Getting adequate parental leave and being a working parent has its own unique challenges. We heard from some of Salesforce Belgium’s working moms earlier in the year. So this month, in honour of Father’s Day 2021, we’re talking to some working dads:
Wouter De Schryver, Account Executive, whose first child was born eight months ago.
Siegbert D’Haese, Lead Solution Engineer, currently on parental leave after the birth of his second child.
Wouter Dupre, Lead Solution Adviser, father to two young adult sons.
What makes Salesforce different as an employer for working dads?
All of our working dads agreed that Salesforce is a value-driven employer from the top down.
“There's a big culture of trust here, and what that means to me as a working dad is that people trust that I’ll do my job while offering great flexibility to me as a parent,” said Wouter DS. “There’s a very big family culture at Salesforce, from events with kids to childcare benefits.”
For many people, the first thing that may come to mind when thinking about taking time off for a new baby is ‘maternity leave’. However, Salesforce gives both the primary and secondary caregivers more parental leave than the national average.
What’s parental leave like at Salesforce?
Employees who have a new addition to the family are entitled to a generous amount of parental leave. For the primary caregiver, it’s 26 weeks and for the secondary caregiver it’s 12 weeks.
For Siegbert and his wife, who also works at Salesforce, this equality is an important value. “It’s great that you can enjoy family life from the beginning,” he said.
Wouter DS also saw the benefit of the parental leave policy. “My wife is also an ambitious professional and we didn’t want to have one of the two needing to step down,” he said. “Instead we got to balance out the leave; something that Salesforce offers which is very unique among employers”.
The leave is flexible, with parents able to spread it out rather than taking a single block of time. As an organisation, Salesforce encourages everyone to take time off to be with their families. The parental leave allowance is just one way of doing this.
Building a supportive culture for families
While the culture at Salesforce is ideal for parents of babies and young children, Wouter D shared that the support he gets as a parent with older children is just as valuable. When his older son was feeling depressed just after Christmas, Wouter’s manager offered to arrange free support from a psychologist. This is something that’s available to employees’ families, not just the employees themselves. “The fact that you can get that kind of support from the company is just amazing, and it’s not just that,” he said.
Getting the right work-life balance
The working dads have some great tips for maintaining that balance between career and family life.
“Dare to turn off your devices,” advised Wouter DS.
Wouter D agrees that disconnecting is important. “When I take time off, I switch off notifications on my phone. Disconnect is my main tip, maybe even during the day, take an hour to disconnect from work and spend time with your children.”
Siegbert’s number one tip is to take the opportunities you’re given. “Finding the right balance between work and personal life is a continuous evolving effort. We all have to learn how to manage both. And I truly appreciate how Salesforce encourages parents to put families first at all times, bringing value to the business and our customers at the same time. I would encourage everyone to take that opportunity and find the right balance that works best for you”.
Check out our current job openings in Europe at Salesforce. Maybe next year we’ll be speaking to you about the benefits to working dads and moms!
