Being a working parent isn’t easy. The unique challenges they face in the workplace often mean juggling career and childcare responsibilities daily. Unsurprisingly, working parents risk financial distress, burnout, and deterioration of their well-being unless their workplace provides adequate support. With recent statistics indicating that 66% of working parents in the U.S. are burnt out, designing strategies and initiatives to better support working parents and caregivers has never been this important.
More often than not, providing such support means companies need to remove unnecessarily rigid policies in favour of more flexibility and empathy, ensuring working parents are empowered to succeed in their professional and family lives. In doing so, not only are workplaces investing in their workforce and its diversity, but they’re also contributing to making tomorrow’s generation a better and stronger one too.
Why should supporting working parents matter?
Beyond the more humane reason, and because it’s morally and ethically the right thing to do, supporting working parents can benefit the business and its entire team. Employees are happier and more productive and build a greater sense of belonging and loyalty, which is irreplaceable, especially as The Great Resignation continues to uproot professionals worldwide from their jobs. Plus, working parents tend to bring a unique set of transferable skills and attributes to the table, such as assertiveness, a higher sense of responsibility, a better ability to multitask and much more—which are invaluable for any business.
Having the right supportive policies helps strengthen diversity and inclusion within the workplace, and its immense benefits aren’t necessarily tied to working parents only. If everyone feels they can bring their authentic selves to work, then entire teams and industries can reach their best potential and drive innovation to new heights. A robust working parents program can also help bridge the notorious gender gap in sectors like iGaming, to achieve gender equality at all levels. This has been and continues to be a pressing issue, especially as studies show that the working mothers and fathers ratio is still far from equal. Stats show that in the E.U., for instance, 72.2% of mothers and 90% of fathers worked in 2020. In the U.K., 75.1% of mothers worked compared to 92.6% of fathers. In OECD countries, an average of 70.9% of mothers worked, with the same report showing that in two-partner families within these countries, 45.6% had both partners working full-time.
And although this is just one facet of diversity, the entire workforce wins if one or more groups within it are empowered to be more and do more—making it a win-win for all.
What does a supportive workplace for parents look like?
There are many strategies businesses can implement to make their workplace more efficient for working parents and caregivers. And, as the world of work continues to evolve, becoming a supportive workplace for parents is more of a journey rather than a destination.
At QUIK, we continuously review our policies, processes, and procedures to ensure they’re as supportive as possible for all the parents within our teams. We’ve had some great responses — 8 of our 23 team members being working parents, making them 35% of the overall QUIK Team. So far, the following are the top effective ways we’ve found to be particularly helpful in assisting the parents on our team:
Flexibility with work hours
Traditional 9-5 office jobs weren’t made with working parents in mind, especially considering commitments like school pickups and drop-offs. By switching to a more flexible approach, such as prioritising results-based working, businesses can help working parents better merge their professional and private lives. All our employees can adapt things like start and finish times, meetings and personal schedules to suit their needs and preferences—allowing parents not only to juggle both aspects of their lives but also to manage their free time better too, which is crucial to achieving better work-life balance and essential to avoid long-term burnout.
A remote/hybrid first approach
Offering the possibility to choose where to work from as well means working parents on our team no longer need to bite into their annual leave when managing childcare commitments such as sick days and no longer need to depend on their loved ones or formal childcare services to assist them in handling the dual demands of being a parent and a worker. Plus, not having to sit through unnecessary commutes means parents can spend more time with their families as they please—whether that’s taking their children to the park or dropping them off to dance class after school.
Support for employee work-life balance
Achieving real work-life balance can be problematic in the best of situations—and additional responsibilities such as childcare can make it even more challenging. However, supporting and championing work-life balance shouldn’t be something that’s solely reserved or prioritised for working parents. This is unfair towards those who aren’t parents and tends to create a stigma around working parents taking advantage of benefits such as WFH options or annual leave allowance. By encouraging all your employees to create a healthy boundary between their professional and personal lives, you’re safeguarding your workforce’s well-being and helping generate less of an “us against them” mentality.
Open and inclusive company culture
Ensuring all your employees have a sense of belonging is essential to feel accepted and happy in the workplace. In the case of working parents, this tends to be easier said than done. With less time to dedicate to socialising and networking, working parents often tend to feel isolated from their colleagues, especially in less diverse and inclusive environments. Creating an open and inclusive company culture where everyone can bring their opinions, experiences, and concerns can help mitigate this issue—while promoting learning from each other’s experiences, aiding professional and personal growth.
At QUIK, we support all our employees to be the best version of themselves and empower them with the tools they need to succeed in their employment and personal lives. Are you looking for an opportunity to thrive? Check out our careers page to learn more about what we offer and browse our open positions.
