When it comes to policies that support workers and their families, the United States is near the bottom of a long international list.

An eight-year study by researchers at Harvard University and McGill University in Canada shows that the U.S. lags far behind most economically competitive nations in offering family-friendly benefits such as sick days, paid parental leave, caregiver time off and other workplace benefits. 

Of the world's 15 most competitive countries, 14 provide paid sick leave, 13 guarantee paid leave for new mothers, 12 provide paid leave for new fathers, 11 provide paid leave to care for children's health needs, eight provide paid leave to care for adult family members, and seven guarantee breastfeeding breaks to nursing mothers on the job. The United States offers its workers none of those supports.

The study findings are detailed in a new book, “Raising the Global Floor: Dismantling the Myth that We Can’t Afford Good Working Conditions for Everyone,” which examines policies, protections and supports in 190 of the world’s 192 United Nations countries. Published by Stanford University Press and written by Jody Heymann and Alison Earle, the book and reveals that, in contrast to the U.S.:

• 163 nations guarantee paid sick leave
• 164 nations guarantee paid annual leave
• 177 nations guarantee paid leave for new mothers
• 74 nations guarantee paid leave for new fathers
• 48 nations guarantee paid time off to care for children's health
• 157 nations guarantee workers a day of rest each week

"The world's most successful and competitive nations are providing the supports the United States lacks, without harming their competitiveness," said Heymann, founding director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University. "Globally, we found that none of these working conditions are linked with lower levels of economic competitiveness or employment. There simply is no negative relationship at all between decent working conditions and competitiveness or job creation. In fact, we found that a number of these guarantees are associated with increased competitiveness.”

That view is echoed by Debra L. Ness, President of the National Partnership for Women & Families. "This is a groundbreaking study that should, once and for all, put to rest all claims that providing humane family-friendly workplace policies will cost jobs or hurt our nation's competitiveness," she maintained. “This book should be a call to action for Congress to pass the Healthy Families Act, the Family Leave Insurance Act, the Federal Employees Paid Leave Act, and the Merkley Amendment, which would require employers to provide reasonable unpaid time for employees to pump breast milk."

The McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy has created a new Web site, www.RaisingtheGlobalFloor.org, to serve as a gateway to international labor and work policy data, and provides the means to measure, compare and map this new data.