Jordan Peace is Co-Founder & CEO of Fringe, the first lifestyle benefits marketplace, and Greenhouse Money, financial services.
It seems fitting that I’m writing this article as kids are going back to school, and parents everywhere are heaving a sigh of relief. Many of us are working from home, and that has changed the challenge of being a working parent. There are parents who work in an office, leave the house every day and come home 8 hours later. Then, there are parents who, especially during the summertime, have a child right outside their office or, in my case, closet door.
Working from home is a blessing and a curse. It’s a privilege to be able to see your kids at random parts of the day, but kids might also knock on your door in the middle of an important meeting, and your brain goes haywire. You’re trying to stay in work mode, but you’re thrown into parent mode out of nowhere. Trying to balance both feels insane and, as a result, parents feel guilty—like they’re shortchanging their work or their kids.
As a CEO and parent, I want to connect with fellow business leaders about how to employ parents and serve them to be successful in their parenting and their jobs. In my role, I technically don’t have anyone I have to ask permission from—I just schedule around these kid-related priorities and go. I want everyone to have that experience.
Leaders: Allow your people to work flexibly.
The biggest thing we can do as leaders is allow people to work flexibly. If someone on my team isn’t working from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. because they need to do something for their kids, and they’re going to work some in the evening, I don’t care. Why would I care, as an employer, about the precise time the work gets done?
Even if parents don’t have kids at home, kids have things happen, expected or unexpected, in the middle of the workday. Parents shouldn’t have to choose between once-in-a-lifetime moments and completing a task during business hours that could easily be done at any time.
Leaders: Bring this flexibility into your leave policies.
Parental leave is focused on when children are born, which makes sense, but childcare challenges don’t just surround the new baby. These policies are often limited to taking the weeks off consecutively. The flexibility I’ve seen more recently provides an X number of weeks for leave, and parents can use them in two or three sprints, whatever makes sense across that child’s first year. Parents have the power to consider, “Where do these weeks serve my family best?”
Leaders: Realize the added value of parents.
I’ve found that a lot of people who have the maturity to handle flexibility are parents. They’ve had to grow up, so to speak, in order to manage children and the family lifestyle. Parents have the ability to handle many important things at once and are often capable of accomplishing more in 15 hours than most people can in 40. They’re self-sacrificing and have learned how to prioritize others, and that’s not something that normal human beings do until they’re forced to.
As leaders, what we’re really after is the output and quality of work. Our people should determine how they get the work done. Parents learn how to be efficient when they’re finding time for chores during naps or the 25 other things that need to be done before kids come home from school. You learn to work harder and get things done with less rest in your day, and I believe that is a superpower.
Leaders: Lead with transparency and self-advocacy.
If you’re an executive with children, set the tone of your culture by prioritizing them. Even as a CEO, I let my people know that my family is my first priority. I put all of my family events on my calendar, which is visible for everyone in my company to see. I’m going to Jackson’s swim meet. I’m going to Avery’s play. If it’s in the middle of the day, it’s in the middle of the day. As I mentioned before, you will have to hire mature people to handle that kind of freedom, and you will find that most of those people are parents.
Parents: Advocate for your family.
Caring for your children is something parents apologize for but shouldn’t. I’m worried about the future if we’re not focused on our children. How could we not be focused on raising them up, educating them and helping them be good people? What our kids really need is for us to show up for them during their big life moments. I think that every person should have the opportunity to do that. In as much as employers can facilitate this effort, not only are you serving the next generation, but you’re engendering an enormous amount of loyalty and goodwill from the people you employ.
Parents: Find a company that values what you value most.
It all starts with where you choose to work. If possible, choose to work for a company that shares your values. If you value your family, work for a company that prioritizes that. You are likely going to have a CEO who is a parent, and they’re going to have empathy and understand the challenges of parents.
We only get one life. If you’re hiding what your priorities are as opposed to putting those priorities out there, maybe the job isn’t worth having. Practice good communication with your employer to outline your challenges and needs as a parent, while still advocating for yourself as a professional who will be able to excel with some flexibility.
A Final Note
Parents aren’t broken employees because they have other people to take care of. Recognize their value, build a family-first culture and give parents the freedom to make a difference in your company by making a difference in their lives.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Read the full article here
