{"id":2677,"date":"2022-04-22T15:12:44","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T07:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2677"},"modified":"2022-04-22T15:12:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T07:12:44","slug":"how-to-better-support-working-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-better-support-working-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"How to better support working parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

It takes a village (and an understanding employer) to raise children. While this was glaringly obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic (Side note: Did you ever attend a Zoom meeting and hear a screaming toddler in the background?), it\u2019s something that rings true even as the pandemic gradually ebbs away. In this <\/span>Pacific Prime UK<\/span><\/a> article, we\u2019ll give you 3 ways to support working parents, and thereby recruit and retain stellar candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Corporate<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The life of a working parent\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before we can explore ways to support working parents, it\u2019s first important to understand the struggles of life as a working parent. Whether it\u2019s taking your little one to the hospital, attending a parent-teacher meeting, entertaining them during the summer holidays and more, parental duties don\u2019t always align with the standard 9 to 5 workday. Add in the fact that many parents don\u2019t have a support system and suffer from separation anxiety, and you can see how things can quickly get unmanageable.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Burnout and resignation<\/span><\/h3>\n

Due to the fear of being misunderstood, judged or deemed unprofessional in the workplace, many working parents don\u2019t openly talk to their managers about how they\u2019re feeling or their personal situation. Over time, something as easily solvable as daycare closure or exhaustion (Hint: Flexible working solutions) can build up and lead to burnout or even resignation. This is especially true for the non-breadwinner of the family (typically, but not always, women).<\/span><\/p>\n

Further reading<\/b>: <\/span>How to support female employees during the pandemic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

A supportive manager can make a big the difference\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Fortunately, it doesn\u2019t take much to rectify the situation and support working parents. All it takes is a supportive manager to listen to the needs of working parents, and be flexible and adaptive in finding a solution that works for all parties. But, of course, this is easier said than done as working parents might not always be vocal. Here are some tried-and-tested tips to get that conversation started:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Ask open-ended questions\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

To get working parents to open up about their struggles, you should aim to ask open-ended questions. Instead of saying, \u201cIs everything okay?\u201d, which may simply prompt them to say \u201cYes\u201d, try asking a question like, \u201cHow are you finding life as a new parent? Is there any important context you\u2019d like me to have about your life outside of work?\u201d. By asking questions like these, you\u2019re signalling that the <\/span>line of communication is open<\/span><\/a> and you\u2019re ready to support working parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Know what employees are asking for<\/span><\/h4>\n

When working parents come to you, they may say things like \u201cI\u2019m exhausted\u201d. This may seem like simply venting or being overly emotional, so you should aim to steer the conversation more towards solutions. Ask them what they need from you. Is it a short vacation to rejuvenate? Or longer-term changes like flexible start and end times?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Praise how employees work<\/span><\/h3>\n

Many working parents may be feeling a low sense of self. As such, make sure you give praise where it\u2019s warranted – not just for the outcome, but also about how employees work and what you appreciate about them. It\u2019s the difference between saying to your account \u201cGood job on the budget numbers\u201d and \u201cThanks for working incredibly hard on the budget numbers – I really appreciate your attention to detail\u201d. By praising working parents, you\u2019re enabling them to experience themselves as consummate professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Keep the momentum going\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

With a child to look after (especially during the pandemic), many working parents may be demotivated at work. To keep the momentum going, remind them of the progress the team and company have made, and their specific contributions to that. Give them an update on how the company and specific departments are doing, and tell them directly how impressed you are with the impact they\u2019ve made in such a short time. By giving working parents a sense of moving forward, the more they\u2019ll be able to keep going.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pacific Prime UK can help you offer family-friendly employee benefits\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

If your company doesn\u2019t already offer family-friendly employee benefits, consider doing so as it\u2019s one of the best ways you can support working parents. From onsite lactation rooms for breastfeeding mothers and generous parental leave to childcare benefits and more, there are a number of family-friendly benefits you can offer. Not sure where to begin? <\/span>Pacific Prime UK<\/span><\/a> is at your service.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a global health insurance and employee benefits brokerage, Pacific Prime UK has got over two decades of experience working together with companies of all sizes and industries across the UK and internationally. Using <\/span>a tailored, technology-driven approach<\/span><\/a>, we can help you design and implement <\/span>employee benefits solutions<\/span><\/a> that keep your organisational needs and goals at the forefront.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about what we can do for you, please <\/span>arrange a free consultation with our corporate team!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Business<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It takes a village (and an understanding employer) to raise children. While this was glaringly obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic (Side note: Did you ever attend a Zoom meeting and hear a screaming toddler in the background?), it\u2019s something that rings true even as the pandemic gradually ebbs away. In this Pacific Prime UK article, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[765,766,630,1795,38,1794],"class_list":["post-2677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ban_cor","tag-cta_cor","tag-employee-benefits","tag-family-friendly-benefits","tag-health-insurance","tag-working-parents"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/working-parents.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcnTsc-Hb","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2677"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2679,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions\/2679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}