Matt Scult, licensed psychologist and clinical content lead at mental health platform Modern Health, welcomed twin daughters a little over a year ago — a transition that was made infinitely smoother by his ability to take a paid month off from work.
“Any new parent does not feel competent at first,” he says. “But having had the time to learn what they needed and how to respond to them, even at that very early stage, was a dynamic way to get to know this new family member — or, in my case, new family members.”
But although Modern Health’s benefit granted Scult an extended period of time off, that’s not the reality for all working dads. A recent study conducted by asset management company Mercer revealed that roughly 40% of U.S. companies offer paid parental leave for both parents — meaning 60% of organizations still don’t offer any kind of paid paternity leave.
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The average new mom gets 11 weeks of paid maternity leave, according to a study conducted by The New America Foundation. For dads
What is the current landscape surrounding paternity leave and how is it affecting the mental health of working dads and working parents?
Paternity leave has not really been in the discussion as much [as maternity leave.] And it's really a shame because it has such an impact on everyone, really. In couples, it benefits the father, it benefits the partner and it benefits the bonding with the children and the children's outcomes. There are really interesting studies that talk about some of the neuroscience behind some of the brain changes when parents take maternity [and paternity] leave — the impact that it can have on your productivity and the way that you think about work. It's made me much more efficient. I was just reading about how it can really have a positive impact on how fathers view work when they are able to take a leave. They have a more positive view of the workplace and are better able to focus when they're there at work.
Do you think that offering comprehensive paternity leave is something that the industry is currently doing well?
I think there's a lot of work to be done. I've started to see it more, but there's still a lot of stigma about taking leaves. First, there’s whether companies offer [parental leave] at all — paternity leave in particular — and then there's the question of do people take it and how do we start to decrease the stigma around fathers taking paternity leave and really encourage them to take it because it has these benefits both for the mental health of the father and of the mother and child. [One to two weeks] just really doesn't seem like enough. In those first couple of days you're really just getting your bearings as a father.
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What is the root of that stigma, and how is it stopping dads from taking the right amount of paternity leave even when it’s offered?
I think there is a traditional masculine emphasis on work and providing for the family and seeing that as unidimensional. And I think that that is really not capturing the entirety of just how meaningful and helpful it is to everyone involved when fathers take the time. The more we can kind of encourage people and get the message out there that it's not like you're choosing work or taking care of the children. It's that by taking this time, you are better able to [deal with] this life adjustment and figure out how to then move into this next stage of your life, where you are doing an effective job at work and at home and really having that bond with your children.
What are some of the psychological consequences if paternity leave is not something that is made available to dads?
A recent study looked at two groups of dads — those who took time off versus those who did not. And the dads who didn't have paid leave had greater increases in their stress and saw an increase in daytime sleepiness. Their partners had greater increases in depression. Maternity leave helped decrease all those negative effects and to buffer those symptoms in moms; those are some of the indications of what would happen when fathers aren't able to take leave.
As people continue to struggle with mental health issues — especially in the context of the pandemic — this is something that is certainly needed as soon as possible. And I am hopeful. A number of companies are giving equal time and increased time for paternity and maternity leave and now we can start to look at some of the effects and have better studiese. I'm hopeful that once more people start to see the data coming out on this that it'll start to change plans and we'll start to see more paternity leave.
