Voluntary Shared Leave: An Exploratory Analysis

Abstract

Voluntary leave sharing programs allow an employee to donate accumulated leave to a coworker who is experiencing a hardship and has exhausted their leave balance. This study examines a voluntary leave sharing program at a state agency and concludes that the program is an effective strategy for reducing the agency’s unfunded liability posed by accumulated leave balances. Such programs may also be an appealing type of family-friendly benefit as female employees are also more likely to participate in the program and receive more generous donations of leave than their male colleagues.