Maven, the world’s largest virtual clinic for women’s and family health, and Great Place to Work®, the global authority on workplace culture, today released “Parents at the Best Workplaces™ – The Largest-Ever Study of Working Parents.”
With nearly 80% of employers reporting that supporting parents is a top benefits priority, “Parents at the Best Workplaces™ – The Largest-Ever Study of Working Parents” provides comprehensive, data-driven insights into how the Best Workplaces for Parents are supporting families — including how companies are structuring fertility and child care benefits, tackling burnout, rolling out innovative new solutions to address the needs of parents during the pandemic, and more. The report, which is available on MavenClinic.com and GreatPlaceToWork.com, represents the sentiments of more than 850,000 employees, including 440,000 parents, across 1,244 U.S.-headquartered companies.
“With two million women dropping out of the workforce so far this year, we’ve rolled back decades of progress on gender diversity — a reality that has massive implications for businesses for years to come,” said Kate Ryder, Founder and CEO of Maven. “Employers need real, proven strategies and solutions, and they need them now. As this report makes clear, the best solutions are not perks — in fact, the pandemic has revealed how hollow much of that was. Instead, what stands out are real investments in stretched populations that help attract and retain diverse perspectives at all levels of a company, which is ultimately what drives innovation and growth.”
“When companies are great for parents and aspiring parents, they tend to be great for everyone else as well,” said Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. “And those high-trust, parent friendly workplaces aren’t just better for people. They’re better for business – with higher innovation and productivity. And they’re better for the world. Because every time a working parent can shift from their job duties to care for their kids in a kind, patient way – rather than a stressed-out way – we all win.”
The report is part of a multi-year partnership between Maven and Great Place to Work, combining Maven’s leadership in family benefits and Great Place to Work’s deep knowledge of workplace culture to empower businesses to build data-driven strategies to support employees. “Parents at the Best Workplaces™ – The Largest-Ever Study of Working Parents” also coincides with the launch of Great Place to Work’s annual Best Workplaces for Parents™ list, celebrating the 100 companies whose support for parents has stood out during an unprecedented and challenging year for employees with caregiving duties.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- Investing in working parents is better for business. Companies that invest in employees and their families see 5.5 times more revenue growth thanks to greater innovation, higher talent retention, and increased productivity.
- Supporting parents should be core to companies’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategies — yet we often talk about these two priorities separately. Underrepresented racial groups are more likely to be working parents, and they’re more likely to experience burnout — 33% of Black mothers are experiencing burnout, in comparison to 25% of White mothers and 21% of White fathers. Mothers are 28% more likely to experience burnout than fathers and are experiencing 2.4 million estimated additional cases of burnout due to unequal demands of home and work. When companies reduce burnout, their employees are 20x more likely to stay — but those policies need to address the unique reasons for burnout.
- Paid parental leave doesn’t just help growing families — it helps close the wage gap and allows parents to bring their best selves back to work. Working mothers lose nearly a month of income on average when supplementing their allotted maternity leave, adding a financial burden to the physical and emotional challenges new parents face. Companies with generous leave policies see both mothers and fathers taking more time — ensuring women don’t leave money on the table and that caregiving is a family affair. Working fathers need more time and support to take leave — they are only taking 30-50% of the leave offered.
- Benefits shouldn’t start or stop with baby. The best companies are thinking beyond maternity leave to support employees throughout the entire journey of planning and raising a family. The Best Workplaces are investing in benefits that provide continuous care and holistic support for parents at every stage of the journey. More than 8 in 10 (81%) of Best Workplaces are providing reimbursement for fertility treatments, and over the past three years, nearly half have increased their coverage. The Best Workplaces are also offering benefits like telemedicine for pregnant and postpartum families (49% of Best Workplaces), return-to-work career coaching (48% of Best Workplaces), and breast milk shipping (52% of Best Workplaces). They are also supporting their parents’ childcare needs by helping them find childcare (78% of Best Workplaces) or backup childcare (56% of Best Workplaces) and offering parent ERGs (61% of Best Workplaces).
