Volvo gives all employees 24 weeks of paid parental leave – for both mums and dads, Malaysia included

This would be a dream for many parents or would-be parents. Volvo Cars has announced that it will be providing its over 40,000 employees around the globe half a year of paid parental leave as of April 1, 2021.

This applies to staff in all Volvo plants and offices, and is for both male and female parents. The ‘Family Bond’ policy will give all employees with at least one year’s service a total of 24 weeks of leave at 80% of their base pay by default. The leave can be taken anytime within the three first years of parenthood.

“We want to create a culture that supports equal parenting for all genders. When parents are supported to balance the demands of work and family, it helps to close the gender gap and allows everyone to excel in their careers. We have always been a family-oriented and human-centric company. Through this parental leave policy, we are demonstrating and living our values, which in turn will strengthen our brand,” said Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson.

This global policy includes Malaysia. “This is a big step for Volvo, in which we are happy to extend the benefits of Family Bond onto our colleagues here in Malaysia. It is indeed empowering to be part of such a progressive-thinking organisation, to deepen our endeavours for competitive employee benefits amidst our positive culture,” said Akhtar Sulaiman, marketing and PR director of Volvo Car Malaysia.

Volvo says that this policy is more inclusive and supportive than many existing policies around the world, and includes all legally registered parents, including adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents. Some countries do not offer any paid leave to new parents, or exclude certain groups of parents – the latter is particularly true for fathers.

It sounds amazing, but hardly surprising given that Volvo is from Scandinavia. This global policy is inspired by national legislation in Volvo’s home market of Sweden, famous around the globe for its generous parental leave arrangements, which have delivered tangible benefits for parents and children alike in recent decades. It follows a parental leave pilot scheme launched in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region in 2019, in which 46% of all applicants were fathers.

When studying the outcome of its parental leave pilot, Volvo found that employees appreciated the policy for being gender neutral, inclusive and adaptable to personal needs. The studies also resulted in important insights on how to encourage even more employees to take parental leave and make parental leave for both parents the new norm.

Some of the obstacles that limit the uptake of parental leave include parents’ concerns around the potential impact it might have on their work team, fear around long-term career opportunities, and a cultural mindset about of what is expected of fathers in the workplace and at home.

To encourage uptake, Volvo has focused on communicating about its parental leave policy more effectively. By presenting the 24 weeks parental leave as a pre-selected option, the company aims to create a “default effect” – essentially, people are highly likely to stick with pre-selected options. Ambiguous language, such as “up to 24 weeks” is avoided as we tend to predict negative outcomes when there is uncertainty. By using tactics like these, Volvo aims to remove confusion and cultural barriers, and provide parents with certainty.

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