February 15, 2024

2024 Employer Leave Strategy and Transformation Survey

Paid leave and time away have gone through many transformations through the years, both inside and outside the U.S. Recently, employers have increasingly recognized the impact that time away has on employee satisfaction, retention and well-being. Additionally, one of the benefits that both current and prospective employees value is the ability to take time off from work to manage aspects of home life, take a vacation or focus on major life stages, all while continuing to receive a paycheck.

Since 2019, Business Group on Health has conducted numerous surveys of its employer members on their leave strategy and design. The 2024 survey included questions on the following topics:

leave strategy, leave structure, paid leave laws, parental leave, other paid leave and holidays

Methodology

The survey was fielded in October/November 2023 to employer members of Business Group on Health. A total of 113 employers completed the survey. Figure 1 illustrates the composition of the sample, by industry, size and global presence.

industry breakdown: 15% manufacturing, 13% pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, 13% technology, telecommunications, 12% banking/financial services, 10% insurance, 8% retail/hospitality/food services, 7% health care, 5% consumer products, 13% other. Note: percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Employer size: 13% <10,000, 37% 10,000-49,999, 26% 50,000-99,999, 23% 100,000+. 83% of respondents have operations beyond the U.S.

Figure 1: Respondent Profile, 2023

The Business Group has fielded several other surveys on leave, including a similar survey in 2019 that collected employer approaches for 2019 and 2020. That survey also had 113 responses. When appropriate, those data are used for comparison purposes throughout the report.

This report highlights the key takeaways from the most recent survey, including areas of notable change from 2019 and issues employers may focus on in the near future. The survey was fielded in 2023, so the present perspective data is from that year. Responses related to the future are referring to 2024.

For more details about the report, refer to the Chart Pack. It provides additional charts and graphs that shed further light on the survey findings.

Ellen Kelsay, President and CEO of Business Group on Health, and the entire Business Group team thank our members for their participation in this survey. Your support provided us with valuable data and insights on the future of leave and time away.

Suggested citation for this survey report:

Business Group on Health. 2024 Employer Leave Strategy and Transformation Survey. February 2024. Available at: https://www.businessgrouphealth.org/resources/2024-leave-strategy-and-transformation-survey.

2024 Employer Leave Strategy and Transformation Survey: A New Era of Time Away

Methodology

Suggested citation for this survey report:

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