Seco’s new Parental Leave Benefit: A transformative experience for Brandon
Seco's new parental leave benefit offers three extra months of paid leave at 90% pay, supporting employees during key family moments.Seco has introduced a parental leave benefit that offers three extra months of paid maternity or paternity leave at 90% pay to support parents when their presence matters most.
To understand the impact of this benefit, we spoke with Brandon Gray, a Technical Education Application Engineer at Seco, who has been with the company for ten years.
For Brandon, the new parental leave benefit has been nothing short of transformative.
As a father to a newborn son, Maverick, and step-daughter, Mia, Brandon's experience highlights the profound impact of this policy. "This benefit means the chance to learn and experience how to be a new Dad from day one," Brandon shares. "I had the comfort of knowing I would be home and present once my son Maverick was born."
In the United States, where paid family leave for fathers is rare, Brandon's experience is particularly noteworthy.
“Most of my friends only had a couple of days, maybe a week off for their child’s birth, and they had to use their paid time off," he explains. "I was very lucky to be there to take care of my wife after her C-section and take the burden off her shoulders so she could rest and heal properly.”
"Maverick was born on September 8th, right before an important product launch, and I was supposed to travel," he explains. "The Seco values came out in full effect with the family spirit. My engineering team stepped up and filled in for me so that I could enjoy my paternity leave.”
Seco's parental leave benefit helps fosters a sense of pride among employees.
"It makes you proud to say you are allowed such a great benefit since it is hard to come by, especially for fathers," Brandon notes.
"It makes you proud to work for Seco. It is a benefit that can separate us from the pack."
For Brandon, the opportunity to decompress and spend time with family was rejuvenating. "He was my first-born child, and the stress that built up over nine months was immense," he shares. "You slow down after a few days and decompress, and realize you’re laying in bed during the day with your family with a smile. That is when the benefit hits you."
This mental break is crucial for new parents; it allows them to step away from a busy work schedule and focus solely on their families. "You don’t realize how much you need that mental break to step away from a busy work schedule and to focus solely on yourself and your family," Brandon emphasizes
Brandon's gratitude for the parental leave benefit is palpable. "What I am most grateful for during parental leave is that my wife was not alone," he says. "If I was not afforded this benefit, I would have been traveling for work and relying on my family to take care of her while she healed from her C-section. I was able to be present and be a better husband and father to my family. This took her stress away as well."
"Fathers need to be present during these times, and I don’t want to think about how much I would have missed if I was not allowed parental leave," Brandon reflects.
"Losing sleep, middle-of-the-night diaper changes and bottles are easier when you know you can catch up and rest with them during the daytime naps. The parental leave allowed me to recharge my mental and physical batteries and create core memories with my family. I will forever be grateful for the time spent in those first weeks."
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