Children are the future, and providing proper care for them should be every parent’s goal.
However, not everyone has access to funds that will cover kindergarten fees and most low-income families are forced to have their older kids or neighbors babysit the youngest child while they’re off at work.
Thankfully, some companies know how hard this can be on a family’s budget, as taking care of an infant can set you back thousands of dollars every year, and that’s no position to be in during a high-inflation economic climate.
To help offset these costs, companies offer benefits to their employees with children, including paying for their daycare expenses, and in return, they receive improved employee retention and workplace efficiency, as the parent in question no longer has to worry about their child all day and can focus on work instead.
Many companies are now prioritizing these benefits, and for low-income Americans looking for work, this is a major selling point.
Dependent care benefits
Child care is only part of a much larger benefits program that businesses offer to their employees.
This includes all the benefits that extend to the employee’s dependents, referring to their spouses, children, and other members of the household.
With childcare benefits, a company can contribute to creating a healthy workplace ecosystem that shows how much the company cares for the well-being of its employees.
With this, employees feel much more comfortable working and can display increased efficiency compared to those that don’t receive childcare benefits.
Child care can be administered in a number of different ways, and we’re going to go over some of the options that businesses offer to employees with growing children.
Keep reading to learn more about what you have access to and what you can do to ensure a healthy upbringing for your little ones.
Subsidies
The simplest way businesses can offer benefits to parents is through subsidies that will help minimize the impact of the many costs that come with taking care of a growing child.
In a way, this is the most cost-effective option for most businesses out there, as it only provides the employees with a minimal amount of money in order to help them deal with their parenting responsibilities without them becoming a financial burden.
This help comes in two forms, those being either direct payments to the employee in an agreed-upon amount or through partially subsidized childcare centers, which allows the parents to split the costs of daycare with their employer and focus on work.
The 2nd option is particularly useful for families with 2 employed parents, as it solves two different issues at the same time rather than dealing with them separately.
A flexible work schedule
While some companies may not be able to offer additional funds for the employee to dedicate to their childcare expenses, they may offer benefits in a different way.
A survey has found that a great deal of parents would much rather be granted a flexible work schedule than a subsidy, as it allows them to spend more time with their family and introduce a healthy balance of work and private life.
There’s nothing worse than coming home from work late into the night only to see that your child had already gone to sleep, knowing that by the time they wake up, you’ll already be well on your way to work.
Having flexibility when it comes to your shifts is the solution to this problem, and if you think about it, it’s beneficial for the employer as well, mainly due to the fact that not a single dollar is spent providing benefits this way.
On-site child care centers
Some companies have gone the extra step, bridging the gap between subsidies and child care center copayment, offering their employees access to on-site child care.
This childcare facility is placed within the office space and is a great opportunity for any company that has greater numbers of employees with young children.
This way, a parent can keep a close eye on their child without losing focus at work, knowing that they’re taken care of.
On top of this, it allows for break time to be spent with their child, which is a particularly attractive benefit to single parents, as every moment with your kid is priceless.
Companies that have invested in on-site child care centers have seen great improvements in employee retention and satisfaction, and it’s helped in the hiring process as well.
Bottom line
Taking care of a child can put a huge dent into your finances, and it’s what’s causing so many younger couples to refrain from having children early into their careers.
However, some companies are more than willing to offer benefits to their workers with children, as it contributes to a healthier workplace environment and satisfied employees, meaning that everyone’s a winner.