pawternity leave

English

WOTD – 2 December 2024

Etymology

Blend of paw +‎ paternity leave.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɔːˈtɜːnɪti ˌliːv/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɔˈtɜɹnəti ˌliv/, (cot–caught merger) /pɑ-/, [-ɾi-]
• Hyphenation: paw‧tern‧i‧ty leave

Noun

pawternity leave (usually uncountable, plural pawternity leaves)

1. (informal) Time off work granted to an employee to take care of a pet, especially a cat or dog.

   Synonym: furternity leave

   He hoped that his pawternity leave could provide him with proper time required to train his new dog.

   • 2016 May 2, David Leville, “U.K. employers offering paid ‘paw-ternity’ leave for new pet owners”, in USA Today‎^[1], McLean, Va.: Gannett Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-12-03:

     [Greg] Buchanan estimates that because 60% of people in the U.K. own some kind of pet, many Brits are warming to the idea of paw-ternity. […] As the owner of a tech company, Buchanan says paw-ternity is actually good for the bottom line. "If you do give time off for paw-ternity leave, you are limiting the number of people available to you, however, I believe the morale of staff definitely improves and they actually want to work harder for you."

   • 2021 April 30, Susan Paretts, “The Benefits of Taking ‘Pawternity’ Leave”, in American Kennel Club‎^[2], archived from the original on 2024-12-03:

     Recognizing that our pets are important to us, some companies are now offering their employees "pawternity" leave (also known as "furternity" leave). Pawternity leave allows new pet owners to take time off from work to get their newest four-legged family member settled into a new home and routine.

   • 2024 November 15, Ray A. Smith, “Pet Sick Days are the New Employee-perk Battleground [print version: Time Off to Care for a Pet? Purr-fect]”, in The Wall Street Journal‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: Dow Jones & Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-11-28:

     "Pawternity leave"—time off specifically to tend to a new or sick pet—remains a niche workplace perk, but some members of the New York City Council want to change that. Several co-sponsored a bill last month that would let nongovernment workers employed in the city use their paid sick leave for pet-related medical care.

Translations

time off work granted to an employee to take care of a pet

• Finnish: lemmikin hoitovapaa
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can