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When Allison Whalen returned from parental leave years ago, she found her corner of the business in shambles. Her direct reports were frustrated, her projects had stalled, and she felt the weight of disruption on both sides. Curious whether her experience was unique, she asked around. The response was striking: The number-one reason employees left their companies after parental leave wasnt lack of policyit was career derailment caused by how leave was managed. That aha moment led her to found Parentaly, a company that helps thousands of employees and managers navigate parental leave through pre-leave planning, return-to-work support, and manager training. With clients ranging from Zoom to PwC to Hershey, Whalen has built a front-row seat to how leading companies are rethinking leave. I sat down with Whalen, who also happens to be a Wharton MBA and former enterprise sales leader at Managed by Q (acquired by WeWork), to talk about whats changing in 2025from why parental leave is now viewed as a business event to how its becoming a surprising career accelerator. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/acupofambition_logo.jpg","headline":"A Cup of Ambition","description":"A biweekly newsletter for high-achieving moms who value having a meaningful career and being an involved parent, by Jessica Wilen. To learn more visit acupofambition.substack.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} Have you noticed any emerging trends in how leading companies are approaching parental leave in 2025? I think a lot of companies raced to expand their paid leave policies a couple of years ago, which was a really positive step. But now theyre facing the challenges of implementation. Many expanded without putting enough thought into how to actually manage these longer leaves effectively. More than ever, Im hearing HR and leadership teams say theyre fielding concerns from managers about how to support the business when critical employees are out for extended periods. The shift Im seeing is that companies are starting to recognize parental leave not just as a personal event but as a business event. Historically, people were hesitant to talk about the challenges openly, because they didnt want employees to feel unsupported. But Im seeing organizations become more comfortable proactively planning for absences in a way that actually makes employees going on leave feel more supported. In short, companies are realizing they need to invest not only in the policies themselves but in the executionso that working parents are truly supported, and so those longer paid leave policies remain sustainable. How do you see parental leave fitting into broader conversations about retention and talent development? One of the big shifts Im hearing from HR leaders is around how parental leave can actually be a career accelerator. Instead of seeing it as a pause, companies are starting to think long term: When someone returns, could they step into a role thats more senior, a better fit, more aligned with their career trajectory? Leave can be a forcing function to help an employee shed responsibilities that feel too junior or unproductive, which is something I get really excited about, because it aligns so closely with what we believe in. The other shift is around talent development for the coverage team. Companies are asking: How can we use this as a chance to give a junior employee a stretch assignment, or to give someone from another part of the organization exposure to a new area of the business? And if that person thrives, maybe they stay in that role or expand into new opportunities. What Im seeing overall is more positive conversation about coverage and replacementemployees saying, Id love to be replaced if it means I get elevated when I return, as long as thats what they want. Its hard to pull off in practice, but when its done with the right planning and support, it can be a win for everyone. In your experience, what cultural signals really distinguish companies that truly care about supporting working parents from those that are just checking the box? In my view, the biggest indicator of whether a company truly supports parental leave is whether fathers are taking it. When men have access to extended paid leave and actually use it, its such an equalizerit signals broad-based support and reframes leave as a caregiver experience, not a men-versus-women issue. Another indicator is how openly company leaders talk about parental leave and frame it as a positive, supported moment. And honestly, you can also hear it in how employees talk about their experiences. Two companies might have identical policies, but at one, employees will say they felt they could disconnect, that they were treated respectfully when they returned, that they came back to a strong role. Thats what people post about on LinkedInnot the policy itself, but the lived experience. So for me, the two biggest signals are whether fathers actually take their leave, and how leaders and employees are talking about the leave experience. Building on thatif someones job searching and theyre pregnant or planning to be, are there any markers they can look for, from the outside, to get a sense of the real story? First of all, table stakes is whether the company publishes its paid leave policy and benefits for all caregivers. If they dont, that may be a red flag. As a job seeker, Id want to see specifics: How many weeks do they offer? Do fathers get paid leave? Do hourly as well as salaried employees have access? Those details say a lot about the culture and how broadly they think about support. You can also look at what else they publishbereavement leave, NICU leave, policies that go beyond parental leave but show how they support employees through different life milestones. I often hear people say they ask about parental leave policies in interviews even if theyre done having kids, because its a signal. If a company offers leave for men, extended leave for birthing parents, and thoughtful policies overall, that usually reflects how theyll treat employees during other major personal moments as well. What organizational blind spots do you see most often when companies roll out parental leave programs? I think the biggest blind spot is when companies roll out a policy without the support to actually make it work. A big part of that is the managers experience. Managers are put in a tough spotthey want to support their employees, but theyre also thinking, How am I supposed to do that and still deliver on my goals? And of course, no one comes to them and says, Well cut your goals in half because someone on your team is going on leave. Thats one of the biggest missteps I seeassuming managers will just figure it out. Instead, they often end up scared, unsure what they legally can and cant say, and fall back on their own personal experiences, whether or not theyre parents themselves. That leads to inconsistency, and it puts a lot of pressure on managers who, in most cases, genuinely want to do the right thing but just dont know how. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/acupofambition_logo.jpg","headline":"A Cup of Ambition","description":"A biweekly newsletter for high-achieving moms who value having a meaningful career and being an involved parent, by Jessica Wilen. To learn more visit acupofambition.substack.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
Mita Mallick shares five key insights from her new book, The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn From Bad Bosses. Mallick is a corporate changemaker who, with an extensive career as a marketing and human resources executive, has advised Fortune 500 companies and startups alike. She is a LinkedIn Top Voice and was named to the 2025 Thinkers50 Radar list. She is a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Adweek, and Entrepreneur. Whats the big idea? The silver lining that comes from working for several bad bosses? You can learn what not to do as a leader. From every bad boss comes a valuable lesson about how to manage teams and contribute to a companys success. 1. Stop normalizing emailing at midnight. I was so excited to meet my new boss. Apparently, the feeling wasnt mutual. This was a former boss I nicknamed the Devil. She was the boss who never had any time for me during the day, but did have time to consistently send me emails between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. I started responding to her emails in the early morning hours. I was so desperate to impress her. I would wait to bump into her at the office, trying to get a smile, a wave, hello, thank you, or anything to make me feel like she saw me and I was appreciated. I was like a golden retriever pacing around the Devils office. I even tried to chase her out of the building one evening, but she was too quick for me. Years later, the question I continue to ponder is, Why didnt she have time for me? One of the biggest complaints we hear when it comes to relationships is You never have time for me. As a leader, if you cant make time for your teams during the day to coach, guide, and teach them, you have to ask yourself, Why are you leading in the first place? I challenge everyone to treat calendars like decluttering a wardrobe: Focus on high-value meetings, remove meetings that are no longer needed, and delegate meetings to others. Find time to connect with your teams during the day. Lets stop normalizing emailing at midnight. Im not ashamed to say that on most evenings Im asleep at midnight. It doesnt mean there arent periods of my life when Im working incredibly hard and constantly burning the midnight oil, but that isnt sustainable. The foundation of good leadership is taking care of yourself by getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising so that you can be in service to others and fend off bad boss behaviors. 2. Silence can fuel bullies. My full name is Madhumita Mallick. For most of my life, my name has evoked a swirl of emotions for me, including anxiety and joy. I started going by just Mita and stopped bothering trying to teach people how to say my full name. When I graduated from business school and rejoined corporate America, I attempted to reclaim my full name. I was used to having my name mispronounced, misspelled, or mistaken as the name of the only other brown woman on my team. I wanted to reclaim my name as a source of pride. My former boss, who I nicknamed the Sheriff, was popular and a bully. When it came to my name, the Sheriff decided to completely rename me because he didnt want to learn how to pronounce it. He called me Muhammad because he could and wanted to. Im embarrassed to admit that for many weeks, I responded to a name that was not my own. Years later, I still wonder why no one around us ever said anything. Microaggressions like the one I experienced repeatedly can become a manifestation of bullying. They deplete our energy, chip away at our confidence, and make us question our contributions. Our collective silence can fuel those bullies. The burden shouldnt be placed on the target to speak out and stop this behavior. If you see someone being targeted in the workplace, intervene. First, you can give the bully a dose of their own medicine. In my case, someone could have said to the Sheriff, Oh, I just thought of the best name for you. Do you want to hear it? You can use this approach to be a mirror that shows them how they are behaving. Humor can also distract and deflect attention away from the person being targeted. Second, you can address them directly. You can let them know, calmly and firmly, that this behavior is not okay. They might say, Oh, its just a joke. In return, you can emphasize that it isnt funny. This reinforces that you wont allow them to discredit your response and reaction. Third, plan to intervene later. Power dynamics at work can impact our ability to speak up in the moment. We can be afraid of retaliation during or after an incident. Check in with the person being targeted. Help them document what has been happening and find someone else you trust to help with a plan of action. We spend too much time at work not to look out for each other. 3. Find the courage to help people move on. A former boss I called the Napper literally slept on the job. He dozed off in meetingslarge or small. I presented our annual brand plan while watching him nap. I saw him doze off dozens of times during our quarterly town hall meetings. Once, he closed his eyes for several minutes at our VPs monthly meeting, and she angrily shouted his name, then asked him a question. He was startled but not embarrassed. He mumbled a response that had nothing to do with the question and then started looking at his phone. The Napper came and went as he pleased, gossiped loudly, and enlisted others to talk about how much it sucked to work here. He even started interviewing for jobs in the cubicle next to mine, for all to hear. Years later, I still wonder why my former boss was allowed to repeatedly nap and be disengaged at work without any consequences. Disengagement can spread. It can become contagious, erode trust on the team, and negatively affect productivity. More of us need to intervene when we witness disengagement. Start by becoming a mirror. Take your team member to lunch or coffee. Remind them of their behavior. Focus on the facts and not your feelings. Next, allow space for the individual to reveal whats going on. You may or may not agree with what is shared, and you dont have to respond to everything. You can ask open-ended follow-up questions or simply thank them for sharing, letting them know that youre processing the information and will get back to them. Finally, ask them what must change. Professor Michael Murphy of Harvard University offers this powerful question for us to ask: What could change at work for you to be excited again about working here? You likely wont be able to change what they have revealed about the past, which may have led to their disengagement. But you can offer to help them move forward if they choose to recommit to their jobs. As leaders, we must have the courage to stop this downward spiral and help people move on to what theyre meant to do next. 4. Fear is a short-term motivator that leads to burnout in the long run. No one in my life had ever screamed at menot my parents, my brother, my husband, or my friendsuntil I worked for Medusa. Medusa ruled with fear. You could hear her from her office, down the hall, across the loor, and sometimes through the elevators as you were coming up. She would tell us, to our faces, that we were stupid. She would scream, curse, and aggressively point her fingers at people during meetings. I had never heard a boss drop so many F-bombs. She even hurled one of her Chanel shoes at my colleague, though thankfully it missed her head. I watched people run into conference rooms, slide down in their chairs, or wait around corners to hide from her wrath. Leaders like Medusa drive strong results in the short term. Many of us will show up to work scared. According to one study, more than a third of leaders at U.S. companies lead through fear. Nearly 40% of fear-based leaders said they strongly believe that stress can be positively harnessed, and yet these fear-based leaders made two other observations: 90% witnessed declines in productivity, and 60% acknowledged their workers arent happy. Creating workplace cultures based on fear costs the economy approximately $36 billion each year in lost productivity. Showing up scared to work every day is exhausting. Fear kills communication, isolates team members, inhibits creativity and innovation, and leads to burnout. Creating a culture where everyone is treated with respect shouldnt be a luxury. Workers dont want another free meditation app, an endless supply of fancy snacks, happy hours, and definitely not another oversize hoodie. They want to be respected and valued. 5. Unwavering loyalty no longer exists in the workplace. One former boss, nicknamed Tony Soprano, expected loyalty at all costs. With one swift phone call, he could kill someones career. Tony found out someone on our team was interviewing externally. By that same afternoon, this team members role had been eliminated, he was escorted out by security, and that external offer had vanished because Tony got a hold of the hiring manager at the other company. Tony told me I was going to do a one-year assignment on his team and Id be promoted at the end of that assignment. When the year mark was approaching, I started networking within the organization to figure out what I wanted to do next. When he found this out, he told me the assignment would actually last two to four years because I had not even begun to make an impact in this role. He told me that he decides when I can leave. Leaders like Tony believe they own our careers. They decide and dictate who gets to leave their team, when, and why. If you challenge their authority, they have serious doubts about your commitment to them and to the company. To them, your paycheck is the price in exchange for your loyalty, no questions asked. But unwavering loyalty no longer exists in our workplaces. Long gone are the days of pensions, guaranteed job security, and receiving a shiny gold Rolex after 30 years of service. The corporate social contract that employers once provided is now broken. We can no longer expect loyalty from our employees at all costs. We must redefine what loyalty looks like in our workplaces. As leaders, we must stop hoarding and holding on to talent. We must be honest and up front about career opportunities. We must communicate often and clearly about the changing needs and health of the business. Finally, when an employee wants to pursue a different opportunity, we let them go. We dont throw a tantrum when they resign. We wish them well and hope to get to work with them again someday. Loyalty isnt guaranteed, and it certainly is not built overnight. We cant demand loyalty from our employees. Good leaders understand that loyalty must be earned over time. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
Category:
E-Commerce
A CEOs canoodling with his companys human resources chiefcaught on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concertmade global headlines this summer. Beyond the memes and tabloid fodder, personal lives were shattered and a company was left in turmoil after its leaders sudden exit. The case, involving the AI firm Astronomer, may be the most visible of recent CEO personal scandalsthink sex affairs, drug abuse, or embarrassing behaviorbut its not an isolated incident. Just weeks following the Coldplay kiss cam incident, the CEO of Nestlé was shown the door for similar behavior involving a relationship with a subordinate. Personal scandals have been the top cause of CEO terminations in recent years. How do these scandals stack up to other corporate indiscretions, such as financial fraud? As a management professor, I knew that theres lots of research on CEOs financial crimes, but surprisingly little on personal misdeeds. So my colleagues and I examined nearly 400 CEO scandals involving either financial or personal misconduct. In this research, published in August 2025 in the journal Strategic Organization, we found that not all CEO scandals are treated equally: The type makes all the difference. Personal scandals are harder to survive For most people, personal indiscretionssuch as having an extramarital affair or abusing drugsare a private matter. But for CEOs, even scandals unrelated to business create doubt about their judgment, integrity, and leadership. The result is usually career-ending for the CEO, research shows, and can create lasting harm for the company. We found that CEOs overwhelmingly exit in the wake of personal scandalsfive times as often as CEOs who commit financial misconduct do, in fact. And strong business performance doesnt tend to offer protection. For example, Hewlett-Packards Mark Hurd, whos widely credited with turning around HP in the mid-2000s, was ousted following a very visible personal misconduct scandal 15 years ago. The fallout was swift: The companys stock fell nearly 10% immediately after the announcement, and with leadership in a tailspin, it dropped more than 40% within a year. Why bad numbers come with better odds Companies are also routinely accused of cooking the books. In recent months, several firms have been forced to restate their earnings after their financial statements did not add up. These scandals shake investor trust, trigger sharp drops in company stock, and often lead to the chief financial officers departurewith some CEOs following suit. However, while cooking the books is considered a severe form of corporate misconduct, our research suggests that it has fewer job-ending repercussions for CEOs than personal scandals do. Roughly half of all CEOs implicated in financial scandals survive, we foundbecause, unlike in personal scandals, CEOs can often shift blame. We also found that CEOs dismissed due to financial scandals tend to be replaced with outside candidates, which has been shown to stabilize a companys stock price and lead to stronger long-term performance. It might be surprising to learn that a CEOs personal misconduct can come at a greater costboth to the business and the executivethan outright financial fraud. Is corporate America overestimating the importance of CEOs private behavior? Or is it underestimating the importance of cooking the books? While I dont have answers to these questions, I think our findings show the need for more discussionand more research. Michael Nalick is an assistant professor of management at the University of Denver. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
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