Balancing a full-time job and being a full-time parent is, to say the least, not an easy task. In fact, using the word “balance” is probably selling it short: it’s a little closer to performing a juggling act while walking along a tight rope. As an employer, it’s likely that at least a few of your employees, if not more, currently balance working full-time and being a parent. Of course, with the right support system around you, this task becomes much easier—without the right level of support, however, it can feel next to impossible. For employers, it can be hard to know what practical steps you take to help support the working parents within your organization. What are the things that will actually help them balance their job and parenting responsibilities, all the while helping themselves to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
It’s a tricky question, and it’s one that we here at Payday HCM are very familiar with. We have plenty of clients ask us for advice on how they can better support the working parents within their organization, and what steps they can take to improve the work-life balance of those who have to split their time between parenting and working. Luckily, there are practical solutions that businesses can implement in order to help working parents balance their work obligations with their parenting responsibilities.
So, in this article, we’ll be going over three ways businesses can support working parents and how these methods can improve their work-life balance. The three things we’ll be discussing in this article are:
We’ll go over how these methods can help to support working parents and the methods businesses can use to implement them. By the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of how to help the working parents within your organization and more ways to help them achieve a healthy work-life balance.
Paid Family Leave
First, we’ll start off by going over how offering paid family leave can help working parents with maintaining their work-life balance.
How Paid Family Leave Supports Working Parents and Work-Life Balance
Paid family leave allows employees to take paid time off work for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a family member. This benefit is particularly helpful for new parents as it can provide not only vital bonding time, but also remove the stress of having to go to work and take care of a newborn child simultaneously.
Offering a benefit like paid family leave—different from the federally required unpaid family leave via the Family and Medical Leave Act—can help with job loyalty and overall satisfaction as the benefit helps to demonstrate an organization’s commitment to taking care of an employee regardless of the situation. Statistically, offering paid family leave can help decrease the turnover of new mothers by nearly 20 percent.
Now, while offering some form of paid leave is important, it’s also crucial that businesses encourage employees to take leave when it is available. The Department of Labor found that while around 76 percent of fathers and 67 percent of mothers (a disparity which is a problem in it of itself) have access to some form of family leave, only about 13 percent of mothers and 9 percent of fathers actually took said leave, citing too much work as the main reason for not.
What Implementing Paid Family Leave Looks Like for a Business
Generally, a paid family leave policy will follow the same framework as the FMLA and its unpaid family leave requirement. For the FMLA, eligible employers are required to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain qualifying events, including the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption. Businesses can use this as a good starting point for creating a paid family leave policy.
Now, there are a number of states that do require employers to offer some form of paid family leave. Businesses in states that require paid family leave should take note of what their own state’s eligibility requirements are. This also affects how paid family leave is funded: for employers in states with no requirements, your paid family leave policy might look like something closer to a PTO policy, whereas employers in states with paid family leave requirements will likely pay into some sort of fund, similar to unemployment benefits.
Flexible Working Arrangements
Next, we’ll go over how offering flexible working arrangements to working parents can help them maintain balance between their personal and professional lives.
How Flexibility Supports Work-Life Balance for Parents
Now, it’s no secret that hybrid and remote work arrangements, while controversial, do have their benefits (otherwise, those RTO mandates would have been much more popular post-COVID-19 pandemic). A study by Gusto found that small businesses with entirely remote workforces reported higher productivity and engagement between employees. These benefits extend to working parents as well.
While child care continues to become more and more expensive (we’ll get to that later), providing working parents with the option of working remotely can greatly reduce the stress that comes with balancing work and parenting, providing employees with more time to focus not only on their job, but on being present with their children.
What Implementing Flexible Work Arrangements Looks Like for a Business
Of course, implementing hybrid or remote work arrangements can be relatively simple, depending on the situation. On the flip side, though, it may not be an option for some people working in certain positions. So, for businesses looking to implement flexible work arrangements to help their employees, there is particular emphasis on the “flexible” part.
This means offering not only the option to work remotely for positions where this is possible, but also providing flexibility in terms of scheduling and working hours. Allowing employees to step out for potential interruptions, blocking time for things like doctor’s appointments, being flexible on an employee’s working hours—these are all things that can be crucial when it comes to supporting working parents.
Child Care Support and Resources
Finally, we’ll go over how businesses can provide their employees with child care support and resources so they can access the services they need.
How Child Care Support Helps Working Parents Thrive
Child care is one of the most pressing—and expensive—issues for working parents. According to Child Care Aware of America, the national average cost of child care annually in 2023 was $11,582—this is equivalent to around 10 percent of the median income of a married couple with children.
Ultimately, finding adequate child care is the best solution when it comes to working parents finding ways to support both their children and their jobs. Given its high barrier to access, though, it isn’t a realistic option for most working parents. For employers, finding ways to assist employees in finding child care can be a huge step toward helping those employees maintain their work-life balance.
Providing Support and Resources
There are many ways businesses can provide child care support depending on their size, industry, and budget. Some larger employers may offer on-site child care centers or establish partnerships with local providers. Others may subsidize child care costs through stipends, dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or backup/emergency care services.
For businesses with more limited resources, offering information and guidance can still go a long way. Curating a resource hub with vetted child care providers, organizing webinars on parenting topics, or incorporating parenting support into employee assistance programs (EAPs) can provide meaningful value. The key is to demonstrate awareness of the challenges parents face—and to respond with thoughtful, practical solutions.
Supporting Working Parents’ Work-Life Balance
Saying that working full-time while being a full-time parent isn’t easy is a bit of an understatement. For businesses, you want to be able to do everything within your power to assist your employees and meet their needs while also ensuring they retain a strong work-life balance. When it comes to supporting working parents, it can be difficult to identify what things can actually help to support both their professional and personal lives. With the information provided in this article, though, you’ll have the knowledge you need to start the conversation within your organization and help lead your business to a more supportive future.
Now, creating a comprehensive benefits package that not only helps your employees maintain their work-life balance, but also fits their needs—and that doesn’t break the bank—can be easier said than done. Without the right benefits broker or agency, the process of creating a benefits package can not only cost you unnecessary time and money, but also leave you with a less-than-stellar final product. Learn more about the five features to look for in a benefits agency so that you can find the right partner to help you create the best benefits package for your business.
Topics: