Childcare Support for Working Families

After working moms got hammered by day care and school closures early in the pandemic, a combination of day care and school re-openings and the flowering of remote, flexible work helped spur the highest-ever US workforce participation rate for women with kids. It would be short-sighted to shove that progress off a cliff, writes Sarah Green Carmichael for Bloomberg Opinion today. For employers pushing strict return-to-office policies, onsite care could be a powerful magnet for young parents -- precisely the group of workers most resistant to returning. And in a tight talent market, generous child-care benefits can be a differentiator. Many large employers offer some assistance with childcare, but much more is needed. Although there are plenty of policies the government could offer to shore up the US child care system, employers shouldn’t expect the cavalry to come to their rescue. For kids under five, care is the employee’s problem, which means it’s the employer’s problem. #childcare #employeebenefits #workingparents #workingmoms #womeninworkplace #caregiving #employers #employees #futureofwork #subsidies #benefits #pandemic #laborforce

Did you see that Starbucks will now offer 18 weeks of paid parental leave at 100% pay for its store employees? Parents who give birth will now receive 18 weeks of paid leave at 100% of their average pay, and parents who don't give birth will get 12 weeks. Compared to the former offering of 6 weeks paid and 12 weeks unpaid, this is a big boost for employees and a step in the right direction for a *better world of work* (through improved people-practices). This is a strategic move for Starbucks in their aim to boost employee morale and improve performance: At Top Employers Institute, we survey HR & Talent teams at 2,400+ Top Employers around the world to help them understand which of the 300+ people-practices we measure, most correlate to business outcomes like employee engagement, profitability, revenue growth, market share growth, and more. So, what are people-practices employers should consider that will help boost morale and performance? Here are 5 practices that I looked at this morning after seeing the Starbucks news: 1) *Employer Contribution for Childcare* Only 43% of Top Employers offer this consistently, but those that do experience 13% higher retention and internal promotion rates, 12% higher engagement and revenue growth rates, and 7% higher profitability growth rates. 2) *Special Leave for Parents* About 65% of Top Employers offer this benefit, and for good reason: those that do have 13% higher retention, 11% higher internal promotion rates, 19% higher employee engagement, 8% higher revenue growth, and 9% higher profitability growth. 3) *Burnout Recovery Support* Only 60% of Top Employers offer this consistently, but those that do see 13% higher retention. 4) *Financial Education for Employees* Only 68% of Top Employers offer this benefit, but those that do experience 16% higher levels of employee engagement. 5) *Nutritional Support for Employees* 73% of Top Employers offer this, and those that do have 7% higher internal promotion rates, 13% higher employee engagement, and 7% higher profitability than those that don't offer this. It's no wonder employers like Starbucks are stepping up in this way. Good for employees and for business. Smart employers will continue to invest in the lives of their employees. What's one benefit your employer offers that you love the most? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

We surveyed 500 #10KSB small business owners on the challenges of childcare for their businesses. Here’s what they had to say: 48% of small business owners cited childcare availability and affordability affecting hiring and keeping talent. 52% of small business owners have made adjustments to their business operations or policies to accommodate employees child care needs. 57% of small business owners with children in childcare reported spending $1,000 or more per month and cited detrimental effects to productivity, revenue, and business hours. Meet Megan Metzger, a 10,000 Small Businesses alum, and domestic staffing agency owner from North Carolina. From guiding over 400 agencies on starting and scaling their businesses, her insights help illuminate solutions to small business childcare needs. Megan's Tips for Small Businesses Offering Childcare Benefits: Cost Sharing: Share the cost of childcare services with employees, whether it's a nanny agency or daycare. Childcare Benefit "Bank": Create a benefit structure where the employer provides a set number of covered days (or hours) each year for childcare, which can be distributed among employees. Local Childcare Agencies: Partner with a local childcare agency. They're well-acquainted with the community's unique needs and can provide flexible benefit arrangements while avoiding hefty fees. #Childcare #SmallBusiness #WorkplaceWellness https://lnkd.in/en4Q7KM6

The National Vital Statics Report on U.S. birth trends has been released. This year has shown a decrease in overall birth rates, with significant patterns in age-specific fertility and prenatal care dynamics. Such insights not only shed light on public health strategies but also provide a crucial lens through which employers can enhance workplace policies. Key findings: -A decline in the general fertility rate and specific decreases across different age groups. -A notable reduction in early prenatal care and smoking during pregnancy. -Changes in delivery methods, including a slight increase in cesarean rates. -Stability in Medicaid as a primary source for delivery payments, indicating the ongoing importance of supportive healthcare policies. Employers play a pivotal role in supporting the workforce, especially expectant and new parents. Here are 10 strategic solutions that can be implemented to foster a supportive work environment: 1- Flexible Working Hours: Adapt work schedules to accommodate prenatal appointments and postpartum needs. 2- Remote Work Options: Provide options for telecommuting to help manage pregnancy-related fatigue and doctor's visits. 3- Extended Parental Leave: Offer more generous leave policies to support parental bonding and childcare. 4- Fertility Benefits: Enhance healthcare coverage to fertility care. 5- Onsite Childcare: Establish or subsidize childcare facilities at or near the workplace to ease the burden on working parents or increased daycare funds. 6- Employee Assistance Programs: Offer programs that provide counseling and support for prenatal and postnatal care. 7- Education and Training: Conduct workshops on family planning, prenatal health, and parenting to educate employees. 8- Support for Breastfeeding Mothers: Provide private, comfortable spaces for breastfeeding and allow breaks as needed. 9-Return-to-Work Programs: Create phased return-to-work options for new parents to ease the transition while maintaining career trajectories. 10- Wellness Programs: Implement programs focused on maternal health and stress management to support overall well-being. As we move forward, understanding and adapting to the evolving demographic trends will be key in crafting effective corporate policies that align with the needs of a diverse workforce. What is your organization doing to support families? List it in the comments ⬇️ #employeebenefits #parentalsupport

A recent WSJ article featured the company Red Rooster Coffee, which successfully mitigated its high staff turnover by offering subsidized on-site child care. It’s an incredible benefit for employees, but I believe it likely bolstered their bottom line as well. Let’s break this down. In the case of Red Rooster Coffee, they could turn part of their building into a child care facility. While they certainly had costs to make their building pass muster as a child care facility, these are fixed and one-time expenses. Subsidizing 70% of the care costs for employees may too seem substantial. However, when considering the savings from reduced recruitment and training expenses due to reduced turnover, reduced salaries they can pay thanks to this benefit, coupled with the potential for increased profits from expanded or improved operating hours (like opening early in the morning for higher revenue), it might not be a net negative anymore. Finally, they also opened their child care center to the public at normal rates. This strategy is not just community-serving but financially astute; it generates additional revenue that can offset the costs of subsidies for employees. For many other businesses, the operational costs and differing regulatory hurdles per state make this equation much trickier. The thing is, it’s not all or nothing. This is where innovative (and lower cost) solutions like Winnie's offering come into play, providing businesses with a cost-effective way to support their employees' child care needs. It’s just good business! https://lnkd.in/gw5YwCKi

Employees aren’t just worried about returning to the office. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘁. Childcare and elder care costs are a huge hurdle for many employees. We talk about flexibility and work-life balance. What happens when care isn’t affordable? As HR professionals, we’re often caught in the middle. We’re implementing policies while trying to support employees through real challenges. If childcare or elder care is a major pain point, here’s what we can do: ✅ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Make it easy for employees to share their challenges. Try surveys or 1:1s to understand their needs. ✅ 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 Does your company offer dependent care FSAs? Could your company offer a childcare stipend or reimbursement program? ✅ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 For employees juggling care, flexibility isn’t a perk. It’s a lifeline. Hybrid schedules, flex hours, or remote Fridays help. ✅ 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 Employees don’t always know what’s available to them. Point them toward local care resources, company benefits, and external support programs. ✅ 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 Supporting employees often means sharing their concerns. Bring their challenges to leadership. Share real stories (anonymously) that highlight the impact of these challenges. Affordable care isn’t just an employee issue—it’s a business issue. When employees are stressed about care, it affects engagement, productivity, and retention. What creative solutions has your company implemented? Please drop your ideas in the comments. 👉 If this resonates, share this post with your network. ♻️ I appreciate 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 repost. Want more HR insights? Visit my profile and join my newsletter for weekly tips to elevate your career! Stephanie Adams, SPHR #Adamshr  #Hrprofessionals  #humanresources  #HR 

If you're serious about retaining and growing your working parent talent, childcare benefits aren't a nice-to-have; they're a strategic imperative. The reality for millions of employees right now is that the lack of affordable, reliable childcare is a massive barrier to productivity, career progression, and even simply showing up to work consistently. When parents, particularly mothers, struggle with childcare, it directly impacts their mental bandwidth, creates immense stress, and often forces them to step back from their careers or leave the workforce entirely. This means companies are losing experienced, valuable talent – and incurring significant replacement costs – not because of performance, but due to external life demands. By offering robust childcare support – whether it's on-site facilities, subsidies, stipends, or even robust dependent care FSAs – organizations are making a direct investment in their workforce. It signals an empathetic, human-centric culture that understands and supports the whole employee. This isn't just about retention; it's about enabling career growth, fostering greater diversity, and ultimately, ensuring your best talent can thrive without constantly battling an impossible work-life equation. Prioritize childcare, and watch your working parent talent flourish. #ChildcareBenefits #WorkingParents #EmployeeRetention #TalentStrategy #HRLeadership #FutureOfWork

I was excited to see the recent announcement from CAKES body, a women-run, self-funded company, offering a $36,000 per year childcare benefit to their employees. This is a game-changer—employees will receive a monthly stipend of up to $3,000 for daycare, babysitting, or other childcare expenses for children under public school age. This benefit is especially important in a time when childcare costs continue to outpace housing costs for many families. It’s no surprise that affordable childcare remains one of the biggest financial burdens for working parents, and more companies need to recognize its impact on talent retention. When childcare is accessible and affordable, companies aren’t just supporting their employees—they are investing in long-term success. The ability to offer support in the form of childcare benefits directly contributes to employee satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. Working parents, particularly mothers, are often faced with the difficult decision of whether to stay in the workforce or step away due to the high costs of childcare. By offering solutions like this, companies can retain top talent, reduce turnover, and create a more equitable work environment for all. As we continue to push for universal childcare and national funding in the U.S., it's clear that businesses can—and should—do more to support working families. Affordable childcare is not a luxury; it’s a necessity that allows parents to thrive in both their careers and personal lives, benefiting everyone. #affordablechildcare #Workingmom

📢 A record number of workers were impacted by #childcare problems in 2024. Using BLS datasets, including previously unpublished data by gender and age, our Parental Work Disruption Index shows the impact of inadequate childcare options on workers in the US. 🔹 Index On The Rise: The Parental Work Disruption Index increased to 121.6 in December 2024 from 115.7 in December 2023. This means there were 22% more workers impacted by inadequate childcare options at the end of 2024 compared to the pre-pandemic baseline. (This is slightly off the all-time high of 124.3 in September.) 🔹 New Record High Impacted: An average of 1.34 million workers each month either worked part-time or missed work entirely due to childcare problems in 2024. That is up from the previous record of 1.28 million in 2023 (see chart below). Lower birth rates mean that proportionally the number of workers impacted is even higher. 🔹 Women Still Affected Most: 89% of these workers were women. The share of women aged 55-64 grew to 3% in 2024 from 2.6% in 2023. This shows how grandmothers are increasingly being affected as they fill in gaps in care. 🔹 Men’s Share Up: 11.1% of workers impacted in 2024 were men; that is up from 10.3% in 2023 but still down from the peak of 12.6% in 2022. 🔹 Lost Work Hours: Up to 1.5 billion potential work hours were lost due to workers’ childcare problems in 2024; that is up from the estimate of 1.4 billion in 2023. The lack of access to quality and affordable childcare hurts workers and their children, is a hidden but very real cost for employers and dampens the potential growth of the entire US economy. Research shows that making strategic investments in childcare and paid leave benefits are evidence-based ways to increase employee satisfaction, engagement and loyalty, and decrease absenteeism and presenteeism. These, in turn, result in higher productivity and retention as well as lower turnover and hiring costs. Employers can (a) engage directly with employees to understand the extent of the current cost from childcare problems; (b) identify which benefits work best for different workers; (c) assure that employees are aware of benefits; (d) destigmatize and encourage use of benefits; and (e) evaluate the effects of benefits on employee satisfaction, turnover and productivity. This is a key issue for workers, employers and governments in 2025, and it is likely to increase in intensity in the years ahead. #ChildcareCrisis #WorkingParents #CareEconomy #EconomicGrowth #Productivity

Does your company have policies to support new parents returning to work after parental leave? Many companies implement a “return to work month” that allows employees returning from parental leave to ease back into work. These policies are wonderfully supportive. But why stop there?  Here are some lesser known (amazing) policies that every company should consider: 💻 For engineers: no “on-call” work for the first six months back at work Most new parents aren’t sleeping well and have a very difficult time navigating their baby’s sleep schedules. It can be incredibly stressful to add on-call work into the mix during this period. 💰 For sales reps: ramp quotas Just like new hires get ramp goals, so should returning to work new parents. Usually the goals are reduced just slightly (not like a new hire) but they do give the reps a bit of quota relief and breathing room. ✈️ For everyone: travel support Some companies explicitly make company travel “optional” for the first year someone is back at work after parental leave. We’ve also seen companies with written “norms” for if someone misses an offsite due to family commitments (eg - how to make the person still feel included in the offsite). ******************************************************* I'm Allison Whalen, founder of Parentaly, sharing stories & tips daily. We work with companies and HR leaders to turn parental leave into a win-win. Follow me + hit 🔔 to stay tuned.