Showing strong support for work-life balance can be a great way to connect employee goals with company objectives. When you actively prioritise employee well-being, the benefits usually follow.
More and more, workers—especially Millennials—are looking for family-friendly policies when seeking jobs or deciding whether to stay with a company. According to a study by Working Families, a significant majority of younger fathers (68%) consider their childcare needs before pursuing new job opportunities or promotions!
“I think being a father is really helpful to my work. It has made me more sensitive to the needs of my staff and how they relate to their own families. My work has helped me to be able to give advice to people about the balance they achieve between their work and their home life. If I weren’t a father, I wouldn’t be able to give that advice.”
Tips to establishing a father-friendly workplace culture
- Know who the fathers are in the organisation
(including single/separated father, stepfathers, grandfathers and fathers as carers are in your organisation. Ask them to sign up to a database as carers along with mums and grandmothers.
- Create a workplace culture that values men as fathers and caregivers
Don’t design your family friendly practices only around the assumption of mothers as the carer in the family. Social norms and stereotypes that only place men in the breadwinner role and do not value those fathers who want to share the role of caregiver in the family, can limit men’s confidence and capacity to be engaged fathers and partners. - Promote the benefits fathers (and parents/carers) bring to the company
Many of the skills developed by parenthood – leadership, ability to adapt to change, time management – can be transferred to the workplace. By recognising these skills as valuable and investing in both male and female parents and caregivers, businesses can benefit from a more productive and skilled labour force with greater employee retention. - Encourage senior male staff to lead by example
When senior staff acknowledge and discuss their role as fathers in the workplace and are open about work and family, this creates a supportive environment for fathers to acknowledge that role as part of their lives as well. - Check in with dads and be proactive in showing your support
Don’t wait for a father to come to you if they are a new dad or the dad of a sick child for example. Check in with them to see how they are going, if they are going through a transition period, or perhaps struggling with this new load at home or a lack of sleep – offer your support or a listening ear.
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