But then COVID hit, and the collision of work and home life created a tipping point. The pandemic\u2019s shift to homeschooling and virtual work led many working parents \u2014 especially women \u2014 to take a step back in their careers, or to leave the workforce entirely. Exhausted caregivers left their jobs in record numbers, and organizations are still feeling the effects today.<\/p>\n
While offices have reopened and women\u2019s employment numbers have since bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, senior organizational leaders continue to grapple with how to attract, develop, and retain women leaders<\/a> (and ways to support working parents or other caregivers in general).<\/p>\n For those with caregiving responsibilities whose jobs can be done from home, many say that they want to continue working remotely at least some of the time. A study from the Pew Research Center<\/a> reveals that 71% of employees who work from home at least sometimes say this helps them balance work with their personal lives.<\/p>\n Increased flexibility in the workplace<\/a> comes as a long-awaited relief for working parents who struggled even before the pandemic to juggle both parenting and leadership responsibilities.<\/p>\n Is the idea of \u201cbalance\u201d more attainable at last?<\/p>\n Certainly, flexible work arrangements help, but the golden notion of \u201cbalance\u201d probably still <\/em>feels beyond reach for many caregivers and working parents, and for good reason: we consider work-life \u201cbalance\u201d to be a faulty metaphor<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s simply not possible for parents and caregivers to be fully present for their employers and their families all the time, while also taking care of their own health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n And the truth is, caregivers shouldn\u2019t be forced to seek this equilibrium without organizational support.<\/strong><\/p>\n If your organization is reconsidering how it\u2019s supporting working parents and caregivers, you\u2019ll want to ensure that you\u2019re creating an environment where all<\/em> your employees can thrive by offering equitable family leave policies, hybrid and remote work options, and ample growth and development opportunities.<\/p>\n For companies to support working parents and attract and retain top talent, they must<\/em> be willing to acknowledge the juggle between parenting and leadership responsibilities, connecting leadership and employee wellbeing<\/a>. It starts with managers who can create environments where others thrive \u2014 reducing stress and burnout while increasing morale and productivity, yielding people who thrive and a workforce that is flourishing. \u200b\u200b<\/p>\n Here are some specific actions that organizations can take to signal they\u2019re serious about supporting working parents \u2014 and all employees who are caregivers.<\/p>\n Workers now have more bargaining power. Companies don\u2019t want to lose talent, so employees can often enact change by calling attention to archaic and inequitable leave policies, courageously asking for the support they need from their organizations. While these conversations are useful, we still believe the onus and impetus to adopt more inclusive leave policies should fall on employers, not on employees. Specifically:<\/p>\n When organizations offer inclusive family leave policies, they\u2019re better able to compete for talent and retain strong performers. That\u2019s why both company language and culture<\/em> should be explicitly and intentionally inclusive, so that taking time away from work to care for a family member seems (and actually is<\/em>) equally accessible.<\/p>\n Flexible work policies aren\u2019t effective (and can actually be quite harmful) when they\u2019re only available to a select group, or in specific scenarios. While many talent managers might acknowledge that a new parent on their team just returning from leave might need additional flexibility in their schedule, it\u2019s important that managers remind employees that flexibility is available to everyone<\/em>.<\/p>\n According to research<\/a>, people without children sometimes feel they\u2019re expected to pick up extra work while colleagues with children are granted increased flexibility. This dynamic not only inequitably burdens employees without children, it also creates an environment that positions flexibility as an organizational weakness instead of a strength. But the opposite<\/em> is actually true.<\/p>\n In addition, many employers realized in the early days of COVID that they don\u2019t have to trade flexibility for productivity. On the contrary, studies revealed<\/a> that productivity actually increased<\/em> as many employees shifted to remote work. With this in mind:<\/p>\n Also known as \u201caffinity groups\u201d or \u201cbusiness networking groups,\u201d Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are formed by employees who share common characteristics. Within these informal groups, members provide one another with support, career development, and professional networking. In recent years, such groups for caregivers have gained popularity, as working parents and others struggling with balancing family, caregiving, or parenting and leadership challenges found they needed a network for support and advice.<\/p>\n Your organization can help ERGs become even more impactful through your support. Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n When working parents and other caregivers are feeling challenged by work-life conflict<\/a>, leadership development can give them new skillsets and mindsets to adapt and show up in the ways they\u2019d like to \u2014 both at work and at home.<\/p>\n For example, our flagship Leadership Development Program (LDP)\u00ae<\/a> introduces participants to the idea of a button with 4 holes as a symbol for holistic leadership<\/a>. The button helps participants remember that leaders are most effective when they understand how the 4 elements of their lives \u2014 self, family, career, and community \u2014 are woven together in an interconnected way,<\/strong> working in tandem to strengthen their leadership and enrich their lives.<\/p>\n Some caregivers, particularly women, may choose or be forced to step away from their careers entirely for a period of time to focus on child-rearing or other family needs. This was common before the pandemic, and data shows<\/a> that COVID accelerated the trend, as it disproportionally impacted women, with remote schooling in particular causing many women to step back from their careers or leave the workforce, either temporarily or permanently.<\/p>\n While many companies around the world have publicly made claims about supporting working parents in the past few years, many have not followed through and lack measures that actually change their policies, processes, and culture.<\/p>\n To show your internal and external stakeholders that you\u2019re genuinely committed to making real and sustainable change, your organization must evaluate your current practices and make upgrades where necessary \u2014 including addressing outdated leave policies to better support those struggling with caregiving, parenting, leadership, and workplace responsibilities.<\/p>\n Properly supported working parents and other caregivers will become better, healthier leaders at work, at home, and within their communities \u2014 leading to positive impact for your organization that\u2019s much greater than an annual retention report might reveal.<\/p>\nOrganizations Must Lead the Way to Support Those Balancing Caregiving & Leadership<\/h2>\n
Supporting Working Parents, Caregivers & All Employees: 5 Tips<\/h2>\n
Specific Actions That Organizational Leaders Can Take<\/h3>\n
1. Offer fair and inclusive family leave policies.<\/h4>\n
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2. Be a champion for flexibility by extending it to all<\/em> employees.<\/h4>\n
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3. Support Employee Resource Groups.<\/h4>\n
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4. Offer flexible opportunities for leadership development.<\/h4>\n
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5. Support employees who choose to \u201cpower down\u201d and stay the course.<\/h4>\n
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![\"Kick](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Kick-Some-Glass-Thumbnail.jpg\")
<\/a>Learn 10 specific tips for juggling parenting and leadership in our book, Kick Some Glass: 10 Ways Women Succeed at Work<\/em><\/a>. Co-authors Jennifer Martineau and Portia Mount explore the \u201cpower down\u201d alternative for mothers to accommodate childbirth and child-rearing, balancing caregiving and career. The \u201cpower down\u201d advice is widely applicable as a way of supporting working parents and caregivers in general.<\/div>\n\n
Help Caregivers Bring Their Whole Selves to Parenting & Leadership<\/h2>\n
Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n