Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has promised that the company will now offer six weeks of paid family leave to its employees if they should need to care for a sick loved one. Sheryl Sandberg made the announcement on Tuesday at the Makers conference.
Sheryl Sandberg knows what it is like to lose a loved one. She recently lost her husband tragically during a family vacation. “This is personal for me,” Sandberg told an audience Tuesday at the Makers conference. “I lost my husband very suddenly. Facebook provided leave and flexibility, and now we’re doing more.”
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The MAKERS Conference states that it offers an opportunity to bring MAKERS to life. The 2017 MAKERS Conference is taking place this week from February 6-8, at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
MAKERS states that it will “bring together hundreds of trailblazing leaders, inviting everyone to #BEBOLD, elevate the conversation and raise challenges and solutions through action-oriented sessions. The conference will shine a light on issues ranging from violence against women to inclusion of men — ultimately creating a bold agenda that flips the script and creates lasting impact.”
In a post on her Facebook page Tuesday, Sheryl Sandberg said, “When my son was born and I could take time off to focus on him. When my daughter came along and I got that time all over again. Every time one of them got sick, both my husband Dave and I had the ability to leave work to take care of them so we could decide whose turn it was to supply the patient with ginger ale. And then amid the nightmare of Dave’s death when my kids needed me more than ever, I was grateful every day to work for a company that provides bereavement leave and flexibility. I needed both to start my recovery.”
“Amid the nightmare of Dave’s death when my kids needed me more than ever, I was grateful every day to work for a company that provides bereavement leave and flexibility,” added Sheryl Sandberg. “I needed both to start my recovery.”
The announcement about the new family leave policy from Facebook made by Sheryl Sandberg has been applauded by many groups.
“We applaud Facebook for recognizing the range of needs people have, including time to grieve,” said Ellen Bravo, head of the Family Values @ Work coalition, which urges states to pass paid leave policies. “It’s great to see a number of companies expanding paid parental leave, but even those who aren’t parents have parents or partners or other loved ones who need care. And all of us experience loss and need bereavement time.”
