Employer Sponsored Childcare Becky L Reeder Rasmussen College Author Note This assignment is being submitted on February 26, 2012, for Thomas B. Stoltz’s B271/COM1007 Section 05 Professional Communications Course. Table of Contents * Executive Summary3 * Purpose4 * Problem4 * Solution5 * Conclusion6 * Reference8 Executive Summary The purpose of this summary is to explain the benefits of offering employer-sponsored childcare. Having employer-sponsored childcare is a cost effective choice and helps the employer and the employee save money.Having employer sponsored childcare can solve some of the problems that arise in the workplace due to lack of childcare.
There are many problems that occur at the workplace due to lack of child care. One for example is employee absenteeism due to lack of childcare. Second, is less productivity due to the stress that lack of childcare brings to the employee. Lastly, there is the issue of costs and employee and employer losing money over childcare issues.
The solution to these problems and more can be solved by offering employer-sponsored childcare.This will help the employer and employee save money. Employer sponsored childcare will lessen absenteeism, improve productivity, and increase morale at the workplace. Businesses are worried about the upfront costs, but the business will make it out on top in the long run.
To conclude, I think that employer sponsored child care is a great solution to this issue. It ends up being a very cost effective choice for employers and employees. It may bring up some extra expenses at first, but in the long run it is an economical choice and will benefit everyone involved. Employer Sponsored Childcare Purpose:The numbers of families with two working parents are increasing in order to maintain household finances (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012).
If the numbers of families with two working parents are increasing, who is taking care of their children? Childcare becomes a necessity if both parents are working and the child is too young to be left alone. Another issue facing families today is households with one parent. That parent has to work to support the family and they rely on childcare so they can work. Finding quality, affordable childcare is not an easy task.
Child care facilities are costly and the quality of care is subpar.This can leave the parent stressed out because they are not sure if their child is being cared for properly and is a financial burden for most families (Business & Legal Resources, Inc. , 2001). If the parent is stressed out about childcare issues they are going to be bringing those issues with them to work. Stresses related to childcare issues can result in an employee missing work, having increased stress, and being less productive at work.
When an employee is missing work and is less productive due to stressors related to childcare issues, this costs the employer in the long run.The employer has to pay for absenteeism, find replacements, and manage work not being done on time. A simple solution to this problem that could save employers money and keep employees happy is having employer-sponsored childcare. Problem: In the United States there are only about 8% of businesses that offer employer-sponsored childcare (Business Editors, 2003).
Businesses that offer employer-sponsored childcare report higher employee morale, less absenteeism, more productive employees, lower turnover rates, and have a better chance recruiting new employees (National Child Care Information Center, n. . ). Employees report that one of the most important workplace benefits is childcare. With the number of families with two working parents increasing, so does the need for childcare.
If this number is continuously increasing, why are there only 8% of businesses supplying their employees with childcare? Employers who offer child care at the workplace experience many benefits from it. Employers have reported that having child care at the workplace helps save the business money. I would like to see more employers offering this benefit to their employees.Solution: A great example of how employer sponsored childcare benefits the business is the case of SC Johnson. SC Johnson was one of the first companies to offer childcare at the workplace in 1985. They provide full time, part time, before and after school programs, and summer camp.
SC Johnson believes that the wellness of their employees and the employee’s families are top priority. They strive to meet the needs of their employees by offering this service. Offering work based childcare has showed to pay off for this company.In 2003 SC Johnson expanded their childcare facility to accommodate more children. They were also voted one of the best places to work for according to Fortune and Working Mother’s magazine (Business Editors, 2003).
More businesses could achieve this recognition by incorporating workplace childcare into their business. This leads me to the question, what are holding companies back from opening a child care facility at work? Many employers do not want to start a work based child care center due to upfront costs and upkeep of the facility (Morrissey & Warner, 2009).This can be daunting for employers but I feel that the benefits of having child care at work will outweigh the initial set back of starting a child care facility at work. According to a study released by Bright Horizons Family Solutions employees have chosen not to look for another job because their employer offered childcare. 68% of employees said that having work based childcare was important on deciding if they were going to work for a company. 90% of employees reported that work based childcare positively affects their performance and ability to concentrate on the job.
Employees are more likely to stick around at their place of work with child care being offered. Employees also have peace of mind knowing their child is nearby and is receiving quality care. These benefits are outstanding for employers and it makes good economic sense to offer work based child care to their employees (Anonymous, 2008). I think a great way for businesses to see if employer based childcare would benefit them would be to take a poll. The employer should ask the employees a series of questions pertaining to work based child care, how it would affect their performance, and would they find workplace childcare to benefit them?This information can give the employer an idea if there will be enough employees at their company to benefit from this. If the employer finds out they will benefit from it then they should start a facility to start reaping the benefits.
If there is not enough employees to start a facility then there could be an alternative used like child care vouchers. Child care vouchers would help employees pay for child care at outside facilities (Morrissey & Warner, 2009). Conclusion: To conclude, employer sponsored child care is a simple solution for child care issues that arise at work.Employees facing child care issues likes costs and quality of care would be at ease having a facility available or them at work. The employer benefits because the employee is less stressed at work and is more productive. There are fewer turnovers and absenteeism at the company (National Child Care Information Center, n.
d. ). It is clear that employers who offer work based childcare experience positive results from it. It is a win-win situation for the employer and the employee. More businesses should consider offering child care to their employees and improving their business and the environment at work.References American Academy of Pediatrics.
(2012, January 5). Family life. Retrieved from http://www. healthychildren. org/? English/? family-life/? work-play/? pages/? Working-Parents. aspx? nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token Anonymous.
(2008, October 22). Study confirms the business case for employer-sponsored child care. PR Newswire. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com.
ezproxy. rasmussen. edu/? docview/? 448470578? accountid=40836 Business Editors. (2003, June 19). SC Johnson celebrates expansion of
