Growing trend: Paid paternity leave p1 - Military Transition - Military Times EDGE

More new dads are taking time off from their jobs, studies show, because of a recent rise in paid paternity leave, more flexible time-off policies and growing involvement among fathers in raising children.

Although the U.S. still lags behind many European countries, family leave is evolving, particularly for dads. The average job-guaranteed leave for men rose from 13.1 weeks in 1998 to 14.5 weeks in 2005, according to figures from the Families and Work Institute, a New York City research organization that studies work trends.

The group found that fathers, especially young ones, are spending more time with their children than they did in the past.

Meanwhile, a few cutting-edge companies are offering new dads paid time off, from a few days to a few weeks. A 2007 study of U.S. companies by the Society for Human Resource Management shows that 17 percent of companies have paid paternity leave.

(Gannett News Service; originally published March 3, 2008)