Innovative Companies for the Working Parent - Part 1 of 3
What tends to classify a company as innovative to the working parent? Overall, it is the company that recognizes there is more to your life than working and commuting to home so that you can get rested up and start the work/commute all over again, except for those off hours where you have to jam in all your life duties, rapidly and sometimes rather stressfully.
It is the company that recognizes parents are working for their families, but those families exist right now and the work needs to be done in accordance with the responsibility of also being a parent.
Some companies are recognizing more and more the burden it can be for working parents to juggle finances, time, work, and the responsibilities of parenting and taking steps to provide programs to the working parent that will help ease that juggling act.
Here are a few companies that have risen to the occasion and begun to get a name for themselves amongst the working parents.
Dell: More than likely you are familiar with this Texas-based company. Located in Round Rock Texas, they manufacture personal computers and servers as well as network and mobile technology. They currently provide jobs for 28,436 employees, 8631 of which are women.
Dell has made a name for itself with three of its programs designed to help create a positive and rewarding work environment.
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The company continues to value employee feedback about the way it does business. A new survey asks staffer to actually rate their managers, and they have two blogs where staff can discuss workplace issues.
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In both the Texas and North Carolina facilities parents have access to full time and back up child care at ten near-site centers. They even have an in-home nanny program that staff can request, at a cost of $4.00 per hour when a child cannot attend regular care for some reason.
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They also provide a healthy pregnancy program for mothers-to-be, giving important physical health information to help during those critical nine months. This program even provides a maternity hotline that parents can call 24/7.
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They may be one of the few companies recognizing the care that the elderly also require with their program designed to help workers with aging parents. Employees can locate elder care through a resource and referral hotline and can poll an employee support group for recommendations.
Accenture: a New York company that supplies management consulting, technology services and outsourcing. They currently have a total of 28,468 employees, 11,925 of which are women. They offer some great programs. Here’s a couple of examples:
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Accenture allows the freedom to work four long days in exchange for Fridays off, as well as working from home during the weeks of July 4, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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Accenture also provides an extended leave program. They allow employees to divert a portion of their pay to help fund their leave. One example of how this program works is with new moms. They can add an extra month to their 16-week maternity leave. (Already 10 weeks better than most places!) Other employees have used the program to take three months off without jeopardizing their jobs or health benefits. Just imagine – summer with your kids!
Tags: work life balance, working parent