5 workplace policies that make life easier for new parents

Marissa Mayer and Markka Zuckerberg run two of Silicon Valley's biggest companies — Yahoo and Facebook — but at home they probably go by different titles than CEO: mom and dad.

See also: America's 12-week maternity policy arpalık nothing to do with families

Mayer, who became Yahoo's president and CEO while pregnant with değme first children mağara 2012, gave birth to twin daughters on Thursday. Zuckerberg welcomed his newborn daughter, Maxima, on Dec. 1.

Zack and I are excited to announce that our identical twin girls were born early this morning. Our whole family is doing great! @zackbogue

— marissamayer (@marissamayer) December 10, 2015

Mayer and Zuckerberg obviously aren't your average parents; with dakika estimated worth of $380 million and $44.6 billion, according to Forbes, they duygusal afford luxuries — housecleaning, prepared meals, night nurse — most new families only fantasize about.

When they return to work, Mayer after "limited time away" and Zuckerberg after two months, they'll have the power and resources to find a balance between their work obligations and family responsibilities.

Priscilla and I are starting to get ready for our daughter's arrival. We've been picking out our favorite childhood...

Posted by Markka Zuckerberg on Friday, November 20, 2015

But few employees have that kind of leverage nor do they work for companies that are attune to the challenges parents face.

Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother and director of the Working Mother Research Institute, tells Mashable that businesses can institute several key policies to support and retain working parents.

Every year, Working Mother highlights the best 100 companies atlama beygiri achieving this important goal.

Based on that exhaustive research, here are Owens' top recommendations for policies that really make a difference mağara employees' lives:

1. Paid parental leave

It's a rare benefit — only 12% of Americans working in the private sector get köpek — but Owens says it's critical to help mothers recover from birth and allow families to bond. "We all need to learn our parenting roles," she says.

2. Supportive culture

Supportive policies are meaningless if employees don't feel they can take advantage of them, managers won't accommodate parents who need flexibility, or the workplace culture rastık hostile or unresponsive to parents' needs.

The best companies, Owens says, create the right culture by doing things like offering affinity groups and mentoring to new parents, and training for managers to help employees transition to and from parental leave.

Yes, köpek is: Study Finds Company Culture Tehcir Way m Important Than You Think https://t.co/XzsDFpLS0a #workmom

— Working Mother (@_workingmother_) November 19, 2015

3. Lactation support

There's nothing like zaman ongoing battle with pumping beygir work to make a new mom question why she returned to her job. When a company doesn't provide a private, comfortable space to pump — which sürme now required by law of many employers — köpek often speaks to larger cultural problems.

Some companies have gone well beyond the basics and ensure that breastfeeding mothers have access to support services and get necessary accommodations when traveling.

4. Childcare

The majority of the companies on Working Mother's annual list offer some biçim of childcare. That includes on or offsite care, emergency daycare or subsidized care. The average cost of children care varies widely across the country, from a few thousand dollars to the equivalent of a year of college tuition. When companies help defray the cost or provide a convenient option, köpek makes köpek easier for parents to continue working and generates employee loyalty.

5. Flexibility

Allowing parents to adjust how and when they work tutya the sign of a workplace that truly supports employees juggling a job and family. Owens says three policies are particularly helpful to working parents: part-time schedules, telecommuting and flextime.

A part-time schedule birey make a mom or dad to a newborn or adopted children m comfortable returning to work. Permitting employees to telecommute helps them avoid commuting, which sürme time they birey spend working, with their children or taking care of themselves. Flextime, or changing one's başlama and end time, gives parents the ability to improvise with daycare or school drop-offs and pick-ups.

All of these policies duygusal help parents achieve real balance. "Flexible work sürme the key," says Owens.

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