How To: Support Your Employees – Working Parents and Their Children
As the back-to-school season approaches, it’s an exciting yet challenging time for working parents. It can be overwhelming to juggle work demands and ensure that their children have a successful academic year.
As a business owner, you want to support your employees. Supporting your employees who are parents is a gesture of empathy and an investment in their well-being and productivity.
Here are some tips and strategies from the CYB Human Resources team on how to best support working parents maintain happy, healthy families while navigating the school year.
1. Encourage Open Communication ✅ ✅
Foster an environment where working parents feel comfortable discussing their family-related challenges.
We recommend that you encourage them to communicate their needs to their managers, whether it’s flexible working hours, remote work options, or time off for school events.
Being understanding and accommodating can build a stronger relationship with your employees and create a loyal and dedicated workforce.
2. Promote Work-Life Balance 👍🏼
Emphasize the importance of work-life balance to your employees.
We recommend that you encourage them to set boundaries between their professional and personal lives, such as dedicating specific hours to work and family time.
Promoting a healthy balance will help reduce stress and burnout among working parents, allowing them to be more focused, engaged, and productive during work hours.
3. Flexible Work Arrangements 😊
To support working parents, consider implementing flexible work arrangements, such as remote work or flexible hours.
This flexibility allows them to attend school events, and parent-teacher meetings or handle unexpected situations without compromising work commitments. 😉
Providing these options demonstrates your commitment to their well-being and creates a positive work environment.
Keep in mind: be sure to have some type of stipulations surrounding any flexibile arrangements that you make! These must be equitable across your organization. Ex: being at the company a certain amount of time, not being on a performance improvement plan, etc.
4. Provide Resources and Support👍🏼👍🏼
Offer resources and support to help working parents manage their responsibilities effectively.
This may include sharing educational materials, organizing workshops on time management or parenting strategies, or providing access to counseling services.
Investing in their personal growth and development demonstrates your commitment to their success as both parents and employees.
5. Encourage Self-Care 😊
Remind working parents to prioritize self-care.
Encourage them to take breaks, practice stress-reducing activities, and maintain a healthy lifestyle!
Offer wellness programs or initiatives that promote physical and mental well-being, such as yoga classes, meditation sessions, or gym memberships. There are great options for business owners to profide such as a “Lifestyle Spending Account,” which can be used for many things such as: childcare, gym memberships, and so much more!
When parents take care of themselves, they are better equipped to handle work and family life demands.
5. Foster a Supportive Community 👍🏼👍🏼
Create opportunities for working parents to connect and support each other.
Consider establishing parent support groups or organizing family-friendly events where employees and their families can interact and build relationships.This sense of community can provide a support system and foster a solid work-family balance.
Remember HR Experts can help you Support Your Employees!
By implementing these tips and strategies, you can create a supportive work environment for working parents, showing them that you value their role as both caregivers and employees.
Happy, healthy families contribute to happy employees, increased productivity, and higher employee retention rates.
Also…supporting working parents doesn’t just benefit them; it also benefits your business. 😉
If you are scaling your business and looking for HR support and guidance without having to hire in-house, schedule a complimentary call with us today. We look forward to learning more about you and your growing business!