Why all men should enjoy parental leave

According to the report by Malas Madres and IKEA in 2017, the tasks related to the upbringing of children tend to be traditionally female. And although young couples are more aware of the need for real co-responsibility, the mental burden often inevitably falls on women.

What is stewardship: real stories of equality

Stewardship
feminine noun

The RAE (Spanish Royal Academy dictionary) defines it as responsibility shared with another person or persons.
How does this translate into our homes?

Edu and Natalia are new parents and both work at IKEA. Alan and José Miguel both decided to take 7 weeks’ paternity leave when their babies were born. Each of them illustrates perfectly why all men should enjoy the benefits of paternity leave.

Edu and Natalia have worked at IKEA for 15 and 5 years respectively, as Sales Group Leaders. They have a 7-month-old baby whom they absolutely adore.

“I didn’t hesitate for one minute; it seemed to me a unique opportunity to spend time with my wife and my son. Of course, you don’t fully appreciate the value of those 7 weeks until you get back to your usual routine”, says Edu. “I believe that is when you realise what a fantastic opportunity it is, and especially how it allows you to share those early days of your baby’s life”, he explains fondly.

And it’s incredible what just 7 weeks gives you. For those 49 days, Natalia and Edu shared the care of their baby equally.

“As far as caring for the baby, shopping and other household tasks are concerned, it makes no difference which of us does it, because we talk to one another all the time. Between us, we’ve managed to attend to the baby whenever he needs it, and still keep everything going,” said Natalia.

7 weeks make all the difference​

José Miguel and Alan also recently became fathers, and have taken advantage of the paternity leave which we offer.

Alan and his partner had talked a great deal about what it would mean to have a baby. There was no question that it would be a shared responsibility, with many time-consuming tasks. “When I got information from HR about the 7 weeks’ paternity leave, I didn’t hesitate for one moment. I also had the support of my manager in Sales; it's very important to have support from colleagues and managers”, Alan commented.

In addition, there were complications with the birth and his wife needed a long recovery period. “Without those 7 weeks, it would have been a very different story; things would have been far more difficult. If I hadn’t taken those weeks, or if I’d taken less time, I could not have gone with my wife to the appointments with the paediatrician and the gynaecologist, nor could I have shared in the whole experience”, says our colleague.

For his part, José Miguel, who has enjoyed 7 weeks of paternity leave and has supplemented it with the 2-month leave of absence, emphasizes that "to enjoy 2 extra months with my family has meant being able to live unique and unrepeatable moments". José Miguel also appreciates that this time has allowed his partner to have moments of "evasion" to rest, go to the gym or take a walk and disconnect from the day to day tasks.

Our colleague thinks that all parents should take paternity leave because "it is a moment of life that is not going to repeat itself and that we have to enjoy it to the fullest. In addition, collaboration at home is more necessary than ever. "

This initiative has had a positive impact on the perception of the people who make up our teams, as it has strengthened their trust in IKEA. "That they give you this opportunity is magnificent, it makes the labor relationship with the company take a lot more hold," says Alan.

And one of our goals is to encourage and help co-responsibility between men and women, because we firmly believe that equality works better.