As summer comes to a close, your employees with school-age children are reshaping their routines to meet the demands of a new school year. This time of year is an ideal moment to strengthen your support for working parents with thoughtful HR programs and initiatives.
Research shows that when companies recognize the demands of family life, they see measurable improvements in employee engagement, mental well-being, and retention. With guidance from a trusted HR partner like Aspen HR, you can achieve these outcomes and help your employees succeed in and outside the office.
Work and Life Go Hand-in-Hand
There’s no such thing as a perfect balance between work and life. But it is possible to integrate the two in a way that feels sustainable and productive for each person. For employees raising a family, some days will require more focus on work, while others will demand more attention at home. Understanding this dynamic helps you create a work environment where employees can perform at their best while managing their personal lives.
An estimated 40% of the US labor force consists of parents with children under the age of 18, and your workforce may reflect this reality. These employees may span every level of the organization, from the C-suite to the frontlines, which is why creating a workplace that meets the needs of working parents is thoughtful and good for business.
Employees with children want to succeed professionally and are willing to put in the effort to get there. In the 2025 KPMG Working Parent Survey, 76% of working parents said that becoming a parent improved their work motivation, reinforcing their desire to be great employees and attentive parents.
You can help them achieve these goals with policies and programs that acknowledge their unique work-life integration needs.
How Modern Companies Support Working Parents
At Aspen HR, we help businesses build inclusive, productive workplaces and prioritize those same values within our team. By offering a variety of benefits and activities, such as flexibility, wellness initiatives, and team-building events, we’ve been recognized as a “Best Place for Working Parents” for four consecutive years.
Regardless of your size, you can support working parents in a variety of cost-effective ways. Aspen HR can provide the HR strategy and guidance to help you implement the following benefits and programs:
Flexible Work Arrangements
In a Pew Research Center survey, 54% of working mothers and 44% of working fathers said they had to reduce their work hours to meet their children’s needs. Offering flexible schedules, remote work options, and asynchronous work hours gives parents the time and space to manage their family’s needs while continuing to meet their work obligations.
Research confirms that flexibility delivers other advantages, too. According to Gallup, remote and hybrid employees are significantly more engaged than on-site workers. Another study found that employees with work flexibility are four times less likely to become a flight risk.
As your PEO partner, we can help you design and implement flexible work policies that align with your culture and business goals.
Wellness Programs That Address the Pressures of Parenthood
Back-to-school season can be stressful for parents. School pickups, extracurricular activities, and other schedule changes can make it difficult for working parents to manage all the moving parts.
Providing wellness programs that include benefits such as counseling services, stress management tools, and mental health resources can make a significant difference in the day-to-day lives of busy working parents. For example, the Aspen HR Longevity Program offers unique solutions for helping employees maintain their well-being throughout life’s ups and downs. Its focus on preventative care can also help you reduce overall healthcare costs.
Family-Friendly Voluntary Benefits
Our PEO benefits administration support can help you enhance your existing program with voluntary, employee-paid options that consider the needs of families and working parents. In addition to traditional company-paid benefits like time off and parental leave, you can consider:
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
- Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs) that employees can use to cover expenses such as college, adoption, and surrogacy
- Supplemental life and critical illness insurance
A Culture of Inclusion and Empathy
Showing care for employees cultivates a culture of belonging. Here are several benefits and initiatives that help working parents feel valued and included:
- Access to support networks through Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
- Return-to-work programs for parents coming back from an extended leave
- Training to help managers understand and show empathy for the challenges working parents face
- Recognizing National Working Parents Day (September 16) with a small gesture or celebration
Partner with Aspen HR to Meet Your Employees’ Needs
Helping working parents during back-to-school season and year-round reflects a broader commitment to an inclusive workplace. Aspen HR offers a robust array of solutions to help you expand your support for working parents and align your HR strategies with the needs of your entire workforce.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help you get started.