Why We Need Employer-Sponsored Child Care Centers at Work

Employer-Sponsored child care centers are centers provided within the work environment to cater for very young children of staff members, relieving them of worries and costs of a safe place to keep their young kids as during work hours. Ultimately, these centres are developed to solve employees child care challenges.

Providing high quality, affordable, and conveniently located care enables employers to eliminate a significant source of worry, stress and distraction from their employees which helps them to benefit from engaged and committed workers who are in return, willing and able to put in their best performances.

Let's look at some interesting data gathered a few years ago by the Bright Horizons team. It highlights the broad impact child care centers have on employers and their organizations.

ON PRODUCTIVITY

● 95% of respondents say employer-sponsored child care enables them concentrate on the job

● 93% say it enables them to meet job expectations

● 87% of respondents say access to child care enhances their productivity

● 79% say it enables them to volunteer for things not formally required of their job

ON RETENTION

● 92% of respondents say that employer-sponsored childcare would be important in considering a job change.

● 90% of respondents indicate that it makes them more likely to continue to work for their organisation

● 88% of respondents indicate that it was important in their decision to return to work after child birth or adoption

● 82% of male respondents note the center's importance in their return to work

ON RECRUITMENT

● 84% of respondents who had children when they started at their organization say their employer-sponsored child care was important in their decision to join the company.

● More than half of respondents who did not have children when they started at their organization say the availability of child care was important in their decision to join the company

● 96% of respondents are likely to recommend their employers to other working parents

ON WELL-BEING & STRESS

● 95% of respondents say employer sponsored child care positively impacts their ability to balance their work and family responsibilities

● 92% of respondents agree that it positively impacts their overall well-being

● 91% agree that it helps them to manage their stress levels

ON JOB SATISFACTION & ENGAGEMENT

● 95% of respondents say employer-sponsored childcare provides them with added flexibility at work

● 85% say it is important to their job satisfaction

● 76% rank it as the best or among the best employer benefit (excluding health care )

☆☆☆☆☆ 93% of respondents agree that access to employer-sponsored childcare makes their employer an "Employer of Choice"

THE BOTTOM LINE

A good number of people were able to view the video that went viral a couple of months ago; one that captured a caregiver abusing a child to near death. Sadly, this happens to be the case in similar ways; in many homes. The memories of that video will forever stay in the thoughts of the people who saw it. Unfortunately, we cannot share this video here.

About one-third of parents with children under 6 have childcare arrangements that fall apart within an average of 6 months. The method of availing oneself with a good caregiver in Nigeria is neither convenient nor dependable especially as their aren't available systems that offer specific training for such jobs. Home-based caregivers are largely recruited under a guised system that is now known to cause more harm than good to our young children.

An employer-sponsored child care centre offers massive economic benefits to any country because it promotes higher productivity at work which brings about increased financial rewards. According to a study in Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to work for, organisations that offer such efforts have been known to have an average rise in their stock value of 37%, versus an average rise of 25% for the general stock market.

The truth is that the turnover of absenteeism has a direct cost to businesses. Savings that are attributed to employer-sponsored childcare are realised in reduced cost of recruitment and derived from improved work performance.

The Learning Craft offers consultancy on the development of Employer-Sponsored Child Care Centers. Contact Us for more. 
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