Bottle feeds, lullabies and flexible working: embracing life as a new Dad

Paolo Gentileschi

Paolo Gentileschi

Senior Commercial Efficiency Trainer

Senior Commercial Efficiency Trainer, Paolo Gentileschi, reflects on his time on paternity leave and how important it is to have the time to navigate this new adventure into parenthood. 

On the 19th of April, my wonderful partner and I welcomed our beautiful daughter, Aurora, into the world. I’ve recently returned to my role as Senior Commercial Efficiency Trainer within the Global Professional Education team here at CMR after 6 weeks of paternity leave. While it is great to be back at work, my time on parental leave has been one of the greatest experiences I have had.

While I was on leave, I managed to hit the following milestones:

  • I’m now a black belt in changing diapers
  • I’m a Jedi master in baby bottle feeding
  • I’m a multi award-winning lullaby singer

Above all, I was able to experience the joys fatherhood, and be fully immersed in the first few precious weeks of my daughter’s life. I was able to elevate my concept of love to the next level.

Supporting our people

CMR has recently introduced many new benefits for its employees to support flexible working and an improved work-life balance. Among these, 6 weeks of fully-paid parental leave for fathers (or secondary caregivers), and an increase of up to 26 weeks for new mothers or primary caregivers. It’s great that companies like CMR are extending these benefits to its global workforce as a minimum standard – particularly in countries where it isn’t already the norm. In my home country of Italy, paternity leave as recently been increased from 4 to 10 days – That’s right, only 10 days!

The first few days, weeks and months of your baby’s life and development are so precious and fleeting, and so much changes so quickly. The adjustment into parenthood is huge, but having the time to navigate this new adventure and adapt to my new role as a father alongside my partner has been so important to settling into life as a family of three.

As a father, I’m grateful for the dedicated time I’ve been able to spend with Aurora – this was an opportunity to create a deeper and tighter bond with her and enjoy these magical and unique moments with my amazing partner Beatrice and our family.

I didn’t know this before I went off on paternity leave, but now I realise how important and special this time is and am proud to work for a company that recognises the significance.
In fact, looking at research into paternity leave it’s clear just how beneficial it can truly be. In a report by McKinsey , 100% of fathers surveyed said the experience was overwhelmingly positive and would do it again. Additionally, many fathers said that they felt more motivated in their jobs after taking leave and planned to stay with their organisation longer as a result. Not only this, but it strengthened their partnerships at home, and enabled them to support their partners career goals, too.

I wish that one day this will be the standard for all everywhere so that more parents can have the same special experience I did.

Parental Leave Support
CMR has a range of flexible leave policies and working options to support our people as they navigate parenthood. To find out more about CMR and our values, visit our Life at CMR page.
1. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/a-fresh-look-at-paternity-leave-why-the-benefits-extend-beyond-the-personal

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