One enduring lesson from the pandemic is that employees have a life outside the workplace that employers ignore at their peril.
“As the pace of work and life accelerates, the need for personal time off has grown in unexpected ways — especially for employees balancing caregiving duties, health needs and evolving family structures,” said Maria Trapenasso, head of human capital solutions for NFP.
The 2026 NFP U.S. Leave Management Report identified several key trends:
- Parental leave. Six in 10 respondents offer parental leave, but 27% still distinguish between primary and secondary caregivers, creating legal risk and inequity.
- Menopause leave. Only 10% of employers offer menopause accommodations, despite 20% of the workforce being in peak symptom years.
- Maternity leave. Six in 10 employees are missing out on the cost savings and compliance benefits of requiring state disability claims with maternity leave.
- Family caregiver leave. Thirty percent of employers offer caregiver leave, which is far too few to meet the sandwich generation’s needs.
- Outsourcing and compliance. Only 1 in 5 sees compliance as their team’s weakest area. Compliance risk is a top concern for overworked HR teams, and lack of support could be costly.
At the same time, many longstanding forms of employee leave are getting a second look. Although many employers offer traditional sick leave, there is a growing need to update policies to reflect a wider range of employee needs and state legislation. Many multistate employers strive to create holistic policies that offer comparable entitlements to sick pay regulations, and the survey found that 52% of respondents are doing just that. This creates equitable practices for the entire organization while easing the administrative burden of accruing sick time by state or jurisdiction.
Bereavement leave policies are increasingly evolving to reflect a more compassionate understanding of grief. In response to evolving legislation and changing social dynamics, more employers are now offering bereavement leave for diverse circumstances, including miscarriage, failed IVF and pet loss. This growing acceptance of various grief experiences reflects a larger societal shift toward understanding and addressing the emotional needs of employees beyond traditional loss definitions. Mandatory time off for bereavement leave in a handful of states requires employers to review policies and practices to ensure compliance.
Finally, paid time off remains one of the most popular leave offerings among employers, with 61% of employers opting for PTO-only plans. This model offers significant flexibility and can be more compliant with state regulations regarding sick leave. However, PTO policies can become complex when incorporating vacation and sick leave provisions, especially for multistate employers. Although vacation use has increased overall, roughly 40% of employees continue to use only half of less of their time, pointing to uneven patterns in how employees approach time off.
“Leave management has shifted to a strategic lever for talent retention and engagement, and organizations that treat it as a cultural investment – not just an administrative necessity – are emerging as employers of choice in today’s competitive market,” Trapenasso said.
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