Nearly two-thirds of mothers work outside the home. These working moms are either the breadwinner or co-breadwinner and with rising inflation costs, these numbers won't be decreasing anytime soon.
With the understanding that women have an immense impact on the workforce, it is important to make sure that they are being well supported. In fact, motherhood and extra parenting work often equates to working 2.5 jobs.
New parents face many responsibilities, and data shows that nearly 83% of millennials would change jobs for better family benefits. And if there is a complication like a birth injury or special needs child then things get much more challenging for parents.
Support Lactating Mothers
One of the biggest barriers discouraging mothers from working outside of the home is the nourishment and care of their children. This is especially true for lactating mothers, as they struggle to find the right balance of work and family.
Studies show that a breastfed child is less likely to struggle with disease, allergies, sickness, obesity, etc. This knowledge has long empowered lactating parents as they make the choice to breastfeed.
Unfortunately, although more than 90% of women breastfeed while on maternity leave, that number drops to around 20% when they return to work. With proper lactation support from their employers, these dismal numbers can be corrected as parents strive to nurse their children. In fact, for companies that host a lactation program in their employee benefits, 83% of employees reported higher company satisfaction. The Lactation Network’s (TLN) lactation care program can seamlessly be integrated into existing benefits, so employees can receive care as soon as they need it.
Lactation Rooms
Additional ways employers can support nursing mothers throughout the breastfeeding journey is to offer lactation rooms. This helps to create a comfortable environment for lactating mothers to pump for their infants, and, if possible, nurse their infants. It also creates privacy for mothers and their peers, helping to maintain a professional environment, but also fostering support and a de-stigmatization for working parents with newborns.
Onsite Childcare
Furthermore, by creating a child-friendly work environment that offers onsite childcare, you will have workers clamoring to work for your company and dedicated to its success. When companies prioritize their employees and their families, employers are helping to create a stronger future with healthier and well-adjusted children.
Create Flexible Hours
One of the best ways to support new mothers, and parents overall, is to create flexible work hours or even a hybrid model. This hybrid model would allow employees to work from home part-time.
Throughout the course of the pandemic, it was found in a study done at Stanford University that productivity increased by over 13%. Speculation on why this happened is because employees were able to better manage and prioritize their time.
Another consideration that employers should make is allowing parents to work remotely. This remote work will not only increase productivity but can also decrease the business overhead. This business overhead decreases by moving more of their employees to a remote work model, making the need for larger office spaces unneeded.
Employers Can Support Working Parents
Being a parent, let alone a new parent is a very stressful time for individuals. New parents must learn to cope with a wide variety of challenges, from changing bodies and hormones to limited sleep, and a complete restructuring of their day.
Although many businesses offer maternity leave for their employees, and more are beginning to offer paternity leave, that is only the beginning. That small amount of time does not guarantee that they will have perfected their parenting skills when they return to work. In fact, with a lactation care benefits program like TLN’s, employers can expect to boost post-maternity leave retention from 59% to 85% by providing employees with access to expert lactation care, essential products, and vital resources.
Parenthood is an ever-changing challenge, but also an essential part of the community. It is important to understand that your employees whom are working parents are adapting to the constant changes that parenthood entails. As you choose to support new parents in their vital new role, you will be helping to build a stronger and healthier community and future.
