There’s no news about the difficulty of retaining and recruiting employees. The blame for the lack of loyalty among GenZs is not placed on but on the post Brexit skills shortage and the increasing demands from employees. Could your maternity or paternity policies be at fault?
Employers do not support family life adequately
According to Research from Fertility Familie 64% of respondents are in favor of improving maternity and paternity leaves. Over half of respondents (55%) said that flexible or home-based working options would help them plan a family. Nearly one third (28%) stated that their employer did not offer enough flexible work options to support family life.
The report Beyond the Birth Rate explores the reasons why the UK birth rate is declining. Many people are concerned about the affordability of children and their practicality.
- 60% of people say that financial insecurity is the main reason why they delay starting a new family.
- 32% of respondents say that the cost of living has increased significantly.
- 75% of respondents say that the government should make affordability of childcare a priority.
- The improvements to maternity/paternity leaves (64%) and the housing subsidies for families (19%) are followed.
Modern parenting trends
Your organisation may not have a great concern about the birth rate. It may seem like good news to you that the birth rate is declining. Except that many people still desire to have children. The report predicts that more people will choose to be single-parents and make use of improved fertility technologies to make conception easier for elderly individuals.
It is also predicted that adoption and surrogacy will become more popular, and there will be an increase in co-parenting between non-romantic couples.
You will lose a lot of people if your policies and wages are not enough for those who want to start a new family. This is true whether or not they have children to care for.
Review your maternity policies and benefits
You may have a problem retaining or attracting staff if you are not treating employees in childbearing years well. They may delay having children until they find a job that offers them flexibility, pays them well enough to support their family, and has maternity policies and paternity pay that are fair. They will not return to you once they have found a place like that.
While 47% of the respondents to this research think that more people won’t have children, they still will have to deal with aging parents or get sick, as well as wanting to spend more time with their partners or simply live their life.
The 2024 CIPD resourcing and talent planning report revealed that the most common action taken to improve employer branding and attract and retain talented employees was to ensure pay and benefits are competitive. You will lose a lot of employees if your policies or pay is not adequate for those who want to start a family.
If you don’t get the basics right, you will lose good people
After 25 years coaching executives and working on the culture of organisations, I am the first to admit that benefits and pay do not create engaged, motivated employees. You need to create a positive environment, have great leadership and a culture that respects individuals. That’s only the beginning.
All of this will not work if the basics aren’t right.
- Adapting your company to the life stages of employees.
- Employees can do their best work while still having a quality life that they enjoy and can afford.
It’s possible that employees who are looking for a new employer more tolerant of the needs and wants of young families will never admit it. They won’t tell you if they don’t want to.
We all know that losing good people is expensive. This report may prompt you to re-evaluate the realities of having someone work for you and start a family. You might be surprised at how simple it is to retain them.
