One of JourneyHR 's HR Directors has shared her thoughts and personal views on what it's like to be a working parent...

 

Is looking after working parents a secret weapon for your business?

In the last 8 years I birthed two delightful children, which comes with its own set of complexities as any new parent will understand. In addition to running a household, attempting to keep on top of the never-ending laundry pile, provide nutritious meals for my growing brood and attempting to remain healthy and sane as I steadily edge closer to (dare I say it)  the dreaded menopause. I have also managed to build a successful career in HR.

Now, regardless of juggling the above and sometimes verging on the edge of sanity, the greatest challenge I’ve faced in the past 8 years has been the ability to flex my working-life around my childcare.  Undoubtedly you will have seen a lot in the press over recent years about the effectiveness of supporting working parents. Gallup’s employee engagement statistics reported that Employers providing comprehensive parental support packages report 86% higher employee engagement, and organisations with strong family support policies experience 50% lower employee turnover rates.

So why do so many organisations get this wrong?

Pre-children, work played such a huge part of my life  and I genuinely struggled to adjust to both worlds. It took me a long time to get the balance right. When our daughter came along things changed again because I had one child in school and one in nursery. Two drop offs to contend with and two little people to try and keep alive and healthy.

Imagine if you are attempting to contend with the above and you work for a company with an unsupportive culture. I have first-hand experience of the impact which the behaviour of your leadership team and the culture of your organisation can have on the overall performance of working parents.  Imagine the anxiety and additional burden that would add to an already difficult period. The employee’s capacity to bring their whole self to the office and to have the mental clarity to deliver a consistently high performance would easily be eroded if other pressures are in place.

As a working parent it isn’t always possible to be present at the office all the time. Nursery opens its doors at 8am and, believe me, it is a strictly timed marathon to get to the desk for 9am. One temper tantrum and your plans are scuppered. Clocking in at 9am isn’t always possible if you missed that vital 8.10 train because your toddler is refusing to put on their shoes. I have heard tales of employees who have been terrified of asking to leave work early so that they can attend their child’s Christmas play. They have ended up missing performances for fear that they’d be reprimanded at work. The impact that can have on a child and your family is dramatic. Likewise, I’ve witnessed poor cultures where employees are embarrassed to leave the office at 4.45pm to catch the 5.15 train which gets them home in time for the dreaded 6pm nursery pickup deadline. I’ve watched as people sculk out of the office as quickly as possible with their heads down, as if they are doing something wrong. In fear that they will catch  a frown or distain etched on the senior leaderships faces. 

Imagine how this can slowly chip away at someone’s confidence and the impact this may have on their ability to deliver. This type of behaviour can quickly diminish someone’s energy. If you are consistently feeling judged it will impact your work, it can increase anxiety and nerves and the knock-on effect can be critical for both the employee and the organisation.

What can you do about it?

I’m lucky enough to work with some brilliant brands as a HR Director for JourneyHR , assisting them in addressing the challenges they encounter while striving to achieve the optimal balance between employee support and efficient business operations. In essence it’s a reasonably simple formula, but one that’s hard to get right. Navigating forward-thinking people strategies to support your business growth plans can be time-consuming and challenging. That's why partnering with consultancies like JourneyHR can be beneficial. We offer tailored solutions to seamlessly integrate key initiatives into your organisation's culture.

Our team boasts extensive experience across a diverse range of industries, giving us unique insights into what strategies are proven to succeed and fail. We excel in navigating the complexities of developing and implementing new strategies, partnering with leaders to leverage our expertise and swiftly identify the best solutions for our clients. We collaborate with numerous brands striving to lead in their fields, and it is this collective, cross-industry experience that positions us as experts in this domain.

JourneyHR is one of the most supportive environments I’ve encountered. We work in an extremely flexible manner, fitting in all important clients visits with time at our office. I work from home when I need to, to catch up on emails and if I need to attend my sons choir recital, I can do. The message which our leaders promote is that family comes first, and work will fit in around that. Interestingly, I am now producing the best work of my career, whilst finding a healthy balance at home. Yes, I work my socks off, often logging on when the kids are in bed to catch up, but it’s not through a fear of not being present or feeling judged. It’s because I am so energised by the fact that I can work in a manner that fits my life that I want to do the best work I can for the business. Instead of being bullied in to being present, being told I don’t have to be present all the time means I am more invested, more driven to deliver and ultimately more available than ever. Harvard Business Review reflected this by reporting that working parents with access to flexible working conditions report a 21% increase in productivity, and employees who receive parental support programs are 1.5 times more likely to exceed their performance expectations.

Forcing impossible boundaries on working parents will never create the right culture within your organisation. It’s hard enough having kids without feeling that if you need to leave a little earlier to pick up your child you will be penalised. There’s enough stress, anxiety, and parent-guilt as it is when you have young children, without work being an unnecessary contributing factor. There is a right balance which can be reached, that means that parents are provided with a little slack to fit their lives around work.

Take that anxiety away and watch your working parents begin to flourish, and your business will benefit. In fact, the Financial ROI of Family Support Programs by Business Case Studies reported that Companies with robust family support programs see a return on investment of 4 to 1, meaning for every pound spent on such programs, companies save four pounds in costs related to absenteeism, turnover, and low productivity. It’s not just working parents, there are a whole bunch of employees early on in their career who look closely at what support is available as they advance in their careers. The Deloitte Millennial survey reported that 83% of millennials consider work-life balance to be the most important factor when evaluating a job prospect. In addition, current trends show that with our ageing population, there will more people in employment caring for elderly parents that there will be working parents in coming years. Now’s the time to get ahead of tis curve and lead change!

What’s next?

Creating forward thinking family friendly and carers policies can go a long way to meeting your employee’s needs. As can creating an open dialogue around the subject, encouraging people to come forward to talk openly about their requirements and reasonable adjustments to support. Setting up employee resource groups for parents and carers to come together to drive solutions for the business can be powerful, allowing employees to create supportive strategies and be part of the journey.

If you would like to chat about your family friendly or carers leave approach, please get in touch. I’d love to hear your challenges and perhaps we can suggest some ways to better support your people through this tricky time in their life and help develop brilliant strategies for the future. Email us at enquiries@journeyhr.com