Did you know there are 25.1 million working moms in the workforce?
In fact, 70 percent of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force, with over 75 percent employed full-time. They are often juggling professional and personal responsibilities, while also trying to maintain a sense of sanity in their everyday life.
As an employer, you can support working parents with benefits that relieve stress and foster work-life balance, which ultimately serves your organization with more productive and happy employees.
Here are four benefits that will help working moms and dads in your organization thrive:
Flexibility. Most companies already offer some form of flexible work hours, but this is particularly important for parents (and other caregivers). If a child gets sick or there is an opportunity to chaperone a field trip, moms (and dads) need to have the ability to flex. Our State of Workplace Empathy study found that 97 percent of employees believe flexible work hours is a benefit that demonstrates a company’s empathy. This can help them thrive in the professional world, as they feel their personal lives are getting priority as well.
Paid parental leave. While FMLA provides employees with unpaid, job-protected leave, many companies are expanding related benefit offerings for parents. This typically includes longer, broader leave and most importantly, one with a paycheck attached. Providing working parents with the opportunity to spend time with their newborn without worrying about finances or job security can be a highly valued benefit that helps with recruitment and retention.
Back-up care. According to “The Metlife Caregiving Cost Study: Productivity Losses to US Business,” absenteeism attributed to family caregiving costs US employers more than $5 billion a year. For many working moms, younger children are cared for by day care services, or a babysitter such as a nanny or a family member. When issues with childcare arise it can become a challenge. Back-up care allows for employees to find a subsidized nanny for the day, whether it’s because school is cancelled for a snow day or the sitter calls in sick. With back-up care, working parents can keep up with their meetings and professional responsibilities, while not worrying over child care.
Adoption assistance. Adopting a child can cost up to $40,000, which is no small sum. Employers can ease the financial burden, and ultimately stress, by providing adoption assistance. This is a fairly low investment for an organization, as a relatively small portion of the workforce takes advantage of the offering, yet it allows you to support employees who are pursuing adoptive parenthood. As this is a more unique offering, make it a priority to communicate it to your workforce so your employees know it’s available.
Want to learn more about employee benefits?
