How to Support Parents at Work: A Livestream Conversation
As the father of four kids ages 10 and under, the last few months of quarantine life have been interesting… And challenging. It’s one thing to say that we have to transition to virtual work, but it’s another entirely to make this transition while workers are balancing the new realities of virtual school, intermittent childcare availability, and more.
We’re going to host a panel conversation on Tuesday, September 1st at noon central time to give some actionable insights and information on this topic.
The Numbers:
- Over 30 million US families have at least one child in the home, and that has contributed to new levels of stress in the last few months as parents try to cope with the new realities of the world.
- Data from one source shows that over $12 billion in lost productivity is due to childcare issues.
- Stress from childcare, virtual school, and balancing work responsibilities during the pandemic has been one of the most prevalent recurring themes in many of our research interviews over the last few months.
During a recent panel discussion on workplace challenges, I expected to see conversations about digital transformation, process improvement, and similar topics. Instead, nearly half of the HR professionals were commenting on the personal and professional challenges of working without childcare, supporting kids as they return to school, and trying to balance work and life in a time where it seems there’s no visible boundary between the two.
Next week we’re going to be hosting a livestream conversation about these topics with some practitioner voices along with our friends from Bright Horizons. If you click “attending” on the LinkedIn event, it will notify you the moment the livestream begins, and you can even save a calendar invite right from the LinkedIn event page.
How companies support their working parents tells a lot about their culture, their values, and their leadership. This is a critical moment for many of those in your workforce–don’t miss it.
Ben Eubanks is the Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory. He is an author, speaker, and researcher with a passion for telling stories and making complex topics easy to understand.
His latest book Talent Scarcity answers the question every business leader has asked in recent years: “Where are all the people, and how do we get them back to work?” It shares practical and strategic recruiting and retention ideas and case studies for every employer.
His first book, Artificial Intelligence for HR, is the world’s most-cited resource on AI applications for hiring, development, and employee experience.
Ben has more than 10 years of experience both as an HR/recruiting executive as well as a researcher on workplace topics. His work is practical, relevant, and valued by practitioners from F100 firms to SMB organizations across the globe.
He has spoken to tens of thousands of HR professionals across the globe and enjoys sharing about technology, talent practices, and more. His speaking credits include the SHRM Annual Conference, Seminarium International, PeopleMatters Dubai and India, and over 100 other notable events.