Deloitte and Zoom’s trims to parental-leave benefits may hurt them in long run, experts say

Recent moves by US companies Deloitte and Zoom to reduce how much paid parental leave they offer employees could signal a larger reduction in benefits in corporate America, according to labor market experts. American workers are already seen as having less benefits and labor protections than many of their counterparts across the world, especially in Europe. Leadership at huge accounting and communication technology companies likely made the decisions because the labor market has stagnated, meaning that people looking for jobs do not have the same leverage when considering a job opening, the experts say. But while cutting the benefit might help companies save money in the short term, some consultants argue that the moves will ultimately hurt companies because it will make workers less productive, among other negative consequences. “It feels like someone is just looking at a spreadsheet saying, ‘How can I get more hours?’” said Bobbi Thomason, a professor of applied behavioral science at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. But that is “overlooking the fact that there are human beings on the other side and overlooking” the question, “what state are people going to be in when we’re in the office”? The United States is the only developed country that does not guarantee paid parental leave. …