Essay Sample on Family and Medical Leave Act

📌Category: Government, Law, President of the United States, United States, World
📌Words: 859
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 03 June 2022

As a part of President Biden's Build Back Better plan, he has included a section called the Family and Medical Leave Plan.  While some states and company’s already have some sort of plan like this in place, most of the United States does not. Over the last couple of weeks both republicans and democrats have been arguing and negotiating about the plan, trying to come to an agreement about whether or not it should be put in place. The United States legislature should create a paid family and medical leave plan for all American workers. It will create better employee wellness, will allow families to become closer, and will help keep families out of economic crisis. 

Something that employers tell their employees, especially nowadays because of Covid-19 is to stay home if they are not feeling well or are sick. However some employees can’t afford to lose a day or more of pay, so they come into work anyway. This can lead to other employees getting sick, and possibly even their families. If there was a family and medical leave plan, these employees would be able to stay home, and would not have to sacrifice their and other co-workers' health for a day's pay. A big part of wellness is mental health. Sometimes balancing work, family, and medical needs can get stressful and overwhelming, and can affect the mental health of workers. When feeling overwhelmed and stressed, taking a break for a day or even longer is very beneficial. However, most workers are not able to take time off for a much needed break due to their employer's policy. Not being able to take these breaks can negatively impact their mental health and can lead to problems both at home and in the workplace. This family and medical leave plan will ensure that workers are taking the breaks they need in order to care for both their physical and mental health, and also connect more with their families.

Spending time with family should be a priority over work, but unfortunately for most workers, family time is neglected due to their work. For example, mothers who take maternity leave. In the United States the average maternity leave is 12 weeks, usually unpaid. The majority of pregnant women in the United States feel financial pressure during term. Having a child comes with a lot of financial responsibility such as obstetrics appointments, diapers, formula, clothes,  and being unable to work is unfortunate. It puts unnecessary pressure on a human going through a tremendous biological transition. Preparing to have a child is undoubtedly expensive. This is why a maternity plan through employers is necessary. Why it may seem financially unwise to provide twelve weeks of paid time off, it would raise morale unbelievably. Happy employees are productive employees. Happy employees are permanent employees. When employee turnover rates are high, it costs the company through training costs, providing overtime to existing employees, and can permanently damage the reputation of the company. By allowing paid time off, female employees are more likely to stay with the company throughout their lives. Jobs that require specialized training suffer terribly from high employee turnover rates. 

A problem many companies are experiencing right now is being understaffed. There are many factors that are causing this labor shortage, including the demand for better working conditions from workers. Throughout the pandemic workers have been spread incredibly thin, having to accommodate due to the circumstances, taking on more responsibility, dealing with difficult people, and working longer hours, the incentive to work is drastically low. Raising the incentive to work would be best for the economy overall. More people with the ability to work will increase the overall economic output. People who have the ability to work and do not often not work because they do not feel that it is worth it. In the era of the coronavirus, employers urge employees to stay home when they are not feeling well. However, due to financial obligations, they do not heed this advice. This leads to their ailments spreading across the work force, causing even more understaffing issues. By compensating employees on their sick days, it improves workforce morale and keeps infection rates low in the community. Again, happy and healthy employees are productive and permanent. Keeping instances where a business is understaffed to a minimum is better for the company and the employees. Financially, sick days are bad for business. Infection rates within a business can be detrimental when they are so understaffed the business cannot open. Spreading disease between employees and customers keeps customers away by making them stay home ill instead of spending their money. Employees forced to miss family events such as birthdays, funerals, and weddings due to work makes them resent their job. People who resent their job call out more often, are late more often, and are definitely less productive than people who enjoy their jobs. This includes being able to take mental health days. This would prevent employees from getting to the point where they quit their jobs and leaves the business understaffed in the lorm term instead of the short term. 

By putting a legally mandated paid family and medical leave policy into place, workers and companies alike will reap many positive benefits. These benefits would improve the personal and professional lives of employees. Workers will be able to take care of their health along with loved ones, they will be able to take breaks when they need to, and they will be able to spend more time with family, all without being concerned about losing money while gone.

+
x
Remember! This is just a sample.

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

Order now
By clicking “Receive Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails.