It was a great pleasure to share my thoughts with Elizabeth Willetts from Investing in Women on why its so important to create family friendly workplaces and how.
Timestamps:
Who are parents and carers? [00:02:31] Rachel Vecht explains the diversity of parents and carers, their challenges, and the benefits of supporting them in the workplace.
Challenges faced by parents and carers [00:04:30] Rachel Vecht discusses the challenges faced by parents and carers, including guilt, overwhelm, and unpredictability.
Historical lack of support for caring responsibilities [00:08:03] Rachel Vecht explains why companies historically ignored caring responsibilities and how the culture is changing to appreciate the transferable skills and qualities developed by people with caring responsibilities.
Creating a Family-Friendly Workplace [00:09:49] Rachel Vecht discusses the challenges parents and carers face in the workforce and the benefits of creating a family-friendly workplace.
Normalising Parental Leave and Flexibility [00:11:56] Rachel Vecht talks about the importance of normalising parental leave for both sexes and creating a culture where flexibility for anyone is the norm.
Importance of Relationship with Manager [00:18:35] Rachel Vecht emphasises the significance of the relationship with the manager in a person’s ability to cope with integrating work and family and how trust, flexibility, empathy, and communication are the foundations of any good relationship.
Creating a family-friendly workplace [00:19:43] Rachel Vecht discusses the benefits of creating a family-friendly workplace, including happier and more motivated employees.
Leadership lessons from parenting [00:20:55] Rachel Vecht discusses the parallels between leadership and parenting and the importance of communication and empathy.
Role models and allyship [00:22:15] Rachel Vecht emphasises the importance of highlighting and sharing stories of good practice and the power of peer-led communities to raise awareness and educate about everyday challenges.
Benefits of flexible working [00:29:37] The speakers discuss the importance of flexible working for everyone and how it should be encouraged and appreciated in organisations.
Here are the top line ideas to support parents & carers:
Make no assumptions / expectations
Know your organisation’s strengths & weaknesses
Family friendly policies & benefits
Equal parental / carers leave
Flexibility
Remote / hybrid working
Recruitment
Supportive managers
Role models/ allies
Networks /mentors
Affordable childcare