7 Impactful Parental Wellbeing Programmes That Boost Workplace Productivity

A team member rushes into the office after a hectic morning of school drop-offs and an unwell child at home. They sit at their desk, but their mind is elsewhere—distracted and barely keeping up with the demands of both work and family. Sound familiar? This daily struggle takes a toll on their mental as well as their physical health, affecting their productivity and influencing the company’s overall performance. Employers who recognise such challenges and support their staff with targeted programmes can unlock greater focus and productivity. 

We’ve compiled 7 tried-and-tested parental wellbeing programmes to ease these burdens and boost efficiency.

Parenting Workshops and Resources

There can never be enough information about parenting but real insights from a relevant expert make all the difference. Workshops and resources led by experts provide fresh guidance on work-life balance, parenting techniques, and more to help parents tackle the challenges of raising children. By offering these tools, employers can help parents feel equipped to manage family life effectively.

Wipro exemplifies this approach by offering working parents engaging parenting workshops, blogs, parenting communities/ employee resource groups and other online resources that cover various parenting topics. With every investment in their employees’ lives, Wipro takes a step towards a supportive work culture. 

What Can You Do?

• Organise frequent workshops on balancing family and work responsibilities.
• Provide access to online parenting resources like blogs and articles.
• Offer sessions with parenting coaches to address specific challenges like balancing work and family life, managing stress, effective communication with children, building strong emotional connections, and handling behavioural issues. 

Flexible Working Hours

When employees get to set their hours, it helps them manage both worlds. By adjusting their schedules around school drop-offs, childcare, or unexpected family needs, they experience reduced stress and increased job satisfaction. This makes them perform better both at home and in the workplace. 

Google, one of the world’s largest companies has set an example with this. As a part of their efforts, Google launched the global campaign “Room for All” to highlight that every employee has the power to shape the work culture and contribute to creating a more inclusive environment. Most Google employees work three days in the office and two days remotely. It also allows its employees to choose their working hours and work from home based on their roles. 

What Can You Do?

• Allow your employees to set their own hours for better work-life balance. 
• Enable remote work from anywhere with internet access. 
• Encourage regular breaks to help employees recharge and maintain productivity.

Childcare Facilities 

Childcare support is one of the most valuable benefits for working parents, easing the stress of balancing work and family. Access to reliable childcare allows parents to focus on their jobs without the worry of finding safe care for their children. 

PepsiCo exemplifies this by providing backup childcare options—both in-home and centre-based—as well as a dependent care reimbursement programme. Associates can also access tutoring, test prep, and homework help. Moreover, PepsiCo India has partnered with ProEves to offer inclusive virtual childcare services that meet the diverse needs of all parents. 

What Can You Do?

• Partner with trusted childcare providers to offer services that meet the varied needs of employees.
• Consider providing childcare subsidies to make local services more affordable.
• Encourage flexible work schedules to align with childcare needs, making drop-offs and pick-ups easier for working parents.

Paid Parental Leave

Offering generous leave policies enables employees to prioritise their families during important life changes, encouraging a strong sense of loyalty. When employees experience support in their roles as parents, they are more likely to return to work with engagement and motivation. 

Netflix, with its generous parental leave policies, offers new parents an impressive 52 weeks of paid leave. This benefit applies to both genders and adoptive parents. Netflix’s commitment to paid parental leave fosters a happier and more dedicated workforce.

What Can You Do?

• Provide a substantial duration of paid leave for new parents to care for their children.
• Ensure that leave is available for all parents, including adoptive and same-sex couples.
• Communicate the details of the parental leave policy to ensure employees understand their rights.

Mental Health Support for Parents

Working parents often cannot avoid bringing work-related stress home. There even exists a term that describes this common experience “Work-family Spillover”, and highlights how easily the pressures of the office can merge with those of family life. Blurred lines between professional and personal life, with the constant pressure to meet high expectations, only intensify this challenge, making it harder for parents to maintain balance. 

Unilever has taken significant steps to improve its employees’ mental health by training its global workforce to recognise signs of mental health struggles and connect colleagues with appropriate services. Additionally, Unilever is a founding partner of a collaborative initiative that advocates for improved workplace mental health.

What Can You Do?

• Train employees to recognise signs of mental health struggles and offer support.
• Provide access to professional counselling and therapy.
• Implement initiatives like mindfulness workshops, mental health days and regular wellness check-ins that promote mental health awareness and self-care.
• Establish groups for parents to share experiences and coping strategies.

Return-to-Work Programmes

These initiatives help ease the transition back to work, allowing parents to regain their confidence and adapt to the workplace environment. By facilitating a smoother re-entry, organisations can ensure that returning parents are set up for success, ultimately benefiting the company as well.

Barclays India’s Encore returnship programme supports individuals re-entering the workplace after career breaks. The programme helps participants to refresh their skills through leadership training, mentorship, networking, and a paid role. Based on performance, candidates can also receive permanent positions.

What Can You Do?

• Provide comprehensive onboarding support for returning employees to help them reintegrate smoothly into the workplace.
• Offer training to update skills relevant to the current market.
• Pair returnees with mentors for guidance.

Supporting the Next Generation

Balancing work and parenthood is challenging, and for parents of teenagers, career guidance adds another layer of stress. Providing support for employees’ children directly addresses this top priority, enhancing parents’ well-being and focus at work. By offering educational and developmental resources, companies can ease the stress that parents feel around planning their children’s futures, fostering a more committed and engaged workforce.

HDFC Bank understood this challenge and introduced a unique Career Guidance Programme tailored for employees’ children. This initiative equipped their children with the tools to navigate career choices confidently, helping them make informed decisions and set clear paths for their futures.  

What Can You Do?

• Offer career guidance programs to help employees’ children explore their future career paths.
• Provide scholarships or tuition assistance for employees’ children to support their educational journey.
• Facilitate internship opportunities within your organisation to give them real-world exposure and skill development.

Conclusion

A supportive workplace for parents is an important element in enhancing employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity. Indeed, overwhelming work demands mixed with family responsibilities often lead to burnout, reduced efficiency, and declining job satisfaction if supportive measures are lacking. Parental wellbeing programmes are proactive interventions addressing these challenges while highlighting the company’s concern for its employees. 

With that in mind, Mentoria’s Parental Wellbeing Programmes are made to offer tailored guidance, empowering parents to manage their roles effectively without compromising their focus at work. Such initiatives in place keep working parents motivated and lead to long-term organisational success with a healthier, more balanced work environment.