3 Things Companies Can Do To Support Employees With Kids During A Crisis

In these unprecedented times, support for the company’s employees is crucial. Employees are not just workers, they are humans with feelings.

It is no surprise parents are experiencing intense pressure.

Companies around the world are asking their employees to work from home but a lot of people have kids at home and during the coronavirus crisis, most of the working parents are forced to juggle their professional to-do lists with their parenting responsibilities. 

To be fair, working from home is not easy when you’re also tasked with being the sole caretaker for your children all day. Considering the possibility of contagion, working parents are not able to ask their usual sources of help during the workday; grandparents and babysitters.

This lack of support makes it even harder for employees to execute their usual workload.

There are some that experience worse, the distraction isn’t only having the kids at home. It is the need to educate them as schools are closed too.

Hence, businesses need to be mindful of the various obligations that working parents have during the average workday.

Now more than ever, company leaders must be extra thoughtful, empathetic, and responsive to the needs of their employees to drive their business forward. 

Here are 3 things companies can do to support employees with kids during a crisis.

1.Be flexible.

Is it possible for you to give your employees more days off outside of the government’s benefits? is there some way to provide the incentive for certain working parents to go part-time or have more flexible hours?

There are already some companies taken such measures. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, Google has given its employees who are caring for children or family members an additional 2 weeks leave in the event of any school or care facility closure. If they use that two-week allotment, affected staffers still have the option to use their usual four weeks of paid leave. 

2. Lower Your Expectations.

You may need to reconsider task allocation and hourly expectations for working parents during the pandemic.

You will have to figure out how much work can parents realistically complete during a workday at home? And what support they might need to complete their assigned to-do lists? Also, establish a fair baseline for working expectations so that it can save everyone involved from unnecessary stress and overwork down the road. 

3. Virtual Development Opportunities.

Work needs to get done, but there are times when employees’ kids had to be attended to immediately.

Creating virtual development opportunities helps to keep working parents engaged and performing at their highest level. For many working parents, working remotely can be a tough experience, so creating opportunities for social learning where they can access at any time can meet multiple needs at the same time.

These privileges are considerable but may not be feasible for smaller companies.

However, you can discuss and work out with your team to institute flexible working arrangements and provide support to those who can no longer handle their full workload.

Above all, treat your employees as people first and recognize people have worries and struggles.