💡 Don’t miss our upcoming panel, Family Matters: Integrating Family Wellness Into Employee Benefits, to hear from our roundtable of family wellness experts, doctors, consultants, and more!
When it comes to juggling personal and professional responsibilities from home, it’s common for employees to feel overwhelmed from distractions, packed meeting schedules, and general loneliness.
But for working parents, the challenges balloon tenfold. Not only do breaks become nonexistent with family members (furry and otherwise) to tend to, but day-to-day priorities seem like a never-ending puzzle that can’t be solved. And the worst part? Their wellbeing falls to the wayside as family and work needs supersede their own.
To support working parents and build an inclusive workplace culture, it’s essential that companies provide the right benefits, perks, and resources that cater to the ever-changing needs of parents. By providing a comprehensive benefits ecosystem that addresses the diverse needs of working families, organizations can cultivate a culture of caring founded on employee wellbeing, further maximizing engagement, productivity, and retention.
But aside from surveying your workforce, how can you know what will make your working parents’ lives easier? Let’s take a closer look at what actual working families say is most important in improving their day-to-day wellbeing.
When we asked our working parents about the quintessential secret to working and thriving at home, every single response echoed the same sentiment: flexible and manageable work schedules.
“The flexibility working from home is, without a doubt, the biggest help for our day to day,” says one operations engineer/father. “I am able to walk my daughter to the bus stop every morning at 8am and I am at work by 8:20am. I am able to start making dinner at 5pm in the evening so we can all get to bed at a decent time.”
It’s clear that flexible work arrangements, like remote work options and compressed work weeks, allow parents to better manage their work-life balance. A recent survey confirmed that 73% of today’s employees expect the flexibility to work from home at least some of the time, giving employers who offer these options a competitive edge.
Customizable Schedules Forge Strong Family Bonds
One of the most significant benefits of flexible work arrangements is the ability for parents to tailor their schedules to meet the unique needs of their families. Whether it's adjusting start and end times to accommodate school drop-offs and pick-ups, or working a compressed work week to have an extra day off, customizable schedules allow parents to be present for the moments that matter most.
After previously working in-person, one working mother covets the quality time she can now spend with her children thanks to her flexible work day. “My prior job in a call center required me to be in office, so there were nine hours during that day I wasn't able to see my kids,” she explains. “The biggest thing that has made my life easier is just the fact that I can actually be around them now.”
When parents have the freedom to prioritize family time on top of work obligations, they can create lasting memories and foster deeper connections, allowing them to come to work fulfilled and emotionally satiated. By investing in family-friendly policies, employers can retain top talent and cultivate a loyal workforce.
Autonomy Over Deadlines and Projects
In addition to flexible schedules, giving working parents autonomy over their deadlines and projects can greatly improve work-life balance. Whether employees are early birds or night owls, having the autonomy to structure the workday around family needs is a game-changer.
“Having the trust of my team that I will get things done with the flexibility to make it work for me and my family have been huge to my success as an employee and a human,” says one wellness expert/mother.
When employees have the freedom to manage their workload in a way that aligns with their personal responsibilities, they are more likely to be engaged, productive, and satisfied with their jobs. This autonomy also allows parents to work during their most productive hours, whether that's early in the morning before the kids wake up or late at night after they've gone to bed.
By trusting employees to get their work done on their own terms, companies demonstrate a commitment to work-life balance and employee wellbeing.
For working parents, effective communication is paramount when navigating the challenges of remote work. Over-communicating in a work-from-home environment can help ensure that everyone is on the same page, expectations are clear, and work-life balance is maintained.
Reinforced Flexibility—Day or Night
To make the most of WFH flexibility, working parents need heightened communication to effectively set expectations and hit deadlines.
“In previous WFH jobs, I would find myself pulled in different directions with sudden requests from work and helping out my kids,” laments one marketing professional/new mother. “Now, my team members understand that I may not be able to drop everything at a moment’s notice, so they communicate with me far in advance and write everything out so I can complete tasks when I’m able.”
Utilizing "office hours" is a proven method of communication that also works for parents, where they’re available for meetings and collaboration at designated times. Setting clear expectations for communication will empower teams to be transparent about availability, with the ultimate understanding that sudden appointments or interruptions can be worked around, rather than penalized.
Choosing the Right Employee Communication Tools
To facilitate effective communication for remote working parents, it's essential to choose the right tools. Instant messaging platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams can be great for quick questions and updates, while video conferencing tools like Zoom or Google Meet are ideal for more in-depth discussions and team meetings.
In addition to these tools, high-efficiency project management software like Asana, Monday.com, or Trello can keep track of tasks, deadlines, and progress on multiple platforms. These point solutions can help ensure that parents know what they're responsible for and can easily collaborate with team members, even when working remotely.
Paid parental leave is a given for new working parents, but the right resources can make or break a new parent’s critical first few months with their children.
While the Family and Medical Leave Act provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year, companies that offer paid leave set themselves far above the competition in attracting and retaining working parents. Add in paid leave for employees who need time off to care for a parent, spouse, or aging loved ones, and companies can transform into true recruitment engines.
Traditional Parental Leave
For working parents, comprehensive health insurance and generous leave packages make a significant difference in their ability to manage responsibilities and heal from big life events. Helping families adjust to major life transitions—from having a new child to taking care of a loved one—not only fulfills them emotionally, but financially and physically as well.
“My time on leave was instrumental in allowing me to bond with my new baby, and the fact that it was paid took a lot of stress off my shoulders when I had enough going on,” says one IT specialist, now a father of three. “Medical appointments are a no-brainer as well. With my insurance package, I’m able to cover myself and my kids for $0, which is incredible.”
Many companies also offer paid leave for employees who need time off to care for a parent, spouse, or aging loved one. This type of leave also acknowledges the diverse caregiving responsibilities that working families may face and provides them with the flexibility to support their families without jeopardizing their careers.
Special Cases
In addition to traditional parental leave, more employers are starting to offer benefits that address unique situations faced by caretaking employees and families.
For example, New York State's Paid Family Leave policy provides eligible employees with job-protected, paid time off to bond with a new child; care for a family member with a serious health condition; or assist loved ones when a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent is deployed abroad on active military service. This comprehensive policy ensures that working families have the support they need to navigate challenging family situations without risking their economic security.
Another non-traditional benefit in huge demand for working parents? Pet insurance coverage.
“Pet care is expensive and often unpredictable, but as a ‘pawent,’ employer-covered insurance helps so much with my wellbeing in a remote workplace,” says one marketing expert/dog mother. “I love that I have the option of keeping both myself and my fur family happy and healthy.”
It may not be a transactional benefit, but the biggest component of elevating the needs of working parents?
An empathetic, supportive workplace culture.
One customer support specialist-turned-mother praises the community her company cultivated for parents, as well as the selfless support from managers and coworkers. “We have already hosted a few baby showers for new parents on my team, and we’ve chipped in to send them helpful gifts for this new phase of life,” she explains. “It feels good to celebrate new parents instead of people feeling like they can’t share a part of their lives at work.”
Postpartum Care From All Angles
For companies with genuine cultures of caring, support doesn’t end with postpartum recovery or financial assistance. It also extends to the mental and emotional aspect of new parenthood, and the feelings that stem as a result.
“As a new parent struggling with postpartum mental health challenges, the support I receive at work has been essential in helping me recover,” recounts one senior director. “My manager—who is also a fellow parent and leader—consistently checked in on me and encouraged me to take things one step at a time, even though he wasn't fully aware of how difficult things were. It’s a beautiful reminder of how my workplace has been there for me throughout this entire journey.”
And while on-site daycare is every working parent’s fantasy, it’s not always possible for companies—particularly in remote working environments. Still, nearly 20% of working parents report leaving work or reducing their work hours solely due to a lack of child care. Fortunately, there are workarounds that can reduce turnover of working parents by 60% when provided by companies.
For example, child care benefits can include a marketplace to help employees find background-checked child caregivers, 1:1 support from child care experts, discounts on child care tuition, and subsidized backup care programs to help employees fill gaps in child care routines.
Leading with Empathy
Equipping leaders with the tools they need to lead with empathy can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all employees, including those with caregiving responsibilities.
By actively listening to the concerns of working parents and offering multidimensional support, managers show that they value their employees' wellbeing and are committed to helping them succeed both professionally and personally. When employees feel that their managers and colleagues have their best interests at heart, they are more likely to be open about their needs and challenges.
Demonstrating a commitment to supporting working parents through authentic actions models a culture of trust and mutual respect that can go a long way for employees. Coworker support systems—like dedicated channels for parents who can share struggles, triumphs, advice, and photos—are also invaluable in creating a culture that values working parents.
Investing in benefits for working parents is not only the right thing to do—it also has a positive impact on your bottom line by reducing turnover costs and increasing productivity.
To create a workplace culture that truly supports the wellbeing of working parents, employers must prioritize their unique physical, mental, emotional, financial, social, and occupational needs. Want to show your working parents you care? Reach out today for hands-on guidance.
1: Great Place to Work, Working Parents, Burnout & the Great Resignation
