3 things working parents want from their employers

Unicef says it best: “The business case is clear: Investing in family-friendly policies helps improve workforce productivity and a company’s ability to attract, motivate and retain employees.”

The agency, part of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide, recommends that employers implement a number of strategies to support working parents.

These include a minimum of six months paid parental leave, the guarantee that women are not discriminated against, the proper enablement of breastfeeding at work, and supporting access to affordable and quality childcare.

Working parents in the U.S. have long been frustrated with what is on offer at their workplaces and while some companies are doing the work to support employees with families, a brighter light has been shone on the issue since the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced so many workers home. These days, offices in major American cities are under half as busy as before, according to data from security provider Kastle Systems.

According to Gallup data, six in 10 employees with remote-capable jobs want a hybrid work arrangement. About a third prefer fully remote work, and less than 10% want to be in the office. That part of the picture is abundantly clear, but for parents, what else do they really, really, want from their employers?

A 2021 survey of 1,500 working parents from family benefits platform Cleo found that 40% of the workforce is made up of parents. With churn already a massive concern across the entire U.S. workforce (In 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 47 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs) parents who feel included and supported in their workplace are 41% less likely to leave.

Additionally, Cleo’s survey discovered that over a third of parents planning to leave their job are doing so due to a lack of flexibility. Childcare is the most requested benefit by parents, but less than a fifth of working families have access through their employer.

Companies which offer additional family and health benefits that are tailored towards family and childcare will be ahead in the race for the best talent. For example, Adobe supports LGBTQ+ employees with progressive family planning and personal support benefits including same-sex dependent partner healthcare coverage, adoption and surrogacy assistance, and non-birth parent leave up to 16 weeks.

Professional services firm Deloitte has a considered suite of benefits and compensation for its people, with the aim of creating a culture that promotes personal and professional development. It offers (territory dependent) a wide range of programmes to support families, among other benefits. These include adoptive/surrogacy leave, parental leave and parents’ leave, as well as foster care and carers leave.

The company has also made provisions for how its teams want to work, with options for compressed working weeks in the summer, and hybrid working arrangements, which are of such importance and value to parents’.

Cisco too offers family-friendly benefits. The company’s paternal leave policy offers paid time off which is not determined by the gender of the parent, or which parent gave birth, but by which parent will be the primary caregiver. Grandparents who work there get three days off to help out when a new baby joins the family too, and the company also offers subsidized child care, paid time off, and insurance.

If you’re in the market for a new role, check out the VentureBeat Job Board to see who is hiring; we’re showcasing three open roles below.

Senior Software Engineer, Labs, Google, Mountain View

Google’s software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Labs is a group focused on incubating early-stage efforts in support of Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. The Senior Software Engineer will use their technical expertise to manage project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables. You will design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance software solutions. You will need a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience, plus five years’ of experience with software development in one or more programming languages, and with data structures/algorithms. Get the full job description here.

Regional Critical Environment Program Manager, Microsoft, Redmond

Microsoft’s Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) is the engine that powers cloud services. You will perform a key role in delivering and managing the critical environment infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft’s online services including Bing, Office 365, Xbox, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform. As a successful Regional CE Program Manager (CEPM), your performance objectives will include providing direction, guidance, and oversight on projects, programs, and own and drive resolution of identified gaps in CE programs to allow data centers to achieve more. Get all the application criteria here.

Software Engineer II — Ads Optimization Team, Indeed, Pittsburgh

This Software Engineer II role will join Indeed’s Ads Optimization Team, which builds large-scale pipelines, back-end services, and advanced models/algorithms. You’ll design, develop, and maintain pipelines and services, and implement efficient algorithms. You will also continually improve search quality and performance and code innovative tools to support rapid experimentation and learning. To apply, you will need a BS or MS in computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, or related field as well as four-plus years’ of production level software engineering experience and proficiency with high level object-oriented programming languages such as Java, Python, Kotlin, Go, or similar. Find out more about the Software Engineer II role here.

Explore and bookmark the VentureBeat Job Board now to find your perfect tech role  

Scoophot
Logo