Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 328 posts

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#21

Post by jedberg »

scurvy wrote: post #8

Ugh. I'm not trying to be super negative, but he's setting a bad precedent by taking half the amount of allowed leave. "We offer 4 months, but Zuck only took 2. Wanna be like Zuck?" He should take the full 4 months and show everyone that it's OK. This is like the unspoken mantra of "unlimited vacation" really being only 2 - 2.5 weeks.

> This is like the unspoken mantra of "unlimited vacation" really being only 2 - 2.5 weeks.

I think it depends on your company and management chain. When I worked at Netflix I took more vacation than every before. I'm not even sure how much, since it was untracked, but definitely more than 4 weeks a year.

Our management made sure to set a good example by taking plenty of vacation.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#23

Post by gdubs »

joosters wrote: post #11
acangiano wrote: post #7

This is great. It sends the message that no matter who you are, prioritizing family over business is an option, especially when a newborn has arrived. I'm also willing to bet that it's good for business. An employee with better relationships at home is more likely to be productive at work in the long term.

But he's not, after all he could have taken four months but chose not to.

He's taking two months "when she arrives", which doesn't exclude taking more time throughout the year...

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#24

Post by scurvy »

engi_nerd wrote: post #13

I am jealous. My mega-large, hyphenated corporation only gives 40 hours. Which I have just had approved (today!) so that I could help care for my newborn son while my wife recovers from caesarian section. Doing this required multiple calls to a third party company that hypenated-corporation has subcontracted their leave and disability claims to, as well as about 30 pages worth of paperwork. I spent about half as much…

Bummer. Move to a state with family leave laws. CA gives 6 weeks of paid leave to everyone:

http://www.edd.ca.gov/disability/FAQ_PFL_Benefits.htm

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#25

Post by chatmasta »

I wonder if this is by choice. I can't imagine giving up control of something like Facebook for even two seconds.

Does he have to sell all his Facebook shares and buy them back at the end of his paternity leave? If not, the "paternity leave" is in-name-only, because he will still be the largest shareholder of Facebook.

You can bet Zuckerberg will still be running the show.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#26

Post by scurvy »

nostrademons wrote: post #19
scurvy wrote: post #8

Ugh. I'm not trying to be super negative, but he's setting a bad precedent by taking half the amount of allowed leave. "We offer 4 months, but Zuck only took 2. Wanna be like Zuck?" He should take the full 4 months and show everyone that it's OK. This is like the unspoken mantra of "unlimited vacation" really being only 2 - 2.5 weeks.

At Google it was pretty common for new fathers to take half of the allotted leave at the baby's birth and then save up the remaining half to use for emergencies, vacations, or milestones over the next year. (You could bank paternity leave for up to 1 year at the time; it may be more now, since IIUC Google increased paternity leave from 6 weeks to 6 months around when I left.) So for example, if your wife needed to go…

I'm actually splitting mine up right now, but I told everyone up front the dates and the plan. I doubt this is what Zuck will do, unless it's under pressure from backlash.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#27

Post by [deleted] »

chatmasta wrote: post #25

I wonder if this is by choice. I can't imagine giving up control of something like Facebook for even two seconds. Does he have to sell all his Facebook shares and buy them back at the end of his paternity leave? If not, the "paternity leave" is in-name-only, because he will still be the largest shareholder of Facebook. You can bet Zuckerberg will still be running the show.

[deleted]

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#28

Post by scurvy »

jedberg wrote: post #21
scurvy wrote: post #8

Ugh. I'm not trying to be super negative, but he's setting a bad precedent by taking half the amount of allowed leave. "We offer 4 months, but Zuck only took 2. Wanna be like Zuck?" He should take the full 4 months and show everyone that it's OK. This is like the unspoken mantra of "unlimited vacation" really being only 2 - 2.5 weeks.

> This is like the unspoken mantra of "unlimited vacation" really being only 2 - 2.5 weeks. I think it depends on your company and management chain. When I worked at Netflix I took more vacation than every before. I'm not even sure how much, since it was untracked, but definitely more than 4 weeks a year. Our management made sure to set a good example by taking plenty of vacation.

Netflix is the exception, not the rule. Take a poll of what "unlimited vacation" means to most companies with the policy, and you'll see 2-3 weeks being the overwhelming response.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#29

Post by xirdstl »

immad wrote: post #10
scurvy wrote: post #8

Ugh. I'm not trying to be super negative, but he's setting a bad precedent by taking half the amount of allowed leave. "We offer 4 months, but Zuck only took 2. Wanna be like Zuck?" He should take the full 4 months and show everyone that it's OK. This is like the unspoken mantra of "unlimited vacation" really being only 2 - 2.5 weeks.

He is probably busier than the average FB employee.

That kind of thinking can lead to a culture where people don't want to take vacation because it means they are less "busy" than others and by implication, less important.

It becomes a badge of honor to let unused vacation expire at the end of the year because you just didn't have time to take it.

I've seen it more than once.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off from Facebook for Paternity Leave

#30

Post by nostrebored »

mentos wrote: post #12
scurvy wrote: post #8

Ugh. I'm not trying to be super negative, but he's setting a bad precedent by taking half the amount of allowed leave. "We offer 4 months, but Zuck only took 2. Wanna be like Zuck?" He should take the full 4 months and show everyone that it's OK. This is like the unspoken mantra of "unlimited vacation" really being only 2 - 2.5 weeks.

Isn't 2 a good balance between all and none?

Not really? Maybe I'm a bit pushy, but I think that people should take all of the time allotted for them to take care of their kids, bond with their kids, and support their partner. If he is banking it for later, great, if not, the work you're doing on social media is not more important than your child.
Post reply on HN