'We're not talking about implementing a huge policy, we're just talking about being understanding,' says expert
Kids are heading back to school this week, and that means their parents and caregivers are also “back to school” with drastically changed schedules and routines.
Not surprisingly, a new survey by Robert Half revealed that 67% of working parents value flexible work schedules above all other benefits.
To support this group of employees, increasing flexibility is a good place for employers to start, says Sophie Mathieu, Senior Program Specialist at the Vanier Institute, a think tank that focuses on issues facing Canadian families, citing research on the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Parents said that their work-life balance was easy during the pandemic, because they didn't have those periods where they have to manage their work responsibilities and think about what they're going to eat, while picking their kids up and dealing with the teachers,” she says.
“There's something about the early morning and the late afternoon, where parents have to deal with all those responsibilities at the same time, that has an effect.”
Workplace flexibility helps with school schedule
It’s simple for employers to ease this stress, she says, as more pandemic-based research showed that small adjustments of accommodation around those busy times of day can have significant impact for parents.
Parents who feel their managers understand and are supportive of family dynamics report higher feelings of work-life balance, says Mathieu, and it doesn’t have to be at the policy level. Simple schedule flexibilities, such as not scheduling meetings during those busy times, can be enough to make a big difference.
“Little measures that seem obvious can go a long way. Being understanding, being flexible around those difficult hours makes a lot of difference,” she says.
“We're not talking about implementing a huge policy, we're just talking about being understanding that ‘Oh, my god, we may not want to schedule a meeting at eight, because at eight you might be in the school ground and trying to get your kids in school.’”
Motherhood penalty/fatherhood bonus
Typically when a couple has a child, the woman starts working less (the “motherhood penalty”) and men begin working more (the “fatherhood bonus”), Mathieu says.
Beyond the obvious implications around the disparity of care distribution, this documented phenomenon causes a problem for both parents — the fatherhood bonus does not mean a raise in compensation, but only that a father will increase his working hours because of a perceived “provider” role he — and society—feels he must fill, she says.
This societal expectation that the man will be the provider for a family is exacerbated by lopsided parental leave legislation in Canada, says Mathieu.
Unlike the rest of Canada, Quebec provides a separate paternity leave benefit for new fathers, and a report by the United Nations recently showed that men outside Quebec report lower levels of satisfaction around family policies than men in Quebec, she says.
“What is very clear is that fathers outside of Quebec are not as happy as fathers in Quebec, because they don't have the same opportunities,” says Mathieu. “So, when you have a child in Quebec, it is expected — employers know this — that the father will be gone for a minimum of five weeks.”
Inequal parental benefits create stress for parents
Quebec also has a Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) that has lower eligibility standards than the employment insurance (EI) program offered federally in the rest of the country, says Mathieu. Plus, the compensation levels are higher in Quebec, where parents can choose between a Basic Plan (70% of income for 25 weeks, then 55%) or a Special Plan (75% of income for a shorter period).
In comparison, EI provides 55% of income for up to 40 weeks (standard) or 33% for up to 69 weeks (extended). Additionally, QPIP requires only $2,000 in earnings to qualify, while EI requires 600 hours of work.
“What happens is that men feel they need to provide, so if there's a meeting at five o'clock, they will stay, and then … they will earn more and have access to better positions, because they're the ones who are staying late while their partner is picking up the kids,” says Mathieu.
Quebec also offers more flexibility with dedicated paternity leave, providing five weeks at 70% income (basic) or 3 weeks at 75% (special). In the rest of Canada, there is no dedicated paternity leave, but a five-week "use-it-or-lose-it" provision encourages the second parent to take leave.
How HR can support parents, caregivers
To counter the legislative shortcomings around parental leave, the Vanier Institute focuses on free time, she says.
“We have a core set of hours where we have to be available, between 10 and three; outside of those hours, we figure it out,” Mathieu says, so caregivers are empowered to meet their responsibilities in and out of work in a more balanced way.
The institute also encourages fathers to take paternity benefits, she says, “but we also pay the difference between what the government offers in terms of benefits and what people would usually make.”
An important part of the conversation is remembering that when discussing families and caregiving duties, it is not only about parents and children, Mathieu says. Single parents, diverse caregivers such as same-sex parents, and caregivers who have other family dependants in their households can also experience strain.
Offering paid “family days” instead of sick days can be helpful for caregivers who have responsibilities to not only children but aging or other family members as well — a group that is steadily growing in Canada, according to Statistics Canada data.
“We have to look at diversities, and we also have to look at caregivers for other people than little kids, because a large proportion of employees are caregivers,” says Mathieu.
“The ones that are in the most difficult situation are those that are sandwiched between young children and older parents. Those are the employees that are likely to be the most stressed.”