Paternity Leave and Beyond: Tips for Supporting Working Dads

15 June 2025 ExtensisHR7 minute read

Quick look: Paternity leave is powerful: it benefits parents, children, and businesses alike. Yet, despite its value, less than one-third of U.S. employees have access to paid leave through their employers, and fewer than 5% of new fathers take off two or more weeks following the birth, adoption, or fostering of their child. Explore how a paternity leave policy combined with a flexible workplace environment can create healthier families, a more equitable workforce, and improved business outcomes.

Fathers make up a significant portion of the workforce, with 93.5% of men with children under 18 active in the U.S. labor force. At the same time, their approach to parenting and their workplace expectations are changing.

Dads are more hands-on than ever, signaling the importance for employers to demonstrate they understand and support familial responsibilities. This Father’s Day, learn how small businesses can best attract and retain dads by providing paternity leave, a welcoming culture, and a flexible work-life balance.

A look at modern fatherhood

Fathers spend more time with their children than in years past. Per the Institute for Family Studies, American fathers spend almost eight hours each week caring for their children at home, an approximate one-hour increase from two decades ago. This number jumps to roughly two hours daily for dads with children under age 6.

Pew Research data reveals that 85% of dads with children under 18 say being a parent is the most or one of the most important aspects of who they are. And notably, according to the latest U.S. Census data, 75% of children under age 6 live with two parents, and the percentage of children under age 18 living with two parents is at its highest since 1991.

Paternity leave in the U.S.

Paternity leave is an essential consideration when strategizing how to support working dads. While most eligible women in the U.S. take maternity leave, less than 5% of fathers take off for two or more weeks.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers to offer new parents 12 weeks of unpaid leave following the birth of a child or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care. However, FMLA only applies to public agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees, so many smaller organizations must create their own policies.

Just 27% of workers have access to paid family leave through their employers, and per the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), only 32% of employers offer paid paternity leave. These figures show companies can stand out and boost morale by offering this time off.

Disclaimer: Paid family leave policies vary significantly from state to state. We encourage you to check your local laws and regulations to understand the specific provisions that apply to your situation. This blog provides general information and should not be taken as legal advice.

The many benefits of paternity leave

Paternity leave offers a wide range of advantages for children, parents, and employers. From improving family well-being to promoting equality and boosting business outcomes, its positive impact is far-reaching.

Improves overall family wellness

Paid paternity leave is shown to reduce stress, fatigue, and depression for fathers and their partners. This is especially important when you consider that 8-13% of new dads and 1 in 7 new moms experience postpartum depression.

Additionally, according to the National Fatherhood Initiative, more engaged dads tend to:

Experience better physical and mental health
Participate more actively in their communities and civic groups
Model a positive and healthy approach to masculinity
Maintain stable employment
More effectively demonstrate financial management skills

Children are also positively impacted by paternity leave. Studies show that fathers who take two or more weeks off after a baby’s birth are more involved in the child’s direct care nine months later than those who didn’t take leave. Additionally, children with involved dads are less likely to experience adverse outcomes like emotional and behavioral concerns, poor school performance, and juvenile incarceration.

Narrows the gender pay gap

Working women benefit from paternity leave policies, too. When only mothers take parental time off, it reinforces the perception that they should be primary caregivers, potentially negatively affecting their earnings. Mothers who work full-time earn an average of 74 cents for every dollar a father makes. However, for every month of paternity leave a dad takes, moms’ incomes increase by approximately 7%.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

Paternity leave in the U.S. is limited and tends to be more accessible to higher-income families. By enacting paid paternity leave policies, employers can help combat this inequality and nurture a culture of inclusion.

Enhances business performance

Although offering paternity leave has short-term costs, it can provide long-standing business benefits by enhancing talent acquisition, reducing turnover, increasing employee engagement, and more. Further, studies show fathers are more engaged, productive, and likely to stay at their company after paternity leave.

Encouraging fathers to take leave

To experience the advantages of paternity leave, dads must first feel welcome and encouraged to take time off. There is room for improvement, as 20% of fathers fear taking paternity leave would negatively affect their career opportunities.

Here are some ways business leaders can reduce the stigma and empower men to feel comfortable using their permitted time.

Change the conversation

Employers should explain their paternity leave offering, discuss how to use it, and emphasize that they expect it to be taken. This signals to staff that taking the time off is assumed, rather than a special request.

When an employee shares that their family is expanding, managers can ask how, not if, they’d like to use their paternity leave. Approaching the conversation in this way makes the situation more comfortable for working fathers and encourages them to utilize their available benefits.

Lead by example

Cultural changes start at the top. Leadership should openly communicate the importance of paternity leave and emphasize that it’s available to all eligible team members. Additionally, when leaders take leave themselves, it signals that doing so is accepted and valued.

Get managers on board

While leadership sets the tone surrounding paternity leave, managers are the ones who put the policies into practice. Business leaders should advise managers to encourage expectant parents to take their full leave and discuss future career growth plans with them before they go.

As workers prepare to take leave, employers may request 30 days’ notice so that team managers and the human resources (HR) department can confirm adequate coverage. A sample paid parental leave policy is accessible through SHRM. Alternatively, employers may simplify leave management by outsourcing it to a professional employer organization (PEO).

Offer ongoing flexibility

A flexible work-life balance benefits all employees, including working dads. Business leaders may offer new fathers a flexible schedule, if possible, enabling them to better care for their children, help their partners, or tend to their own well-being.

Employers can also provide flexibility beyond infancy by offering school activity time off. This allows employees to take time off work to participate in their children’s childcare activities, like parent-teacher conferences, holiday events, classroom activities, and graduations.

Please note that workplace flexibility and competitive employee benefits should be fair and equitable across all employees, and mental health issues like burnout can impact all workers. We do not wish to erase those experiences or realities by focusing on working fathers.

PEO: Your parental leave policy partner

When you lead a small business, you juggle many responsibilities. Growth is top of mind and offering competitive benefits is key to attracting and retaining employees, but navigating the details can be time-consuming and complex.

That’s where a PEO, like ExtensisHR, comes into play.

ExtensisHR’s dedicated HR experts can help you develop compliant parental leave and school activity time off policies, while guiding you through federal and state-specific leave requirements. Additionally, ExtensisHR offers access to an easy-to-use DEI Dashboard that enables SMB leaders to examine data on pay equity, salary trends, employee turnover, promotions, and more.

Paternity leave is more than just a perk, and we’re here to help you unlock its many advantages. Explore ExtensisHR’s PEO solution, or contact us today to start a conversation.