Facebook to Employees: Take Time to Grieve

When Sheryl Sandberg's husband, Dave Goldberg, died unexpectedly nearly two years ago, the Facebook executive's life was completely upended. During her time away from work as she mourned, she realized how important it was for her to be spending that time with her children. "Amid the nightmare … I was grateful every day to work for a company that provides bereavement leave and flexibility," she wrote in a Tuesday Facebook post. "I needed both to start my recovery." Toward that end, per the Wall Street Journal, the tech company has extended bereavement policy for employees, allowing for 20 paid days of leave in the event of an immediate family member's death, and 10 days of paid leave for extended family.

The policy, which took effect on Jan. 1, effectively doubles what Facebook offered previously (10 days and five days, respectively). CNNMoney reports that the company is also allowing workers to take up to six paid weeks off to tend to a family member who's seriously ill or needs care, with a three-day paid offering in cases of minor illness. "We need public policies that make it easier for people to care for their children and aging parents and for families to mourn and heal after loss," Sandberg notes in her post. (Sandberg described what she learned after a month of mourning.)