What does it actually mean to ‘support parents at work’

I interviewed a candidate last week who said they were looking for their next great role that ‘supported being a mum.’ I was intrigued so I probed more and asked what she actually meant by that. She said it was simple, ‘I want an employer who understands I have children, and I may need to prioritise their needs first from time to time BUT they believe in me enough to know I’ll still get the job done.”

I thought that was really interesting. I expected to hear more about flexibility, working from home, leave during school holidays but the main need from this candidate was trust, and to not be discriminated against because she is a parent. 

The ABS told us in 2021 that 73.7% of  families with children under age 15 had both parents employed. That’s a lot of parents in the Australian workforce, parents who are looking for the same treatment, respect and opportunity as those who don’t have child care commitments. 

So what does it mean to really ‘support parents at work’ and what can you do to make your business a competitor in this space: 

 Ask and LISTEN. 

Sometimes we think we have to have the answers before we’ve actually assessed what the best solution is. Rather than presenting parents with ‘we offer XYZ in terms of working days and hours’, ask them what a productive working week looks like for them. You may find that the work can be done in the time the employee has requested or with some slight tweaking you can make it work for you both. As an example, does it really matter if work that doesn’t need to be delivered during the day is produced in the evening? It could be the difference of landing some amazing talent who can’t work the typical 9-5pm.  Have the conversation and try to work it out before assuming you know what will work for a ‘parent’.

Be flexible – Have a solid policy on hybrid and remote working and be open to it! 

As a business that is a HUGE supporter of flexible working, we urge you to push boundaries in terms of what you can offer employees in flexibility and working arrangements. We understand that you may want an employee to make an appearance at least once a week in the office but if the work can be completed remotely and you don’t want to lose amazing talent then be open to this. Capterra tells us that since 2020, two thirds of Australians have a component of remote working in their role and 78% believe they are ‘more productive at home than in the office’.  That’s pretty compelling and shows if you don’t offer flexibility as an employer currently, it’s not going to make you stand out as an employer of choice. 

Parental Leave and Pay  – Check your legal obligations 

A huge competitive edge as an employer is to have a great parental leave scheme in your business. Do your research and understand what you can offer employees in this regard to entice them to work with you, and stay with you while they start and expand their family.  Last year Stockland was praised for extending their parental leave period from 16 weeks to 20, and for erasing the distinction between primary and secondary carers which gives families more flexibility in how they use their parental leave. 

Communicate – Prioritise, discuss and create a plan of action 

Juggling work and children isn’t easy, and sometimes it’s unpredictable. What can help parents though, is creating a structure around workload and a sense of priority. When you are allocating work to employees, we encourage you to be clear on timeframes and what needs to be worked on this week and what can wait till next. This is great for everyone’s mental health I’m sure you will agree, but in particular parents who are juggling care, school, activities etc. Having clarity from a work perspective of how to plan the working week is really helpful. 

Talk and build Trust

An economist from Brown University recently revealed after conducting a survey, that a large percentage of parents felt they had to be ‘secretive’ about their children and family life at work. The reason being they felt it impacted the way they were viewed in the workplace and they didn’t want to create a sense of not being able to take on more responsibility. Don’t be that workplace. Encourage your employees to share about their families (if they want to of course) and create a culture that is empathetic and human in the way you operate. You’ll get more out of your people that way and will build trust more easily. 

An example of a business that has an awesome culture in this space, (and I’m going to be biassed here) is Freelancing Gems. We celebrate our children and we share about them openly and often. This is because as a team we respect one another, we care and want to hear about what’s happening in each other’s world’s, but we know that we don’t let each other down from a work perspective. We always deliver, and support one another to make it work.. even when the little humans throw a spanner in the works! 

If you would like some advice on how to be more inclusive to parents in the workplace, get in touch with us at recruitment@freelancinggem.com.

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