Back up childcare is a moral support to your employees. What if your company hired you and they asked you to take care of their four-year-old daughter while they were out on business? Would you agree to be her caregiver while they have gone, knowing they will pay you for that time? If not, should you be fired, or at least asked to leave the company? That’s a tough question. You might say no because it’s morally wrong or too hard work. But what if it was your employer? It’s certainly not a sackable offense—unless your employer said it was.
For years, the American workplace has tolerated a practice called “backup childcare,” where an employer has a family member hired by the company to care for their child while the parents are working. The idea, which is technically illegal in most states, is that having childcare in place means employers won’t have to take time away from work to care for their child at home.
People’s Misconception
Because business and children are often never mentioned in the same sentence, people tend to think about backup childcare as completely unproblematic. But in fact, it’s a complicated and controversial issue.
On the one hand, having backup childcare is beneficial for the employees themselves and their families. For example, on average working parents spend eight years of their child’s life in paid work. This can have a serious negative impact on children’s well-being. Having someone who can look after your child allows you to be more committed to your job, knowing that someone else is there for your family when you are not physically available.
And it’s not just workers who are affected by backup childcare. Children and their caregivers benefit from knowing they have someone they can rely on around the clock. One study found that children whose parents worked outside the home were 27% more likely to develop a conduct disorder if their parents left them at home.
Other Misconceptions
On the other hand, some experts warn that backup childcare can be harmful for both children and employees, particularly those with special needs.
Parents are always looking for ways to make life as a parent easier and more enjoyable. One way that parents can do this is by finding employers who offer on-site childcare services. These type of services generally provide parents with many benefits, such as shorter work days, the flexibility to leave work early without having to worry about child care, and the ability to focus on their family instead of their profession.
Most parents prefer daycare services to be on-site so that the children are in a comfortable environment and they do not have to travel anywhere after a hard day of work. This can help ease their mind of the child’s wellbeing while allowing them to focus on their job. Since all of the child care services are provided by their employer, parents are able to move up in positions or even find jobs that they previously did not have time for.
On-site Childcare
On-site childcare is typically easy to use as well. A parent usually gets a set number of times that they can use the service and can use it as many times as they want within those allotted times. However, most workers prefer to be able to use their childcare services after work hours so they don’t have to worry about getting their children ready for bed when they get home. On-site childcare and daycare services are provided by many employers today. Many companies find that offering these services on-site help keep their employees happy and help retain them for longer periods of time.
One in four families correlate their ability to provide quality care for their children with a lack of paid child care. The struggle comes not in finding care, but the high cost of that time. Childcare benefits can help alleviate some of that burden, as well as promote a healthy work-life balance for both parents and employers. It’s important to note that not all families are eligible, nor is it meant to replace your entire family’s childcare costs. The goal is to help cover costs for the everyday needs of your children, such as naps and meals.
On site backup childcare services for employees:
Some people feel that taking time away for breaks is a luxury employers cannot afford. However, it is important to keep the employer and employee happy, so offering an on-site backup childcare service that allows for scheduled breaks can be helpful in balancing work hours with family needs. Some companies offer childcare services for employees.
Childcare is sometimes seen as a luxury that’s not necessary or even allowed during work hours. But it’s a common occurrence for many parents to need an hour or two to get some shopping done, attend a doctor’s appointment, or simply take a break from the daily grind for a few minutes. If this is the case at your company, you might want to consider providing an on-site childcare service for employees.”
On site childcare may not be as much of a luxury and can be beneficial to both employer and employee. The benefit of this to the employer is that it helps balance a natural need, with a need for work.”
Backup childcare services can be provided in many ways. Listed below are just some of the options:
- Families can attend onsite backup childcare centers as well as companies that provide babysitting service. Families can take advantage of the various benefits offered by these on-site childcare providers. Plus, families may find that the onsite childcare service offers one more way to diversify their income stream.
- Onsite backup childcare benefits a company which is one of the prime reasons why companies are beginning to offer this service.
- A company that offers an on-site backup childcare service is a valuable asset to the employee.
- Offering an onsite backup childcare service means that the employee can work during the times they need to, but still have an opportunity to see their children grow and develop.
- It is important however, that these on-site backup childcare services can cause many problems if they are not properly managed.
Backup Childcare Strategies provided by employers:
- On-site day-care for staff, provided by a licensed day care center
- A personal day care provider
- On-site nanny service
The goal of this strategy is to fund the costs of quality childcare for your employees and their families. The federal government currently recognizes these strategies as “an essential benefit”, which means that an employee who qualifies for the benefits can be reimbursed up to the amount paid by their employer. “An essential benefit does not include dependent care, except for a dependent care flexible spending account.”
Uses of Childcare Benefits:
- Enabling employees to obtain quality care for their children
- Encouraging a healthy work-life balance for both parents and employers
The type of benefits you provide will depend on the needs of your staff. A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that “almost two-thirds (65% of HR professionals) said they had a significant number of employees in the organization who depend upon child care benefits as part of their family life. Another 33% said they had a small number of employees who required the assistance.”
Child care issues for working parents:
As you know, child care can be costly and time-consuming. Some parents find themselves juggling two jobs to make ends meet because the cost of care for their kids is too expensive. And, then there are those who risk losing their own jobs because the lack of backup childcare services means they have to stay at home and take care of their kids. But it doesn’t have to be this way!
The first thing to realize is that you need to negotiate with your employer. This means having a conversation with your boss and identifying an alternative solution. Keep in mind that this doesn’t have to be a long term solution–it should be something that works for the time being. If you have more than one child, consider asking your employer if you can work every other day. This will give you a chance to spend time with your family, but also make sure you’re fulfilling your work requirements.
Create support structures for women at work by providing them backup childcare:
Did you know that women often miss out on promotion opportunities or a promotion because they need to find childcare? Not only is this unfair, but it’s also a large financial burden.
In order to address this issue, companies like Amazon are starting to offer solutions by renting the company’s unused office space for women who want to work and have kids. This allows them the flexibility of working from home for certain hours and providing childcare at the office during others. In fact, there is also a company called Secret Escapes offering women the opportunity to work from home. But how does this help women?
Women make up half of the workforce and contribute a huge amount to the economy. Therefore, if you want to encourage more women to enter the workforce, you need to provide them with opportunities to succeed.
One of the reasons why there is a lot of inequality in pay between genders is because women are more likely to take time off work to care for children. That’s why companies like Amazon and Secret Escapes are starting to make it easier for women to succeed by providing them with backup childcare at the office.
Other Positive Impact
Another positive effect that this type of policy can have is that children from single parent families will be able to spend more time with their parents. This means they might experience less bullying and may do better in school.
As this new funding from Amazon indicates, there is a new trend in the workplace that is starting to address some of the inequalities that women face. As more companies provide this type of support to their employees and prove it works, you will start seeing more changes in both gender and income inequality.
This policy is beneficial for the person applying for it and for the company providing it as well. The unfortunate fact is that a lot of people want this kind of flexibility but don’t know where to look for it. If you expand the range of companies offering such opportunities and make it easier for people to look for them, you can help more women succeed, both in the amount they earn and play an active role in the workforce.
I leave you with this quote from former Microsoft Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner: “All women need to know that they are not alone.”
The reason why you don’t see Women using this option is because they have their own set of Domestic help? They can rely on each other. But the problem with Men is that we are raised to be independent. You don’t want to ask for help and often hide our weaknesses. This includes emotional support as well. You don’t know how to reach out for emotional support.
Final words:
As the employer of a new mom, you know that one of the most difficult tasks is to figure out how to provide adequate moral support during the first weeks when your employees are adjusting with new babies at home while they stay on-site. The more time they spend away from their baby, if only for short periods like meetings or business trips, the higher their risk for mental health problems. That’s why providing them with affordable and accessible childcare is one way to reduce this risk.
According to an article from the Globe and Mail, 82% of women who returned to work 10 weeks after giving birth had been back at work for less than six months. This reveals that many women are facing difficulties in returning to work on a full-time basis, because of their employment options, their financial situation or because professional childcare has turned out to be too time consuming.
Backup childcare as a solution. This is where backup childcare comes into play.
