- Key Insight: The real reason employers face compliance risks when granting schedule flexibility to parents.
- What's at Stake: Employers facing team resentment and potential legal penalties over inconsistent flexibility policies.
- Forward Look: Watch for employers treating employee accommodations and workload redistribution as separate issues.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review.
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With back-to-school season in full swing, organizations are facing the challenge of supporting working parents without disrupting the balance of their teams.
Ahead of the impending school year, 87% of working parents wanted more flexibility from their employers, according to a recent survey from workforce solutions platform Dexian. Out of nearly 500 working mothers and fathers, 56% were looking for flexible working hours or schedules and 31% wanted hybrid or remote options.
But addressing or granting requests could quickly escalate into tricky compliance issues for leaders if they don't have the right policies in place, said Jared Pope, a benefits and employment law attorney and the CEO of third-party workplace misconduct management and compliance company Work Shield.
Read more: Childcare gaps fuel burnout for working parents, survey finds
For most parents, the shift back to school comes with stressors like managing commuting logistics and finding after-school care while continuing to navigate in-office expectations. In fact, 85% of working parents say back-to-school season adds at least one extra hour of responsibility to their day, according to Dexian's report, while nearly half (46%) say it adds 2 or more extra hours. Sixteen percent even reported more than 3 added hours each day. In addition, 60% report extra financial burden during this time. However, asking for accommodations that would make juggling these challenges easier isn't always straightforward.
According to Dexian's findings, nearly 4 in 10 working parents fear being penalized, demoted or terminated because of their family responsibilities or for requesting workplace flexibility and caregiving support. Many also worry about facing resentment or retaliation from colleagues without children or with older children who may view such flexibility as preferential treatment.
"There's a fine line between favoritism and accommodation," Pope said. "Most employers are trying to be flexible and nice and understanding, but without clear communication, consistent criteria, and documentation on why and how it's being allowed, it can cause significant concerns with employees and team members."
Read more: Supporting working parents through maternal mental health challenges
Create a process
To avoid issues, employers should treat an employee's accommodation and any resulting workload redistribution as separate issues, Pope said. While protecting the employee's privacy, leaders should be transparent with teams about changes to schedules or responsibilities and proactively address coverage through cross-training, staggered shifts and other measures, he added.
Employees should also have a safe way to raise concerns if they feel a coworker is receiving preferential treatment or workloads are being distributed unfairly. Even when an accommodation is handled correctly, perceptions of unfairness can fuel resentment, disengagement and turnover, making it important for employers to take concerns seriously and provide a clear path to resolution, he explained.
At Work Shield, for example, Pope said the company has a medical exception and family emergency policy for employees who need to work from home beyond its standard allowance, which includes one designated work-from-home day each week and 12 additional floating days per year. Employees who need additional flexibility due to a medical emergency, family situation or other circumstance can request an exception, subject to specific eligibility requirements and periodic reviews, including after five additional work-from-home days.
Read more: It takes a village — but as parenting support fades, employers are asked to step in
"Start by asking yourself: How do they voice their concerns? Do we have a structured way to raise that concern?" Pope said. "More importantly, what is the strategy to get things resolved quickly and ensure a clear path to resolution?"
Establishing clear boundaries and being direct and transparent, Pope said, is key to ensuring flexibility is applied consistently across the organization and that everyone feels supported.
"If you're going to be flexible, have a process on flexibility and accommodation and make sure it's applied consistently," he said. "Because when it's not, it can get really dangerous."
