Why supporting working families should be ‘business as usual’

I’d like to make the case for a shift towards a much more family-friendly mindset in business. For many in our working communities, having a family is just a normal part of everyday life and by embracing this fact rather than struggling with it, companies could be far more balanced, diverse and productive.

If family life was better accommodated as a ‘business as usual’ situation for those with children, our workplaces would be more human, healthy and happy places to be: there’d be much less burn out for starters, and more thriving parents and professionals readily equipped to respond to the demands of work and life.

With working parents constituting an ever-increasing percentage of the UK workforce, and a growing number of single parent families, the world of work needs an attitudinal shift that allows children to have a place in family life, society and even in business.

Supporting working families not only represents a moral imperative, there’s an obvious business case here too. By helping parents through temporary early years challenges and beyond, companies would retain talented, experienced individuals and avoid the high cost and inevitable disruption associated with employee turnover.

Visible, thriving, working-parent role models also provide an excellent example to more junior staff that the firm’s culture is one that will support them throughout their entire career, creating loyalty and stability throughout the business.

From my own personal experience, starting a family has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, yet balancing work and raising a family can be challenging. We’ve tried various working arrangements in the search for that elusive balance. Currently, I work 4.5 days and my husband is a stay-at-home father. Each comes with its own benefits and challenges, but I am lucky to be with a firm that offers me the flexibility I need. Herbert Smith Freehills’ support for part-time and agile working has empowered me, and many of my colleagues, to continue progressing our careers while remaining active parents.

Fathers now make up 10% of stay-at-home parents, my husband being one of them – an option that is now financially possible thanks to the gradual decrease in the gender pay gap and companies recognising the value of offering greater flexibility to parents.

Parenting can often be missed out of the important conversations taking place around diversity and inclusion today, but things are changing fast and in future I believe even more families will be supported to make empowered decisions according to their own circumstances and preferences.

There are already many enlightened companies embracing family-friendly policies which is great to see – we just need to ensure we bring the rest on board too. Here are some examples of how to get things right to inspire anyone struggling with this topic:

1. Offer, encourage and role-model the take-up of paid shared parental leave to make it both financially and culturally possible for fathers to take an active role from the very beginning of a child’s life. At British Land, this approach has resulted in around 60% of eligible men taking leave, compared with a national take-up of just under 2%.
2. Support both parents in the critical transition back to work. Initiatives like the Real Estate Balance parent returners network are providing valuable support by connecting new parents working in property with others from outside their organisation to share experiences, boost confidence and grow their professional contacts.
3. Offer flexibility. Policies like hybrid working, flexible hours and the option of working part-time allow parents to spend more time with their families – whether that’s to be present for the morning school run or to be home in time for bedtime.

In today’s war for talent, it’s clear that the employers that take the time to understand and support the needs of their workforce will be most successful in recruiting and retaining the best people. Each incremental change really does make a difference, leading to better outcomes for parents and the businesses they work for.

Carolyn Milligan is co-chair of the Real Estate Balance NextGen Committee and co-founder of the Real Estate Balance Parent Returners Network