Amazon workers finally get something Google, Netflix and Microsoft have: paid paternity leave

Amazon is finally offering paid time off to new fathers at its company, taking a cue from some of its rivals who have upped the ante on benefits for new parents lately.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon announced on Monday that all new parents will get six weeks of paid leave. This is the first time Amazon has given new fathers paid time off. New mothers will get 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, it said.

The report said employee surveys and focus groups, as well as competitors' policies played into Amazon's decision to update its parental leave offerings. All full-time employees who worked for the company for at least a year are eligible for the new benefits, it said.

Amazon's paternity leave policy was among various aspects of the company's culture that came to light in the recent New York Times piece that described the e-commerce giant as a "bruising" workplace. It said, "Several fathers said they left or were considering quitting because of pressure from bosses or peers to spend less time with their families."

Amazon's move may be in response to how some of the other tech companies have been expanding their paternity leave packages.

Netflix announced in August that it will start offering "unlimited" paternity leave for all new mothers and fathers at its company during the child's first year after birth. Starting this month, Microsoft is offering at least 12 weeks of paid leave for parents, while Adobe bumped it up to 16 weeks of paid paternity leave.

Google offers 12 weeks for fathers, and 18 weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who was the first pregnant woman at Google, recently said longer paid maternity leave can help retain employees.

"You're more ready to return to work when your kids are older, they're sleeping better, they're getting closer to eating real food...Paid maternity leave is also good for business," she said at a recent conference.

Surprisingly, the US is the only developed country in the world that doesn't guarantee paid maternity leave to its workers. The UK guarantees 39 weeks of paid leave, while Australia and Mexico each give 18 weeks and 12 weeks of paid leave, respectively, according to The Guardian.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.