Ease into the Flurry of Fall and the Transition Back to School

As summer vacation winds down, our family is turning to an all-out planning sprint: filling in the school schedules and work travel into our family calendar; completing all the school forms we should have done earlier; ordering books and shopping for supplies.???

“Back to school” time means school orientation and open houses, teacher conferences, sports practices, football games. It’s a lot, especially for working parents. And it’s bittersweet. It’s good to get back into routine, as sometimes summers are tough. But there’s also a freedom associated with summer we all miss.??

For me, Labor Day’s imminent arrival is accompanied by a mindset shift that brings the energy and reality of important personal and work milestones. My daughter moving to Boston to start her first post-college job. My college son back to campus for his final year. My high school son reuniting with his friends and getting back into a predictable schedule with academics and activities.???

While all this is swirling with the family, I have critical work events across the next few months that require me to travel every week. I’m doing my best to ensure I can move with intention throughout the fall, meeting my own expectations of being the best professional, mother, spouse, and friend I can be.??

This time of year is when flexibility really matters—and I am far from alone. Countless working parents can relate. ( 彭博资讯 's Work Shift newsletter just covered the struggle and it’s worth a read).?

In fact, what I’ve described here is a significant employee retention issue, especially for women. I’ve discussed a survey Catalyst Inc. fielded last summer a few times already — the findings are so important and remind us that the challenge of integrating work and childcare is persistent and universal. When 35% of moms say they will likely?need to stop working altogether to manage the childcare they need and half of employees with children have considered leaving their organization because of a lack of childcare benefits, employers need to listen.??

The good news is that when companies really lean into issues like these, they can make great strides in improving retention. And they create a better workplace for working parents.?

A great first step, and I’ve said it many times, is to embrace flexible work for all employees .? The benefits of flexibility go beyond reducing turnover. By helping employees make a hectic time of year less stressful, you can decrease absenteeism and boost productivity .???

And adopting flexibility is just as important for employers with a frontline workforce. When Catalyst spoke to women in frontline roles to understand how they feel at work, they told us that strict or unpredictable scheduling is one of the key barriers that keeps them from thriving on the job, especially because it doesn’t account for their lives outside of work. Frontline employers have an opportunity to adopt employee-centered scheduling practices that will not only retain working parents and caregivers at a time when attrition is high, but also help them succeed. ?

Employers can also help working parents by providing the childcare benefits they need and want. The same Catalyst survey found that three-quarters of employees would use childcare benefits if their organization provided them and 70% said they are more likely to choose an employer that provides these benefits over one that doesn’t. Offering benefits, such as paid emergency care days, financial subsidies, on-site childcare, flex spending accounts, can help relieve childcare costs at a time when they’re skyrocketing (In 2023, after school sitters cost $292 per week for one child!).??

While it’s vital that we look at the burden women carry for unpaid care work, we can’t forget that dads are caregivers too . And normalizing the idea that parenting is not “women’s work” will go a long way to creating more gender equity in work and life. Where employers can help is by making sure that what applies to moms also applies to dads and parents across all gender identities. Apply all your caregiver-friendly policies equally and encourage men to be fully engaged parents.?

I’m grateful to work for an organization that offers a flexible work environment and generous benefits. But I also know from my experience with three kids and a committed partner that it isn’t easy to build and maintain career ambitions across those child-rearing decades, especially for women. What we say and do as leaders to support parents matters, especially at this time of year.????

Bring it on, Fall!??

#WorkingMoms #Childcare #FlexibleWork?