How to Support Working Parents with Kids Home This Summer

During the summer months, most working parents have an extra responsibility to manage. Since children are out of school during this time of year, they have to find ways to ensure their care while keeping up with their professional obligations. Often, this is a lot to juggle.

While companies may assume that there is little they can do to make a difference, that isn’t the case. By introducing new policies, organizations can provide working parents with the support they need to thrive. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here are some tips for helping working parents with kids home during the summer.

Find Out What They Need

Before you launch any new programs or introduce summer policies, speak with working parents about their needs. Have them tell you what sort of changes would make the most impact, allowing you to gather critical insights about the potential effectiveness of any ideas that you are considering.

As a bonus, this approach also ensures you don’t spend money on a program that isn’t widely adopted or beneficial. It allows you to focus on what parents say they’d appreciate, giving you the ability to potentially skip benefits that won’t have a high degree of impact.

Adopt a Results-Oriented Mindset

Many employers focus more on the number of hours an employee works over the quality of their results. This mindset is often less than ideal. In time, presenteeism begins to take hold, leading workers to believe that they need to commit more time to look productive, even if they aren’t getting more done.

By adopting a results-oriented mindset, you can avoid presenteeism. It shifts the focus onto work quality instead of time spent at work, leading to better results. Plus, it creates room for flexibility, something that can benefit your entire workforce, including working parents.

Since performance is judged on work quality (though meeting deadlines can certainly remain part of the equation), completing their tasks is less relevant. Then, if an employee needs to step away to handle a child care issue, that’s within their capability, as they can return to their tasks once that situation is addressed.

Have a Comprehensive Leave Policy

Paid time off is often crucial for work-life balance. If you want to make sure that working parents feel supported, having a comprehensive leave policy is an excellent place to start.

Ideally, you want to provide paid sick leave that can be used to care for any household or family member, giving parents more flexibility. Offer separate vacation time, as well as maternity and paternity leave. That way, you cover each base individually.

Ultimately, supporting the working parents in your workforce doesn’t have to be challenging. Plus, it can make a world of difference to your employees, ensuring they can effectively manage their personal and professional lives.

If you’d like to learn more, the skilled team at The Advance Group can help. Contact us to speak with a member of our staff today.

 

 

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