A New Take on Employee Wellness for Working Parents

Companies that are intentional in fostering family-friendly workplaces can have long-term positive impacts

Selam Gebre //July 20, 2018//

A New Take on Employee Wellness for Working Parents

Companies that are intentional in fostering family-friendly workplaces can have long-term positive impacts

Selam Gebre //July 20, 2018//

Ask many working parents and you will find that juggling work, life and parenthood is not an easy task. Working parents are pulled in many directions and often faced with considerable stress that impacts both work and home lives. For a company, being intentional in fostering family-friendly workplaces can have long-term impacts on employee satisfaction and quality of life. Employees appreciate employers who recognize them as whole people with many roles outside employee.

Here are a few strategies to consider in facilitating workplaces that encourage work-life balance by focusing on the varied demands of working parents:

  1. UNCOVER SPECIFIC NEEDS OF WORKING PARENTS AT YOUR COMPANY

Working parents experience a variety of challenges related to their childrens’ lives, particularly their learning. Some include choosing a school, understanding resources for students with special needs and nurturing talents. Incorporating workshops that uncover and target some of the needs and values of working parents around learning helps parents build their agency to access meaningful and relevant learning opportunities for their kids in and out of school.

ReSchool Colorado, a nonprofit that works directly with parents and their kids to understand their aspirations and increase their capacity to make meaningful choices about learning, partners with companies that are interested in providing this benefit to their employees. As learning environments become increasingly expansive to include essential out-of-school experiences, supporting parents in the workplace to navigate these needs can result in a peace of mind so parents can focus on their jobs knowing their lives are supported.

2.  STREAMLING ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON CHILDCARE + OUT OF SCHOOL TIME

            Many parents face the daunting task of coordinating childcare for times when kids are out of school. Summer and other out-of-school times can be challenging for working parents and can have negative implications for their performance at work if they do not have adequate coverage for their kiddos. Access to streamlined information to navigate these times benefits both parents and their children. Parents can find organized information faster and easier while their children are able to have experiences that facilitate a healthy sense of self while cultivating their talents.

ReSchool has launched a tool called Blueprint4SummerCO to address gaps in information. Companies would be well suited to spread awareness to their employees about this website that enables parents to find information about and plan summer learning activities for their children.

3.  Deeply invest in employee wellness benefits that address challenges of working parents

Colorado businesses can provide a refreshing and new level of employee wellness benefits by investing in a family’s educational health. Working parents face increasing challenges in making the most out of their childrens' learning experiences as the 21st century learning ecosystem becomes more complex and multifaceted. Providing a more holistic approach to wellness that incorporates a multitude of needs working parents face outside of work allows companies to expand their scope of benefits and improve employee satisfaction in a meaningful and unique way.  By opening up a conversation with ReSchool, companies can take a step in providing their employees the tools they need to effectively balance their roles and employees and parents.


Selam Gebre is an entrepreneur in residence at ReSchool Colorado. She can be reached at [email protected].