Open conversations about fertility benefits can make your organization an in-demand place to work

Deciding to have a child is arguably one of the most personal and life altering decisions a person can make, but the path to parenthood isn’t always easy.

One in eight couples experience infertility in the U.S., according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. LGBTQ and single employees can also face barriers to conceiving and growing their families. As employees look to their employers for support in and outside of the workplace, fertility benefits can normalize the conversation around family planning and help employees weather these challenges.

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“More companies are recognizing that employees not only expect fertility benefits, but it is increasingly becoming a key factor when deciding to join or stay at a company,” says Margaret Ryan, head of communication at fertility benefits provider Carrot Fertility. “Now that fertility benefits have entered the mainstream, we set out to normalize the conversation about fertility and destigmatize conversations about infertility and family planning in the workplace.”

Because of how personal and sensitive an issue fertility can be, many potential parents don’t speak up about the support they need from employers. Fifty-six percent of the employees surveyed by Carrot Fertility and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association say that people don’t openly talk about fertility at work, while 34% are concerned it would not be seen as professional. Thirty percent say that talking to their boss about fertility treatments would put their job at risk and 23% believe their boss won’t understand what they are dealing with.

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“While there has been progress with fertility benefits at work and having fertility conversations out in the open, stigmas remain in the workplace,” Ryan says. “We saw that 76% of respondents have never heard their company leadership use terms such as infertility, IVF or miscarriage.”

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Fertility issues impact all aspects of a person’s physical and emotional well-being, making it more difficult for them to be engaged and productive at work. Eighty-nine percent of the employees surveyed by Carrot Fertility and RESOLVE said that fertility and family forming has negatively impacted their mental health, and 59% say it has impacted their work performance. Seventy-four percent have admitted to using work time to research fertility treatments and 32% say they are willing to go into debt in order to pay for the treatments not covered by their benefits.

“The lack of open conversations leads to apprehension [among employees] regarding time off requests for fertility treatments or people may feel uncomfortable asking for the support that they need,” Ryan says.

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Without adequate support, employees are willing to seek employment with an organization that does offer more robust benefits. Seventy-seven percent of the employees surveyed by Carrot and RESOLVE say they would stay at their company longer if they offered fertility benefits and 88% say they would consider changing jobs for access to fertility benefits.

Now, more than ever, companies need to make serious investments in their employees’ personal priorities and create a work environment that supports every path to parenthood.

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“Fertility care is a fundamental part of healthcare and adopting internal practices to support their employees is also important,” Ryan says. “In doing so, there are implications to employee mental health, which carries over into the workplace. But it is also an important thing to do in terms of attracting and retaining employees, and having a productive workplace.”