Solutions

 

The following ‘Solution areas’ provide the bulk of the rationale for the tools in this toolkit and are grounded in both literature and the practical experiences of different types of organizations, especially utilities. They are interlinked to the ‘challenge areas’ discussed in the previous section and provide context for the tools listed in the next section. Although simplified into discrete pieces for the sake of presentation, it must be noted that many of the solutions are often complex, interlinked and multidimensional.

 

Policy Clarity and Safeguards from Discrimination	Flexibility	Childcare and Lactation	Medical and Mental Health Support / Insurance	Employee Support
Policy Clarity   Safeguards from Discrimination	Telework   Phased Transition   Flexible Work	Childcare Allowance / Subsidy   Onsite Childcare / Lactation Room	Mental Health Support   Access to Health Services   Health Insurance	Mentoring Support   Employee Research Group   Refresher Training   Connection to work

 

Policy Clarity and Safeguards from Discrimination

Although many of the solutions discussed in this section and the tools that follow can be operationalized independently and in a modular way, a much better way to institutionalize support for working and prospective parents by creating favorable organizational policies. In addition to providing clarity and thereby reducing stress for both employees and managers, well-constructed policies can signal genuine commitment from the top management to gender equality, diversity, and the welfare of the employees.[1] They also provide guidance to personnel at all levels to make the appropriate decisions, help manage legal risk and improve workforce morale, worker retention and job satisfaction.

Once policies are created, they must be communicated effectively throughout the organization, and HR/management must be trained how to implement them. A 2019 study in Bangladesh of workers in the garment sector[2] found that many of the workers were unaware of their maternity benefits. Clearly communicating policies about benefits, anti-discrimination and childcare support is almost as important as creating them in the first place. This can also help encourage men to share more responsibilities for childcare as they may be less fearful of the consequences of taking paternity leave.

Safeguards against discrimination of parents and prospective parents should be prohibited in all aspects of the employee lifecycle, including hiring, termination, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, performance reviews, access to trainings and other benefits. Ideally such protection should extend from national laws, but they can be ensured through proper policies at the company level in instances where they are not legally required. After putting relevant policies in place, supervisors should be trained to recognize discrimination and all employees should be made aware of the protections that they are entitled to. Policies should explicitly cover the various types of potential discrimination and include a reporting mechanism for employees who feel discriminated against.

Maternity and parental leave benefit policies can be formulated to address additional challenges such as infertility and the needs of parents of special needs children. It can be a challenge for policymakers to find the right balance between the needs for fairness and transparency with the need to react to unanticipated circumstances, but it’s important to recognize that overly rigid policies may restrict flexibility and create an environment with cumbersome procedures.

Flexibility

Flexibility at work can mean everything to a working parent because it addresses four out of the five challenge areas identified by this toolkit. A flexible schedule, which prioritizes output over attendance during specific time intervals is a great way to support families, especially those with infants, so that family members can work on their time. Having the option to plan their own schedules will allow employees to handle situations like child/ren getting sick, doctor’s appointments, school events, and a myriad of other life responsibilities of working parents.

Telework, flexible days and hours, compressed work week, phased return to work after maternity leave are examples of how flexibility can be incorporated in organizations. These options can even be combined to allow working parents to have more control over their daily or weekly schedules. Some proponents have argued that the concept of phased transition can even be applied to phase out of work at the start of maternity leave so the pregnant employee can slowly handover the work to her replacement and have the opportunity to provide some hands-on coaching and guidance. Flexible hours can also be beneficial for organizations who have predictable peak activity times, allowing managers to negotiate hours that will closely match the needs of the organization.

By giving employees time to handle situations that might otherwise lead to absenteeism or resignation, flexibility can lead to better employee retention. Organizations can also improve employee loyalty without having to make drastic changes. Flexibility may even help with addressing organizational problems like overcrowding, without having to resort to expensive relocations or expansions, and offer value added services like expanded business hours, without hiring extra people.

It is worth mentioning that full flexibility may not be an option for all employees as some roles have more rigid schedules than others. However, even a semi-flexible schedule, with some fixed hours, can provide working parents with the much time to handle childcare and other life responsibilities.

Childcare and Lactation

Childcare benefits in the form of allowances or subsidies can enable working parents to stay on and advance their organizations. They are a highly effective and an easy to operationalize method for organizations to reduce their employees’ parenting burdens. Allowances are direct payments that employees with children can spend in any way they see fit. The subsidies will usually take the form of partial or full reimbursements of fees paid to select care centers. Employers may even be able to negotiate discounts with the selected providers and create cost savings for themselves and their employees.

Subsidizing childcare costs can reduce the stress and anxiety that working parents experience with respect to things like their children’s future and personal finances, ultimately helping employers motivate and retain quality talent, boost productivity, and reduce absenteeism and attrition. Childcare Allowances should also be provided to all employees who have child/ren under age XX to encourage them to take on more care responsibilities.

Facilities like onsite daycare and/or lactation rooms are a great way to address many of the challenges faced by working parents with small children. Lactation rooms are designated and private spaces for breastfeeding mothers to pump, and are equipped with comfortable chairs, refrigerators, sinks,cleaning supplies and a good ventilation system. They can also be used to nurse children when required. Setting up lactation rooms is relatively simple and inexpensive, and may encourage nursing mothers to return to work.

Onsite childcare in the form of daycare centers / creches can offer parents the peace of mind that comes with having their children close by and reduce stress by having to negotiate drop-offs/pick-ups at another location. An onsite facility will improve attendance and may increase the efficiency, loyalty and motivation of employees. Some research indicate that children may gain a sense of independence, academic achievement, and socialization when growing up in such facilities.

Medical and Mental Health Support / Insurance

Working parents may be particularly susceptible to stress and burnout. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that for every $1 spent on treating common mental health concerns, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity. Support for mental health can be provided in-house by a qualified counselor or psychologist, by the provision of health insurance that includes mental health coverage, or both.

Providing access to medical services through inhouse medical practitioners or a health insurance program can help meet many of the needs of both working parents and their dependent children. Employer sponsored health care access can help working parents manage their health care costs, reduce the time spent on doctors’ visits and recovery, and may even spur the adoption of healthier lifestyles. They will also allow parents and their child/ren to manage chronic health conditions and maintain better overall health.

Employee Support

During Maternity / Paternity parents may feel disconnected from their colleagues, teams and organization.  Maintaining some connection to colleagues can ease the feelings of disconnection and make returning feel less overwhelming.

However, it is also important to find a suitable middle ground between disconnecting and staying plugged in in case the new mothers prefer. While it may be helpful to be CCed on important emails and be notified of key decisions, or perhaps dial in to listen to periodic staff meetings, those on parental leave should not be roped back into a situation akin to teleworking. Research also suggests that HR leaders treat parental leave as a brief interlude rather than a major disruption and advises managers to create an open dialog with returners.

In a rapidly changing energy sector that is also increasing in complexity, employees returning from maternity / paternity leave risk being unable to perform at peak capacity. In addition to being encumbered by technical changes to the work itself, their knowledge may have also faded as a result of their absence from work. Refresher trainings can help update skills or keep important knowledge and concepts current in such situation. The benefits of such programs are such that they can even be provided to all personnel on a regular basis as a method for improving productivity, employee satisfaction and retention in general.

Being a working parent is a learning process and it can be important to glean tips from people who've done it before. From figuring out how to pump at work, to manage childcare and take care of a sick child, it can often be very helpful to have a working parent mentor who can provide insights into how to balance the demands of parenthood and a professional career.[3]

Working parent mentors can help new parents understand and integrate their realities with work, create connections with peers in similar situations and navigate the resources available to them in their organization.[4] They can also provide much needed emotional support and share lessons from their own professional and personal experiences.

Mentorship programs can be formally structured under the championship of HR or a senior manager who can be responsible for matching new parents to suitable mentor, or they can take the form of a network (formal or informal) in which colleagues can come together in something like an Employee Resource Group to support each other. Institutionalizing a mentorship culture could even be as easy encouraging new working parents to talk to a more experienced parent colleague who may be sitting down a few offices over.[5]Organizations need to provide the space / time for mentors and mentees to talk during work hours so as not to put additional burdens on staff likely already facing significant time constraints/after-work responsibilities.

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