Supporting the Marathon of Working Parenthood
Paid parental leave is often thought of as the hallmark of organizational support for parent employees. However, parental leave serves a very specific parent demographic: parents of newborns. From our work at Werklabs and The Mom Project, we know that attempting to balance work and home life for parents does not end when children are no longer newborns or toddlers. The needs of parents change as children age, and so it is critical that organizations apply a holistic lens to support caregiver employees in the workplace. This should include all forms of parenting; caregivers of children of all varieties, including step-parents, guardians, and foster parents.
It is with this background in mind that Werklabs set out to better understand the evolving workplace needs of parents as their children grow up. To do this, Werklabs partnered with Vivvi, a child care and early childhood learning provider that partners with organizations to create an early childhood experience that aligns with the exceptional quality families deserve. Together, we are determined to shift how organizations think about supporting parent employees from one of a sprint mentality – primarily focusing on parental leave – to a marathon mentality, where there’s understanding and investment in all phases of parent employee needs.
Sincerely,
Pam Cohen, PhD
Chief Research & Analytics Officer
Werklabs & The Mom Project
