Parental Leave: An Important Employee Right, But an Organizational Challenge

While parental leave is considered an important right for employees, its application in different work environments is not
always straightforward. It is worthwhile to study the implementation in the workplace of the parental leave policy introduced
in Québec, especially since this policy has unique characteristics not found anywhere else in North America. We chose to carry
out our study in a metropolitan police service. Our results, both quantitative and qualitative, outline significant differences
between the perception of all types of parental leave by respondents who have already taken it up and those who have not yet
done so. Analysis of these differences brings to light the fact that formal support is not enough: management needs to make
sure that employees really feel supported by their work environment when they taking up leave and that they do not feel that
they have to pay for it in terms of career opportunities or advancement.