Sharing time

When there is a medical emergency in the family, it's good to have colleagues who can provide emotional support. At some US firms, employees can help out in a far more practical way: they can give each other their paid time off.

Devon Wzientek's son was born with a serious heart defect. After her son's birth, the 32-year-old finanical-services manager from Atlanta was able to take care of him for 14 weeks by combining her maternity leave, her holiday time and other personal leave. Then her co-workers at KPMG, a financial-services firm, gave her three more months of paid time off through the company's shared-leave programme. This programme allows staff members to donate between 4 and 40 hours of their own leave time to colleagues.

Sharing leave can increase the feeling of teamwork among employees, even among those who don't work in the same office. If any of her colleagues need extra time, Wzientek says she will return the favour: "I will most definitely be donating my time to them," she told The Wall Street Journal Europe.

The rewards of such programmes also extend to the company. Wzientek says she feels more loyal to her firm for helping her through such a difficult time.

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