How to support working parents & create a family friendly workplace

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

Is there anything I missed out?  What would you add?