Granular — Advancing Outside of Engineering
Granular has a powerful mission around helping farmers become more efficient and profitable while preserving and enhancing the value of farmland. Being a part of Granular Engineering means solving these challenging problems with bleeding edge technology. This in itself is fulfilling, but Granular just took it to a new level with a very generous paternity leave program.
Below is a snippet from the new leave policy:
Families are created in a lot of different ways. We want to support mothers, fathers, same sex couples, and all family make-ups as they grow their family.
Employees will be eligible for 12 weeks of paid time off (at 100% pay) for birth mothers, domestic partners, fathers, and parents through adoption or surrogacy.
As a Director of Engineering, father, and husband, having and modeling a healthy work/life balance is of great importance to me and my team. My family is expecting an addition in just a few weeks and, while this is a celebratory time in our lives, having a baby can also be very disruptive. Granular’s offering of 12 weeks of paid time off provides a great opportunity to help support my wife and kids and bond with our baby.
Modeling a healthy work/life balance and utilizing the updated leave policy sets a good precedent for my team and the greater organization. Research shows that paid leave increases the likelihood that workers will return to work after childbirth, improves employee morale, has either no or positive effects on workplace productivity and improves family incomes. These are all very positive outcomes for Granular and our employees.
There are several interesting reads on how having children affects the gender pay gap and the importance of fathers bonding with their baby. While increasing paternity leave to be on par with maternity leave is not the complete answer, it is a step in the right direction to lessening the gender pay gap and increasing the fatherly bond. I’m proud to work for a company that is making advancements not just within Engineering.
In preparing for my leave, I’m already experiencing thoughts and feelings that are new to me as a male but old hat for a female. What will I miss at work during my leave? How will I catch back up? How will I keep up on the advancements in engineering? Will I still have a job when I get back? Experiencing the above should allow me to better relate and manage employees going through extended leave. I’ll put these thoughts aside and rely on a great team to keep doing what they do and a great company to support me during my leave.
