Starting or adding to your family can be a life-altering experience, and Enervee wants to support and enable parents, regardless of their gender, to play equal roles in building their career and nurturing their families. This aligns with Enervee’s mission to build a more sustainable world and to be an inclusive organization.
The purpose of the Paid Parental Leave is to give parents flexibility and time to bond with their child and adapt to their new family dynamic. I checked in with nine Enervee employees who have taken advantage of this policy to see how they feel about it.
Partner Success Executive Tina gave birth to her second child in July. “Enervee's parental leave policy was developed and rolled out when I was pregnant with my first. I had never had a reason to think much about how family-friendly Enervee was before then, and it was such a relief to hear Enervee planned to support all new parents with 12 weeks of paid leave. Knowing I had that time off to focus on recovery and adjustment to our new addition was huge.”
Big change, new focus
“Parental leave surprised me a bit,” said Aaron (Senior Software Engineer), “because I was sort of a workaholic and told myself that I probably wouldn’t even use all 12 weeks of leave. Sort of figured that by around week 8, I’d be itching to get back to work. But once our son was born, it definitely switched for me, and I knew I’d take as much time as I could to spend it on the family. I think that combined with working from home has been phenomenal for building a really close relationship with my family, which I couldn’t value more.
So now with the second kid on the way and the next parental leave planned out for this fall, I’m super excited to be able to do it all again (and I also have no expectations of taking less than the full time). There are so many changes that happen so fast (and with all the lack of sleep at the beginning), the parental leave has become even more important to me than I ever thought it would be.”
First-time dad Alex (SVP of Business Development) shared a similar shift in focus: “With my daughter Cassia's due date looming fast, I remember scrambling to make sure we had our hospital bag prepped and all of our baby gear set up at home while cranking through a big Enervee RFP response. Once Cassia arrived, things changed so much! My whole day was centered around her. I became a master of baby baths and massage. And learned how to operate all sorts of appliances one handed, quite challenging when sleep deprived. Thanks to Enervee's great parental leave policy, I was able to take those initial months to focus entirely on being with her and my wife. It was truly special.”
Eric (Director of Business Intelligence) shared his takeaway: “As a first time parent, now that I’ve had this 12 weeks to focus exclusively on family, and understand how difficult this time is, it’s hard to imagine life without it.”
On Enervee’s paid parental leave policy
“Enervee’s parental leave policy shows that we walk the talk on employee well-being and work-life balance”, said Eric. “It makes a world of difference being able to focus exclusively on my family during such an important and irreplaceable time.”
Project Manager Joselline expressed similar sentiments: “Being able to work at a company that offers parental leave for both mothers and fathers is such a blessing. Parental leave allows us to bond with our new baby in such crucial stages of their development. We are able to adjust to our new lifestyle with our baby before going back to work. This great benefit provides a work life balance that gives us as parents the reassurance that the company cares about allowing us to find the time to care for our new baby. ”
Software Engineer Juancarlos said he’s very appreciative of Enervee’s parental leave policy, having experienced a much more limited parental leave benefit at his previous employer. “When my first child was born in 2020, I was limited to 6 weeks of reduced pay parental leave through a state program. Not only was the time I got to bond with my baby limited, but I had to welcome a new baby and all of the expenses that come with that on a reduced income. Enveree’s parental leave policy allows for up to 12 weeks of 100% paid leave. This benefit gives me time to bond with my new baby boy, Mateo, and gives me peace of mind knowing I won’t be welcoming him to our family on a reduced income.”
JC went on to say that he appreciated having the flexibility to take his parental leave a few months after Mateo was born. “This allows me to stagger my leave from my wife’s, ensuring Mateo has at least one parent at home with him full-time for the first 6 months of his life. This was especially important to us considering he has some minor health issues that require some extra attention.”
As far as the execution of the program goes, Ashley (Manager, Projects) commented that the application “was a really simple 3-page sheet with dates. Our People Manager was available to answer any questions. It only took a week to be approved.” She also said that her daughter came a little earlier than anticipated when she filed the application. “All I had to do was inform my manager via text (well, Slack) and he handled the rest. I was able to focus on what’s important.”
Baby bonding
Here are some quotes from colleagues about the importance of being able to bond with their newborns:
“Enervee’s parental leave program allows additional flexibility and opportunity for our family. It gives us additional, quality bonding time with our newborn for not only my wife, but for myself as well. The flexibility of the leave allows us to build an extended care program, giving my wife the time she needs to ease back into work which isn’t a luxury many partners have. It gives me that time to bond and navigate being a new parent at my own pace, without feeling rushed and possibly missing out on the truly magical early months of our child’s life. I look forward to unplugging and dedicating all of my time to caring and experiencing new things with our daughter during my leave!”
Jordan (Senior Manager, Email Marketing)
“While there is never enough time to spend with your newborn, having 3 months off for my partner's pregnancy made bonding with the baby possible.”
Victoria (Senior Manager, Software Engineering)
“I was able to focus on healing and establishing a relationship with the newest addition to our family. This was my third child, so I really needed to establish a relationship between my newest daughter Violet and her older siblings (Korben and Ruby), while still maintaining a routine. The leave helped me forge our family into a stronger unit. The 12 weeks provided me enough time to heal, bond with Violet, and bond with my family as a whole.”
Ashley
“Being able to work at a company that offers paternal leave for both mothers and fathers is such a blessing. Parental leave allows us as parents to bond with our new baby in such crucial stages of their development. We are able to adjust to our new lifestyle with our baby before going back to work. This great benefit provides a work life balance that gives us as parents the reassurance that the company cares about allowing us to find the time to care for our new baby.”
Joselline
Back in the saddle: ramping up with empathy
It’s one thing to have 12 weeks off, but what about re-entry into a full-time tech job? Here’s what Ashley had to say: “Before I left, I established a return date I was comfortable with, and the People Manager set up a meeting on my return date to discuss my leave and any trepidation I had about returning, as well as my schedule. My manager also scheduled time with me to discuss what I had missed and to plan for ramping back up. There was a clear expectation for me to take things at my own pace before I was back to full capacity. Everyone was really excited for my return – and, of course, pictures of Violet!
Ashley explained that she planned for a 30-day ramp-up period, but it actually went much quicker. “My peers made bringing me up to speed really easy. Being remote also helped, as I’m able to have someone watch Violet in the house, and she can come visit during some company meetings. I occasionally call her ‘the smallest member of the product team’.”
Good for parents, good for Enervee
As Joselline pointed out, parental leave is also beneficial for Enervee: “Giving employees time off with their new baby allows the company to retain experienced team members without having to hire and train new employees. She also echoed another point made by Eric: “In addition to the importance of leave time for my family, I have little doubt that over the next year my team will be better served as well. After 12 weeks, I was energized and ready to rejoin my team, instead of being a zombie for a few months and having that carry forward.”
Enervee welcomes parents and loves babies! Check out our open positions here!
