Our inboxes have been filled with news showing work/life benefits are shifting.
What do we hear?
It's Not about Parental Leave
Flashy leave policies may get all the press, but Forbes and the Chicago Tribune showed companies like KPMG and PNC Bank are investing heavily in the important job of helping parents come back - with things like flex time and coaching topping the list. Good idea since our Modern Family Index shows the real risk of new-parent exodus happens after return. "Hopefully," wrote Forbes blogger Georgene Huang, "improved employee engagement and retention from these return-to-work initiatives will build a clear business case that supporting new parents at work is a win-win for everyone involved." We couldn't agree more.
Dads want to be Dads
Give up pay for work/life balance? Working dad Tor de Vries did. The New England dad told the Boston Globe he left a lucrative corporate paycheck for a job that offered him the flexibility to be with his kids. That makes him a living illustration of what working dads told our Modern Family Index - that they're determined to be more involved with families than their own dads, and they're willing to downshift to prove it. "Do I occasionally go, ‘Man, that could have been me?' Yeah, once in a while," Tor told the Globe about the loftier career trajectories of some of his peers. "But I get over it. I wouldn't have this great relationship with my kids if I hadn't made that decision.
The XX Factor
The word's out: women are good for business. That's why companies are putting renewed vigor behind strategic work/life benefits to keep them. Flex time is a key. And don't be surprised to see more lactation and pumping rooms - the answer to the problem of women nursing in broom closets. "Many employers don't realize the hidden challenges we face after having a baby," one new mom told United's Hemisphere's Magazine. Thanks to her company's supportive environment that included a pumping room, she succeeded at working and parenting.
Child Care Matters
Staples told online pub MassLive that its own secret to hanging on to working women is child care. The office-supplies retailer has had a center for employees since 1999 and says the big winners are more than just the working families. "If you feel good with your child care," Staples Director of Benefits Susan Rodriguez told writer Michelle Williams, "you feel good about the job." Staples leadership is feeling pretty great about its on-site center, too, since it's delivered on recruitment, retention, absenteeism, productivity, and morale. One Staples mom sums up the work/life benefits this way: "People get pregnant and realize, ‘thank god I'm here.'"
Location, Location, Location
Bosses aren't the only ones who see the value of child care; these days, landlords see it, too. The Wall Street Journal says sagging occupancy in office buildings has owners competing for tenants with perks. Today, smart buildings offer tennants work/life benefits like child care and back-up care. The executive vice president of the group that owns the Empire State Building told the Wall Street Journal that, "Companies are paying attention to the things that affect their employees' happiness." We think child care's a great way to do that.
