A person striving for himself and his dreams is pleasant and empowering. But a parent working hard to provide a comfortable life for his children is noble and pure.
It is an uncovered truth that to sustain ourselves in this demanding world, we need to work, work, and work. It is one thing to care for oneself and another to live for a human being you vow to foster.
Maybe that's part of the reasons why raising a child takes an entire village. It needs as much help as it could get.
Imagine this: a parent wants to give his/her child the most nurturing care possible, while desires to provide him/her an easy and comfortable life like any parent would. With this case, it would probably require an entire nation.
Or maybe a company will do.
Whether being in work or being with a child, a parent requires a uniform disposition-- to be in his/her optimum self. Work demands a parent to do this today and do that tomorrow. While raising an offspring requires him/her to be this today and be that tomorrow.
Juggling employment and parenthood is a skill only the masters mastered, and yes, it is tiring.
Hence, a company must feel the need to lighten the burden of its employees working and parenting at the same time.
Read on as we list five habits a company should cultivate as a way of supporting working parents:
Providing a day-off. Everyone needs to recuperate, and working parents are not exempted. A rest day for them might still be a day of providing unconditional service to their children or a spare moment for them to catch up with other responsibilities, but at least they have one day off their list from going to work. That simple reward does not just value them as an employee and as a person, but it is also a manifestation that they deserve a slow day for a job well done-- both in work and in being parents.
Embodying leniency. Now, this does not shy away from having healthy discipline and rules within the working environment because those are technically how companies manage control. Being lenient simply suggests that working parents and their responsibilities are understood. This works both ways if the leader is a working parent as well. It provides a room for empathy for both parties and promotes a sense of importance to the roles working parents play.
Doing consultative meetings. A weekly report for the company’s operation is one thing, a meeting to consult employees themselves is another. When a company hears its working parents out, they develop a support group that motivates them to become their utmost self when dealing with work, all the while tending to their children.
Being an ethical company. The fact that a company is a source of living for working parents, the company is raising a person as well. If a working parent is introduced into a team that encourages growth and integrity, it is a fulfilling thing for them to go home and provide their children their necessities because they come from a living made of honesty and hard work. This also helps children of those working parents to segregate a healthy working environment from a toxic one. If you want the kid to grow up well, reassess the village first.
Yes to inclusivity. Being a parent comes in unique facades, but that doesn't take away the fact that a parent is a parent come what may. No matter the parent's marital status, gender, or race, every employee who raises a child should not be deemed different from everyone else. Being inclusive is one way of getting past the easily noticed attributes and focuses on the treatment where every working parent can benefit from in the long run.
It was inculcated in our minds that a parent should provide and care for her children. Parents' sacrifices, hard work, and generosity would equate to sweet smiles, joyous laughs, and warm gratitude from their offsprings.
