Supporting Parents at Work

08.19.2020 | 2 min read

Young mom working on laptop holding a baby

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, 70.5% of women and 92.8% of men with children under age 18 work. Having policies that support a family-friendly workplace can help you attract and retain top talent while helping your employees who are parents retain their overall productivity. Here are some ways you can support your employees at work:

Give them time

Add paternity leave to your benefits package. Allowing new fathers time to stay home with their new baby gives them a chance to adjust to a new routine. You can also provide flexible time to your employees who are parents both before and after the birth or adoption of a baby. Working parents ranked flexibility ahead of salary in a survey and 84% of working parents say flexibility is the most important factor in a job.

Give them space

You can support new moms by providing a safe and private space to pump if they are breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that corporate lactation programs help employers attract and retain top talent, increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and ensure employer satisfaction. You could also look at offering onsite childcare. Offering onsite childcare provides positive opportunities for working parents, and companies that incorporate it find it pays off.

Give them support

Here are some other ways you can support the working parents on your staff:

Provide a back-to-work mentor for parents who have been on leave to help get them back up to speed.
Start a parent support group to help parents of babies, preschoolers, school-aged kids and teenagers.
Try to create a community in your company that’s inclusive of parents.

Watch this Blue Cross® Virtual Well-Being webinar for more ideas on supporting parents. You can also sign up for future employer-focused and general interest webinars here, where you’ll also be able to check out past sessions and resources. Related:

Photo credit: filadendron