4 Experts Dish On Giving Dads The Work-Life Balance They Need

4 Experts Dish On Giving Dads The Work-Life Balance They NeedDrinks manufacturing giant Diageo is giving parental leave the attention all working parents deserve. The employer of more than 4,500 people across the UK now allows parents to take 52 weeks of parental leave, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. This new development highlights an issue many working fathers face in the workplace. Many dont have the same benefits when it comes to work-life balance that their female colleagues may receive. This oversight causes issues with both workplace satisfaction and engagement. To help you give working fathers their due, we reached out to the experts and their responses hit the nail on the head. Here are four expert tips you need to follow to improve work-life balance for working fathers 1. Start changing your mindset and cultureIt comes down to mindset and company culture. We need to abflug seeing fathers as working fathers, instead of men who happen to have children. Many compan ies have a long way to go in supporting all working parents. Accepting and understanding that your employees have very important responsibilities outside of work is vital to start progressing. Creating a culture that supports fathers in taking time when their child is sick or coming to work late to volunteer at their childs school goes a long way in improving work-life balance. Supporting your employees family life is a part of your companys compensation package and will definitely create loyalty and longevity. We need to start seeing fathers as workingfathers, instead of men who happen to have children. fathersday herald_PRClick To TweetSharon Rosen, Chief People Officer at HeraldPR2. Create flexible schedules for all employeesOur flexible schedule makes work-life balance ideal for fathers. We dont have set times employees need to be in the office. Some of our employees show up as early as 6 a.m. and others as late as 10 a.m. This allows fathers to essentially choose whether they w ant to spend more time with their kids in the morning or in the evening. For example, one of the fathers in our office chooses to arrive later because his wife works early shifts. By coming to work around 10 a.m., hes able to spend time with his kids in the morning. He gets them ready for school, makes breakfast, and drops them off at school. We have abedrngnisher father in the office who likes to take off early. He usually arrives around 630 a.m. so he can pick up his kids from school and help them with homework. This even gives him time to coach their little league team. With set-in-stone work schedules, neither of these fathers would have this luxury. Matthew Ross, Co-Owner and COO, The Slumber Yard3. Train managers on time off accommodationsFathers caring for their children have the same issues that any parent has they have to put their kids health and well-being first. Employers need to train their managers to understand any working parent, male or female, may need time off at a moments notice. Failure to provide that kind of accommodation puts employees in a tough spot. If a male single parent, for instance, gets a call that their child is sick or hurt at school, theyre not going to tolerate being disciplined for leaving the job early. If the employer makes an issue of it, the worker is likely to leave the workplace to find family-friendly employment. Its important to note, company review sites significantly improved how job seekers search for company cultures and new roles. Both Indeed and Glassdoor provide a transparent look into flexible work policies. Companies failing to adapt to the realities of working parents may find fewer qualified workers applying. Train managers on how to respond when workingparents need unexpected time off. FitSmallBizClick To TweetLaura Handrick, Career and Workplace Analyst at FitSmallBusiness.com 4. Highlight parental benefitsWhen a family is ready to welcome a new life, peoples attention often moves completely to the mo ther at home and in the office too. Working mothers find out what benefits are available to them, advice comes in from colleagues, seniors, and others. This situation isnt as present for new fathers. Theyre likely unsure which HR policies and benefits are available to the new-born child, the babys mother, as well as themselves with respect to life and health insurance, paternity leaves, and other allowances from the organization. A training and reference deck that introduces new fathers to how HR policies impact them post-birth would be beneficial, engage them in a meaningful way, and help them better understand what fatherhood looks like from a professional standpoint. Gargi Rajan, Head of HR at Mercer MettlWhat are you doing to improve work-life balance for the dads in your office?