5 Examples of Family-Friendly Employee Benefits to Consider
The family is a core part of any employee’s life, which is why it is important for employers to recognise the significance of implementing family-friendly employee benefits. Not only would this help retain existing employees and attract new employees, but it may also positively affect employees’ morale and happiness at work.
Enhance Work-Life Balance: 5 Family-Friendly Employee Benefits to Consider
So, here are 5 examples of family-friendly benefits that employers should consider:
1. Flexible Hours
Flexible working hours allow employees to work at a pace that is best suited to their personal commitments. As a result, this means that they’re able to, for instance, drop off and pick up their children from school or an after-school club. This improves their work-life balance without compromising their ability to perform their best in their role.
2. Lactation Rooms
Believe it or not, but lactation rooms are a great way to make your office nursing-friendly. This is a private room (not a bathroom!) designed for new mothers to pump and store breast milk while at work. This allows nursing employees to have a safe and comfortable space for them to pump without being disrupted. Particularly, this helps new mothers transition back into work without any trouble. Keep in mind that this room should have a refrigerator, sink, comfortable chair, a lock and/or ‘occupied’ sign, and tissues and anti-bacterial wipes.
3. Financial Support
Having a baby or multiple is a big investment, so it would not be a bad idea to provide financial support for employees with children under 18. Benefits such as paid family leave and group income protection insurance are excellent for providing family-friendly financial assistance to employees. In particular, the latter is great for giving employees and their families peace of mind should they find themselves unable to work due to illness or injury. Retail and supermarket discounts are also good benefits to add to help employees that have a family to take care of.
4. Extended Private Healthcare Insurance
Many employers already offer private healthcare insurance for their employees, however, something to think about is to extend provisions towards their family members, specifically their spouse, and children. Their cover can be limited, but offering any form of private healthcare insurance for employees’ family members is still a worthwhile investment. Not only are you helping employees stay healthy, but you are also incentivising them to stay and reap the benefits at your company.
5. Child Care Assistance
Child care employee benefits is a wonderful benefit to incorporate into your benefits scheme. This could be in the form of access to quality child care places or child care vouchers that grow according to the employee’s needs. Many employers neglect child care benefits, and then find themselves wondering why their employees burn out quicker and are absent from work often. While burnout and absenteeism is not always due to child care issues, it is the case for some employees which is why employers should pay attention to their employees’ child care needs.
As you can see from the above 5 examples, there is certainly value in implementing family-friendly employee benefits within a business. So, if you are an employer reading this blog, what are you waiting for?
