Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg helps bring extended bereavement leave to her late husband's company (FB)
Facebook/Sheryl Sandberg
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has helped bring extended bereavement leave to SurveyMonkey, two years after the death of her husband, Dave Goldberg, who was CEO of that company when he died unexpectedly 2015.
The survey company — where Sandberg is a board member — updated its bereavement policy on Monday to offer employees up to 20 days of paid leave to grieve the death of an immediate family member, and 10 days for the death of an extended family member.
Before today, SurveyMonkey employees were offered just three days of bereavement leave for an immediate family member's death in state, and five days if the employee had to travel out of state. The policy also allowed for unlimited paid time off, given approval from a manager.
"Dave always believed companies should prioritize their employees' well-being," Sandberg wrote in a Facebook announcement on Monday. "Over these past two years without him, I've learned that when someone is going through hardship, the best thing we can do is show up and be there for them. Companies can show up through bereavement policies and coworkers can show up by encouraging each other to bring their whole selves to work."
The new 20-day policy puts SurveyMonkey in line with Facebook and MasterCard, which similarly worked with Sandberg to update their policies in January and June, respectively. Before Facebook updated its policy this year, employees were offered 10 days for an immediate family member and five days for extended family.
The Department of Labor doesn't require companies to pay employees for funeral leave or time to grieve, so often U.S. employees facing a loss are often required to use vacation time or forfeit pay.
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