Insufficient family support isn’t just bad for your team – it’s bad for business. Last year, 1 in 4 companies lost employees due to caregiving obligations.
If women had access to the childcare they need to work the hours they want, it could generate up to £28.2 billion in economic output each year and increase their earnings by between £7.6 billion and £10.9 billion per annum.
Currently, only 11% of employers offer any kind of childcare benefit, but this number is growing, and with it are the expectations of existing employees and potential hires. With 75% of millennials and Generation Z-ers intending to have children if they haven’t already, this isn’t a demand that’s going to go away.
There’s a big new challenge to consider too: the cost of living crisis, and its impact on your people. Parents of young children, already stretched by childcare costs that have risen over 16% in 4 years, are feeling the strain more than most. Those spiraling childcare costs were tough enough to handle already: now, with everything else suddenly more expensive too, the constant juggle of balancing family with work just got tougher than ever.
For more details: Download the report the ROI of Childcare
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Poor childcare is killing women’s careers
While men continue to advance in their careers after having children, women are more likely to suffer setbacks – or leave the workforce altogether.
46% of mums in the UK (equating to 1.7 million women) say they have struggled to find suitable childcare leading to:
- 15% quitting their jobs
- 30% reducing their hours
- 46% not taking on more hours
- 34% turning down a job
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Childcare fuels talent
How working parents are treated is an indicator of how ALL talent is treated, especially in the eyes of prospective and rising junior talent seeking a company home to build their long-term careers.
Working parents currently make up 3 in 7 of our workforce. Millennials make up a large proportion and Generation Z are now starting to become parents. These generations have very different workplace expectations than those before them: meaning that a pro family culture and accompanying family- focused benefits are critical to future business success.
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Childcare can transform productivity
Even the most rock-solid childcare arrangements can go wrong due to sickness, inset days, closures and a whole raft of other unforeseen circumstances, and this is where women often pick up the slack, and ultimately why backup and on-demand childcare increases work productivity by up to 8 hours per week.
45% of parents reported that childcare issues resulted in chronic absenteeism, with them missing an average of 4.3 days of work every 6 months. For an employee earning a £40,000 salary this equates to £1360 in lost productivity.
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Can you afford not to act?
The future of the workplace depends on equal access to childcare that enables every employee to excel at home and at work.
7 in 10 workers agree that the ability to provide for their family motivates them to do their job, more than money or any other factor.
What you can do:
- Make childcare and caregiver support accessible to all, in conjunction with flexible working.
- Forge a team culture that values personal obligations and reduces the stigma of practicing a proper work-life balance.
For more details: Download the report the ROI of Childcare
With Bubble for Work you can give working parents access to subsidised, flexible childcare – providing support where they need it the most. Find out more about how Bubble for Work can work for you: https://joinbubble.com/demo
Bubble for Work gives employers the ability to boost productivity, wellbeing and loyalty amongst working parents. It’s a unique benefit which allows employees to easily access back-up childcare as well as petcare and eldercare.
Visit www.joinbubble.com/for-employers to learn more on how forward-thinking businesses like Numis and Vitality use Bubble to help their future, expecting and existing parents excel at home and at work.
