When I graduated from college and went into the workforce, I was the type of employee many companies would want. I would arrive early, stay late, and work weekends. I was always available for on-call hours.
When my husband joined the military and I found out I was pregnant shortly after, I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to continue to work. Sure, I may need to go part-time and find something more flexible. But there must be jobs like that, right?
Nothing prepared me for what the future would bring.
Too Many Challenges
Working parents have the burden of juggling all the dynamics. From childcare costs to maintaining that work/life balance, it can sometimes feel like you never have enough hours in the day.
Add a pandemic into the mix, and life gets a lot more complicated.
Many working parents had an especially difficult time in this sudden transition. Working from home while caring for your children is an enormous challenge. It's draining when you feel you must be giving 100% of yourself to your job and 100% of yourself to your kids. Finding safe, in-home childcare for your children as you work and while they're out of school is also a burden financially, mentally, and emotionally.
If you don't find adequate child care to do your job, you could get fired. If you ignore your kids, that makes you feel like a failure. If your children are a distraction while you work from home (and they will be), you could be reprimanded.
By giving working parents the time and support they need to care for their children AND be the best employees they can be with workplace family-friendly policies – like increased remote learning opportunities, paid parental leave, paid sick leave, flexible work arrangements and access to affordable, quality childcare – there are a lot of positives for those companies in the future.
Here are three main reasons why “kids in the boardroom” should be more widely accepted.
More Consistency with Work
I can’t even tell you how many times I have had to take time off work for something having to do with my children - and this was before a pandemic. After all, I have four of them. It was usually nothing serious, but when childcare is sparse and I have a husband deployed, I end up being the person to make the sacrifice. Now that there are fewer child care options. With schools are closed or modifying their schedules, the burden falls on me even more than before.
By allowing kids to be present during work hours, there are fewer opportunities for missed work days/hours. Working parents are masters at multitasking; the flexibility of scheduling meetings, working blocks, and client projects around the schedule in the home allows them to care for their families AND get the job done. Sure, things will come up. But overall, there will be more consistency and productivity, especially when evaluated by project completion versus hours worked.
Employee Retention
There’s a common misconception that expecting mothers or new mothers won’t stay at their companies for long. In reality, most working moms that I have come in contact with are interested in a role that offers stability, support, and lasting opportunities to grow within the company.
If you build a company for parents, they will come AND stay. Take advantage of technology and provide support for working parents. Even as family dynamics, military orders, and CDC recommendations change, the work can still move forward.
Greater Morale
Countless studies show that a work-life balance (or a lack thereof) directly affects the productivity of a company. Even still, many Americans feel they are unable to take time off (to include their paid vacation time) or they will be perceived as a “slacker”. This can be very taxing on all employees but especially those with children.
When a company has a culture that respects flexibility and reasonable working hours (vital for ALL employees but especially families), they encourage employees to work smartly, not endlessly. This builds an overall culture of a company that not only cares for their bottom line but also cares for its employees and places value on them and their families.
The result is a trickle-down effect that encourages everyone to avoid burnout while also—and this is essential—appealing to new talent that’s drawn to companies that prove they value work-life balance.
The Bottom Line
Although many companies have begun to embrace the concept of children in the workplace, it is still a learning curve. During this time of transition and inconsistency, consider lobbying your government for better economic support for families and businesses, including measures that will help maintain incomes. It is vital for us to do our best to ease the burden on both businesses and families. It appears that employees may be working from home for a long time. By adopting and expanding family-friendly policies, employers have a central role to play in supporting the well-being of working parents and their children.
Noralee Jones is a MILSO of 12 years, mom of 4, and writer/creator at Mrs. Navy Mama. Having experience with 7 deployments, 4 PCS moves alone, and the author of the Self-Care Guide for MILSOs, she is an expert on the importance of taking the time to focus on filling our bodies, minds, and souls with our individual needs in order to make the most out of our lives. She is also the Co-Author of The Newbie’s Guide to Military Life, which focuses on supporting MILSOs through the ups and downs of military life through Mrs. Navy Mama. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
