Eleven family friendly policies for your company

It’s no secret that families are in crisis. The extended family structure is being eroded and many young families are forced to try and make it on their own.

It’s imperative for companies to step in and do their best to help employees cope with the daily pressures of living so they can continue to produce the best quality work.{{more}}

This does not mean that your organization is cuddling your employees, its simply recognizing and dealing with the reality of today’s workforce.

Here are a few family friendly policies that can help your employees take your business to the next level.

1. Set one day aside when as an organization parents can bring their children to work to proudly show their children what they do.

Children feel a sense of pride when they see and understand what their parents do and this plants the seeds for a future employee.

2. Pay employees well and ensure they are not overworked and underpaid.

3. Allow employees time to take care of family business. Adopting a family leave policy can help you hold on to the talent you already have and ease stress from an employee’s hectic life.

4. Consider an on site daycare where parents can be assured their children are well cared for.

5. Offer company scholarships to employee’s children. Start small with a book scholarship as every student, whether high school or university will need to buy books and that can be quite an expense.

6. Offer men paternity leave. Imagine the bond a family builds if the father is able to spend the first few weeks helping with the baby

7. Build a resource room where employees can have access to books, audio and video tapes on parenting, family life and marriage so they can educate themselves on a variety of topics. When employees are equipped to handle the challenges of work and family the company benefits, as they are more alert and less likely to be absent or absentminded.

8. Host brown bag lunches where guest speakers come in a discuss issues that can help employees advance their careers.

9. Offer investment and home buying workshops.

10. Host a family outing where employees can bring their families on a picnic.

11. As a goodwill gesture to the community, companies should also consider starting mentoring programs so children can see an adult besides their parents working and doing well on the job. For some children this may be the only positive influence they see.