It's more likely that it's a perfect storm of several things: The GOP tax bill and its corporate tax cuts have been deeply unpopular with the public , which is why these new benefits were initially seen as short-term PR stunts encouraged by conservative groups. Workers have been asking for higher pay: The Fight for $15 movement has been fighting for living wages, and saw minimum wage hikes in 18 states this year . The pressure to provide paid parental leave has been mounting, both for white collar workers and hourly workers. Instead of having to find money for these benefits out of their current operating budget, companies can just spend the extra money from the tax cuts on something that will be good for the company, their employees, with the bonus of good PR.