Family-Friendly Benefits Employers Can Offer
To attract and retain professionals who are parents, include family-friendly benefits like these in your total rewards strategy.
It’s open enrollment season at many companies, and it’s the final quarter of the calendar year for everyone, which means many organizations—mine included—are planning their total rewards for the coming year. Tasked with comparing an array of health plans and insurance brokers, I’m reminded of Michael Scott and Dwight Shrute in the third episode of The Office, trying to find the most comprehensive coverage for all of our employees’ needs at a corporate-budget-friendly price.
It might be safe to conclude that none of our colleagues are afflicted with Count Choculitis, as Office pranksters Jim and Pam claimed to be, but the variety of individual needs in any organization does mean that the best employers will offer inclusive benefits that are meaningful to their employees. In addition to competitive salaries and robust health care coverage–which are nearly universally important to all U.S. workers–employees with children tend to value benefits that support their role as parents and which help them find balance between work and family responsibilities.
Paid Parental Leave
Paid parental leave is a norm in many countries, but a lack of mandates in the United States means policies are left to employers. In many situations, new parents can take up to twelve unpaid weeks off work for the birth or adoption of a child under the Family Medical Leave Act, but for many families, three months without income—combined with the expenses that tend to accompany birth and babies—isn’t a financially feasible option. Employers who want to attract workers with expanding families will offer both paid maternity and paternity leave, often categorized together as parental leave.
In some ways, the length of paid parental leave can be seen as an indicator of how supportive an employer is of family life in general. Many organizations offer six weeks of paid maternity leave, but six weeks is also the minimum amount of time suggested to recover from an uncomplicated childbirth, leaving little or no time to transition to new parent life and line up reliable childcare. Eight weeks is better, but many moms I’ve known weren’t physically or emotionally ready to leave their two-month-old at daycare and return to full-time work. And while dads, adoptive parents, and parenting partners might not have to recover from the physical toll of pregnancy and birth, paid time off allows them to bond with their child, help their partner, contribute to childcare responsibilities, and maybe even get some much-needed sleep. Hopefully, in the coming years we will see more U.S. organizations offering three, four, six months, or even longer paid parental leave policies so that employees no longer have to choose between their career and caregiving in the early days of parenthood.
Offering a gradual return-to-work program is another way to support new parents. Whether it involves shorter days, fewer work days per week, or more remote work days, a flexible transition from parenting back to full-time work can make this challenging time more feasible for parents returning from leave.
Flexible Remote Work
On that note, remote work is a benefit for many types of workers, including those with families. When they have a sick child at home for the day, or need to be present when their elementary school kids get off the bus, or have an elderly adult in the family who can’t be left alone, remote work gives employees the flexibility to care for their family’s needs while continuing to get things done. In contrast, some families, such as those with a full-time caregiver parent and one or more toddlers in the house, may find working from home too distracting. For these employees, providing a local corporate office or a membership to a coworking space can create the separation of home and work that they need.
Flexible work hours are another family-friendly perk that can apply to remote, on-site, or hybrid workers. When employees are allowed to create their own schedules that may flow outside of the traditional 9-5 hours, it becomes feasible to balance morning medical appointments, afternoon pickups, and early evening activities without missing work. Fostering this kind of work-life harmony helps keep employees engaged during their office hours and leads to increased retention over time.
Fostering work-life harmony helps keep employees engaged during their office hours and leads to increased retention over time.
Breastfeeding Support
Decades of research has shown that breastfeeding has significant short- and long-term health benefits for both infants and their mothers. But hear it from a mom who has spent at least seven years of her life lactating: the time and effort required for successful breastfeeding can feel like a job in and of itself. On top of broken sleep, adjusting to new routines, and a potentially demanding little person requiring constant care, expressing milk for baby to drink while mom is at work can add an additional layer of stress. Employers may not be able to directly ease a mother’s worries about milk quality and quantity, finding the right bottle, or constantly washing pump parts, but they can offer benefits that remove some barriers to successful breastfeeding. Besides helping ease the transition back to work for breastfeeding mothers, offering breastfeeding support has the potential to pay off financially with decreased absenteeism and reduced turnover among working mothers.
Most health insurance companies now provide breast pumps or reimburse the cost, so resources for pregnant members should include guidance on how to utilize this benefit. (Shoutout to my coworker who shared our insurance’s step-by-step guide to getting a free breast pump with her fellow pregnant employees!) Federal law requires employers to provide “reasonable break time” for an employee to express milk for her infant, and on-site employers must also provide a private, non-restroom space for such employees to use while pumping. Some state laws have additional requirements for breastfeeding accommodations. Creating a dedicated Mothers’ Room with a refrigerator and sink for on-site milk expression, allowing flexible schedules for pumping breaks, providing assistance with finding a certified lactation consultant, and even allowing remote workers to join a meeting by phone instead of a video call are subtle ways to show support for employees who choose to breastfeed.
Child Care Assistance
With the rising costs of care eating up a significant portion of a working parent’s take-home pay, tax breaks and employer-subsidized child care can help offset the feeling that work is just to pay for daycare.
Dependent care flexible spending accounts (DCFSAs) allow working parents to set aside funds on a pre-tax basis for qualified childcare expenses, such as preschool tuition or after-school babysitter fees. Qualified dependents must be under the age of 13 or adults deemed incapable of self-care by the IRS, and the annual contribution limits are set by the government. Employers can offer these accounts through their benefits broker and may even choose to subsidize DCFSAs with employer-contributed funds. Working parents should consult their tax advisor to determine whether contributing to a DCFSA, claiming the dependent care tax credit, or a combination of both will be the best option for their family.
For large organizations with hybrid or local workers, many parents appreciate the convenience of on-site childcare facilities that allow them to see their child during the work day and save valuable time at pick-up and drop-off. A discounted partnership with high-quality childcare center close to the office can achieve a similar goal. And for companies hoping to cut down on worker sick days that parents take when their child has a mild illness or when their regular caregiver is unavailable, providing a membership to a backup babysitting service option can reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and alleviate the stress of searching for last-minute care.
Virtual Support
From talk therapy for teens to on-demand pediatric telemedicine to expert advice on toddler nutrition, myriad apps are available to support all kinds of families. Some vendors partner with health insurance companies or market their services to employers who want to offer these ancillary benefits to their employees and their families. Personally, I have appreciated having access to Maven, a women’s healthcare app, through my health insurance. It is beyond the scope of this article to offer specific recommendations, but if you’re an employer or benefits administrator, I recommend looking into ways that you can provide, reimburse, or subsidize resources that help families thrive, and virtual support apps are an easy, inclusive way to do that.
At my company, we also have a Slack discussion group for parents. What started as a channel for showing off cute kid photos has evolved to offer support—sometimes in words of encouragement; sometimes with helpful article links; sometimes simply in heartfelt (and heart-shaped) emojis. Creating an employee resource group like this costs the employer nothing, but it provides a valuable forum for coworkers to connect. Comprehensive insurance, flexible leave, and free baby gear are great benefits, and wise workers will seek out employers who offer them. But sometimes what parents and others raising children need most is just to know that they aren’t alone. And with intentionality, building an inclusive work community for all kinds of families can fit into any organization’s benefits budget.
- MJ
Life of You
What employer-sponsored benefits are most meaningful to you and your family?