As the school year gets underway, consider these benefits for working parents

As of mid-August, many US public school students were already back in school. While the headache of arranging summer childcare may have subsided, the beginning of the school year still presents fresh challenges for employees who are balancing professional and parental duties.

A recent survey of more than 2,000 parents by RethinkFirst, a behavioral health solutions provider, found nearly three-quarters (74%) took time off work during the school year “to support their child’s mental wellness or academic performance.” Roughly one-third (32%) of those surveyed had to take four or more days off work to attend to these duties.

From flexible work arrangements to granting school-specific leave, here are a few ways HR can support working parents as the school year kicks off.

Grant flexible working arrangements. Flexibility is key for employees managing childcare responsibilities. A 2021 McKinsey survey found employees with young children aged 0 to 5 were the most likely to prefer remote work, with 20% responding they wanted to work-from-home five days a week in the future.

Beyond allowing for remote work, McKinsey recommended companies embrace “radical flexibility” in order to better accommodate working parents. This might look like allowing an employee to take every Tuesday afternoon off to care for a child or downshift to less demanding roles, with the expectation they can ramp back up when they’re ready.

HR should think about providing flexible arrangements equitably across their organizations, Alyssa Johnson, VP of global account management for Care@Work, a caregiving benefits provider, told SHRM in 2019. “If you’re granting flexibility to parents dealing with a back-to-school schedule, do the same for employees who need to take a parent, spouse, or themselves to the doctor,” she said.

Provide school-related leave. As of 2022, 10 states and the District of Columbia required employers to offer school-related parental leave, according to tracking by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

California workers, for example, are entitled to take off up to 40 hours a year, totaling no more than eight hours a month, for their children’s educational activities. Other states offering school-related leave include Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Nevada.

Offering such leave may be worth considering for HR teams even if their organization isn’t required to do so.

Invest in education, health benefits for children. Working parents may benefit from behavioral healthcare that extends to their children.

RethinkFirst, which conducted the survey on absenteeism among working parents, is one organization that provides behavioral health support for working parents and their children, according to a press release from the company. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has included pediatric and adolescent behavioral health services from Brightline, a virtual platform, in its coverage since 2021.

HR pros should make sure their employees are aware of the benefits available to them if they’re seeking mental health care for their kids, Marti Bledsoe Post, executive director of On Our Sleeves, an advocacy movement for children’s mental health, told SHRM in 2022. They may not know of services offered through an employee assistance program, for example.

Academic benefits, such as online tutoring, are another option for working parents. Neuron Education has been working with employers to offer tutoring as a benefit since 2020. Gabriel Gavrilov, founder and CEO, said case studies indicate these services have helped reduce stress among the employees who use them.

Offer childcare support. Just because school is back in session, doesn’t mean childcare concerns go away. Employers may consider investing in backup care so workers have somewhere to send their children should after-school care fall through.