How to Create a Family-Friendly Workplace
When companies set out policies to support working parents, employees feel safe at work and know there are measures that will help them grow their families.
Parents miss significant periods during their children’s development, without family-friendly policies sometimes meaning they cannot take paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks are not available, and childcare is not accessible.
Supporting family-friendly policies enhances workforce productivity and a company’s ability to attract, motivate and retain employees. Family-friendly policies benefit employers, families, and society. There are numerous measures companies can take to support their employees, which will, in turn, benefit the company and its working culture.
How can your company foster a family-friendly work environment?
Maternity/Paternity Leave
The rate of men taking parental leave has increased over the last few years. Companies can introduce more prolonged and precise parental leave programmes that allow new fathers to take time off.
It is also important for companies to support returning workers from an extended leave period, especially if a considerable amount of time has passed. This could include training to update them on new systems and team-building sessions to meet new colleagues, which will help ease returning employees to work.
Flexible working
With the pandemic, more workers have gotten accustomed to flexible working, which primarily includes working from home with limited time at the office. When deciding workplace policies on where your employees should work, think about their family needs, as working from home will help them in day-to-day family routines.
If employees are still needed in the office, consider hybrid measures such as allowing staff to leave early to pick up children from school and other family appointments.
Childcare Support
During the pandemic, childcare was challenging to organise, with many people having to balance their work whilst looking after their children.
Some companies have supported their workers by either adding policies to help provide care for their employees children or offering childcare product discounts.
Highlight values in the company’s goals and ambitions
By making a clear mission statement for your company, you can show how you want to cultivate a family-friendly culture in the workplace and highlight that your company cares for its employees’ wellbeing.
Guarantee that women are not discriminated against
Based on pregnancy, motherhood or family responsibilities, women worldwide are discriminated against concerning employment conditions, wages, or career opportunities due to becoming mothers.
Avoid Gender stereotyping to guard against presumptions about women who have or will potentially have children.
Benefits of a Family-Friendly Company
Encouraging your organisation to be family-friendly benefits your employees and your organisation as a whole. Happy employees will lead to higher retention, saving costs in advertising and hiring for new roles.
Additionally, your company’s reputation as family-friendly will attract prospective employees to work for you, widening the talent pool. A family-friendly culture will also help build respect between employees, leading to open communication and more collaborative work.
Family-friendly policies also reduce stress for employees who have family members dependent on them. This will help maintain their health and help them focus on their work and family obligations.
Overall, a family-friendly organisation is beneficial for all involved, as it allows employees to balance their work and personal lives without compromising.