【1996 Archives】

It might not996 Archivesas generous as Netflix's unlimited parental leave policy announced in 2015, but Ikea is trying to keep up with a new expanded benefits policy.

The Swedish furniture company's American division announced on Tuesday four months of paid parental leave for its salaried and hourly employees in the U.S.

Starting Jan. 1, employees who have been with the company for at least a year can take advantage of the policy.

Those employees can take up to three months leave, at full base wage for the first six weeks and 50 percent after that, while workers with three or more years at the company can take up to four months' leave, with eight weeks at full pay and eight weeks at half.

The company said in a news release that the expanded policy is a way to "ensure co-workers have the opportunity to bond with their children and connect as a new family."

"We want them to take time off," Lars Petersson, president of Ikea's U.S. division, told the Associated Press.

"The home is our arena. We think the home is the most important place for people."

The decision to add more time for new parents came after research into what workers wanted from their workplace. A work-life balance and time with family came in at the top of the list, according to the company.

Foster and adoptive parents can use the policy as well and it includes both moms and dads.

Better get started on that nursery.

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