The (working) parent trap: Supporting parents with internal comms

Pop quiz: Are your working parents set up for success?

Class is back in session for many students across the globe — and working parents are feeling the squeeze.

As kids rush back to their schools and classrooms, so do their parents for a variety of school-related events. School drop-offs and pick-ups. Meet-the-teacher nights and parent-teacher conferences. Kid sick days. Extended school vacations. The list is endless — and for working parents, finding a winning balance between work and family obligations can feel impossible.

Without the right support systems, parent employees are left in an unfair lurch. Half of working parents say that working makes it hard to be a good parent — with 1 in 4 feeling that they’ve been treated unfairly due to having children and half reporting that they’ve reduced their work hours to accommodate their children’s needs.

Just last week, the U.S. surgeon general named parent stress a public health challenge, issuing a public health advisory calling on businesses to put in place training programs for managers of working parents about stress management and work-life balance.

With parents making up nearly half of the workforce, creating a workplace culture where parent employees feel included and valued isn’t just a nice to have — it’s a necessity for personal well-being and long-term engagement and retention.

5 lessons for lightening the load on parents in the workplace

More than ever before, organizations have a moral imperative to support and engage their working parents.

Here are 5 strategies that internal communications leaders can use during this time of transition — and all year long — to support the parents who work at their organization.

#1. Create a parent-centric resource hub on your intranet

The modern company intranet should serve as the one-stop shop for all employee tools and resources — and your parent employees should be no exception.

A good partnership between internal comms, HR, and IT teams will be crucial in bringing a digital hub for working parents to life. By building a dedicated back-to-school section on the intranet, internal comms teams can point working parents to a content hub of resources like parenting guides, school-year planning tools, local childcare options, and educational materials.

To make sure this content gets in the hands of every employee, be sure to use a mobile-friendly hub so it’s easily accessible for employees who work on the frontline.

In addition to creating a digital hub for tools and resources, train and encourage managers to get more involved by empowering their teams with relevant content, from flexible work schedules to mental health resources. Consider why your parent employees would be visiting the intranet and tailor the content fit their needs. Think parenting resources, local school calendars, tips for balancing work and family, and even discounts on school supplies.

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#2. Launch a back-to-school communication campaign

Following the quiet downtime of summer, many internal comms teams are now revisiting their communications calendar.

As part of the planning process, identify opportunities to create and distribute content that aligns with the school year and considers the needs of parent employees during the back-to-school season and beyond. Keep your communications engaging and reach every employee by sharing a combination of informative and inspirational content across different internal channels:

• Send weekly emails or messages with helpful guidance or company benefits relating to work-life balance, flexible working options, and time-off policies.
• Highlight stories from parents in the organization on your internal news feed to build a sense of community and shared experience.
• Share tips that parent employees can use at home, like handling back-to-school stress, navigating school events, or managing homework.

And don’t be afraid to get creative! The most important thing to keep in mind is the makeup and needs of your unique workforce. Consider developing interactive content like quizzes, polls, or Q&A sessions to address common challenges or concerns of working parents at your organization, and build personalized advice or resources based on their responses.

#3. Offer flexible work options that meet parents’ needs

Flexibility is the key to helping employees mitigate burnout and better balance their work and personal lives — especially for working parents who are juggling family obligations.

And it isn’t just good for culture, it’s good for business: When working parents are free from burnout, they are 35x more likely to recommend their employer and 20x more likely to intend to stay.

Company policies around flexible hours, remote work, and time off should be well-communicated and easily accessible. Hosting these documents on mobile-friendly work platforms, like employee apps and intranets, makes it easy for parents to review this information and request adjustments while on the go.

Making changes to these policies, such as rolling out a new scheduling platform or updating expectations around working hours? Have an open town hall to share the news and answer questions. Bonus points for hosting and posting the session on a virtual platform so employees can tune in from anywhere or watch later if they can’t attend it live.

Consider leveraging an employee communication platform that includes or integrates with existing digital scheduling tools. This can make it easier for parents to view and adjust their work day around school drop-offs, pick-ups, and other unexpected schedule changes.

#4. Foster parent-to-parent social networking

For the broader parent community, social media isn’t just a networking tool — it’s a lifeline.

For parents who regularly use social media, 3 in 4 are getting support from their friends on these apps and more than a third rate social media as very useful for making them feel like they’re not alone.

Internal comms can harness the power of social media to create a digital workspace where their working parents feel supported and connected.

If you haven’t already, start by creating a “Company Parents” community or group, designed specifically for your parent employees. This can serve as a dedicated virtual space where parents can connect with each other, share their favorite parenting articles or resources, offer advice, and build their own internal support system.

Within this group, explore different social features — like specialized chat groups for parents with children in a certain age range or in a particular school system — to allow for more personalized and granular employee connection.

Additionally, internal workshops are a great way to facilitate interactive community-building. Host regular sessions on topics like “How to Finally Get Your Work-Life Balance Right” or “Managing Your Time as a Working Parent,” featuring guest speakers who are experts in these areas. Even better if these are recorded and made available as on-demand content.

#5. Recognize and celebrate work-life balance wins

Recognition isn’t just nice to have — it’s becoming a game-changer when it comes to engagement and retention.

Research shows that employees who regularly receive recognition are 2.2 times more likely to go above and beyond their regular duties, and 1 in 3 employees said that more personal recognition would encourage them to produce better work more often.

For working parents, many of whom struggle with burnout and disengagement, a small act of recognition can make a big difference.

Back-to-school season is the perfect time to refresh your approach to employee recognition. Take this opportunity to take a close look at the digital platforms in your virtual workspace and establish a recognition strategy that contributes to a culture of appreciation and support. Post virtual shout-outs on your internal news feed recognizing parents who are putting in the extra effort, particularly during this busy time of year.

By posting spotlights on digital platforms as an internal “Wall of Fame,” other team members and colleagues can interact with the posts and comment their own messages of appreciation — creating a ripple effect of recognition throughout the organization.

Turn your workplace into an A+ environment for parents

Don’t let the back-to-school blues get your employees down.

By creating a parent-focused communications stream and creating social spaces for parents on digital workplace platforms, internal comms teams can support working parents during the back-to-school season and beyond.

Extra credit for employers who are proactive, empathetic, and inclusive in their internal communications strategies, ensuring that all employees — whether on the frontline or in the front office — feel supported during this time of transition.