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Working parents, carers or carers know the challenge of finding a fragile balance between work and caring responsibilities.
From paid parental leave to high-quality health care and equal pay to cover child care costs, it has become a priority for employees to find an employer that recognizes that parents have special needs.
In the absence of federal oversight of workplace benefits such as paid leave and care policies, corporate leaders are being asked to take the lead.
CNBC partner Just Capital sifted through policy disclosures from America’s largest companies to find the best companies in the country to meet these needs.
“Americans are very clear about what they believe companies should prioritize: their employees,” said Alison Omens, president of Just Capital.
The best companies for parents
Goldman Sachs, American Express, outdoor deckers, S&P Global These are the best companies for parents in 2024, according to Splunk’s Just Capital study.
All five companies offer the following benefits: 20 or more weeks of paid parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers; parity of parental leave for all carers; and alternative, subsidized dependent care for its employees.
“The pandemic has revealed, and remains true today, that for working parents, especially mothers who disproportionately provide care, paid parental leave is a key component,” Omens said.
S&P Global offers a 26-week paid parental leave policy. Company employees and married couple Lauren and Mario Washington told CNBC that taking parental leave together after welcoming their second daughter in 2021 had a huge impact on their family active and well-being.
“Those early weeks seem fleeting, but they have improved the balance and relationships in our family in actual ways,” Lauren said. “Mario’s involvement has helped our oldest daughter adjust from an only child to a massive sister, and it has helped me focus on the care of our newborn and my own recovery.”
However, human resources specialists have different opinions about the impact of parental leave on business. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a more “direct cost” is an employee’s compensation for the number of weeks he or she is on vacation. SHRM argues that employers have already included wages in their budgets.
“Indirect costs” include lost productivity while an employee is on leave, fleeting replacements, and the cost of administering a paid leave program.
“Paid parental leave is an steep proposition,” said Yvette Lee, HR Knowledge Advisor at SHRM. “But turnover of key talent can be even more costly.”
Lee said investing in paid parental leave and similar policies could make sense in the long run.
Many companies have introduced measures to ensure equality in the workplace for all employees.
Deckers Outdoor has a goal of gender parity in leadership positions by 2030, and Goldman Sachs has set a goal of hiring women in entry-level and senior management positions to reach 50% and 40%, respectively.
“We invest in our success as a company by investing in our people,” an S&P Global spokesman said.
