Benefits of Employer-Sponsored Care
Employer-sponsored child care programs generate a powerful return on investment. By providing
programs that allow parents to get to work and perform to their full capacity, employers are not
faced with the recurring costs of recruiting and retaining skilled employees. By driving down
turnover, reducing absenteeism, and increasing productivity on the job, employers find that their dependent care and work/life programs are not only an investment in their employees, but also an
investment in their continued business success. These programs also position these organizations
as employers of choice in an increasingly tight labor market.
Driving Down Turnover
- Among employees with children, 26 percent report they have considered leaving their employers due to child care issues. Ninety percent of these employees report that a work-site center would
affect their decision to stay.*
- After the first year of employment, employee turnover is most likely to occur among parents
of young children. Eighty-six percent of employees who do not plan to return to work after the
birth or adoption of a child would return if work-site child care were available.*
- Of employees with children in an employer-sponsored child care center, 93 percent reported
that child care was an important factor when considering a job change. Just under 20 percent had
actually turned down a job offer rather than lose their child care.**
Reducing Absenteeism
- Unscheduled absenteeism costs employers between $650 and $1,000 per employee per year.
Family issues account for 21 percent of all unscheduled absences — the second leading cause
after personal illness.***
- Fifty-nine percent of employees or their spouses missed work in the last year due to
breakdowns in child or elder care and of these employees nearly 60 percent were out for three
to 10 days. ****
- For every $1 invested in back-up care programs, employers can experience a return of $2–4 in reduced absenteeism and improved productivity. *****
Investment Impact
A recent Bright Horizons’ investment impact study of eight of our clients showed:
- A nearly 50 percent reduction in voluntary turnover of employees who use their employer-sponsored child care centers. (Highly customized programs saw a reduction of 80 percent in voluntary turnover.)
- Child care center users comprised a much higher percentage of the organizations’ top performers as compared to the general workforce population. In addition, the participating companies retained 97 percent of the top performers who used the child care center.
- The impact of these child care centers translated into an aggregate savings of $3.4 million in replacement costs for these eight organizations.
Employer of Choice
- More than 75 of Working Mother magazine’s “Top 100 Companies for Working Mothers” offer either full-service child care or back-up care.
- Ninety-one percent of employees, including employees without children, feel that work-site child care would have a positive impact on the organization for which they work.*
To learn more about the benefits of employer-sponsored care, e-mail clientservices@brighthorizons.com or call 800-453-9383, ext. 1600.
References
* Bright Horizons Child Care Trends Study
** Simmons College Study on The Benefits of Work-Site Child Care
*** The 2005 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey by CCH INCORPORATED
**** Workplace Options Survey
***** WFD Consulting
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