job satisfaction and 91% used all of their parental leave. Agencies reported an overall total of 420 employees who benefited from the paid parental-leave program across the year.

Agencies responding to the survey reported minimal operational disruption: 100% said there was no staff change in role coverage for the leave events, 40% said some overtime was incurred, 73% reported no additional expenses and 80% said work was redistributed to supervisors or coworkers when necessary.

The presenter said the program ran smoothly and that State Civil Service values the feedback; links to the parental-leave program page and FAQs were posted in the Q&A for attendees who wanted more information.

Ending: The program team invited any follow-up questions and said the parental-leave program page contains FAQs and an infographic to help HR specialists manage requests.