Family-friendly businesses – even during a recession

I’m trying to put together a story about the “mommy brain drain” and the efforts of a local consultant – a mom of three children – to help companies become more family-friendly.

Even during these tough economic times, there are businesses out there who value the insights of mothers and fathers alike and they’re doing their best to keep them, according to this recent Wall Street Journal story. It’s not just moms, after all; single fathers are becoming one of the fastest growing demographic. According to the Census Bureau, there were 2.5 million single fathers in 2006 – up from 400,000 in 1970.

“The answer lies in these companies’ unusually long-term view and in the refreshing note of optimism that underlies it,” wrote Work and Family columnist, Sue Shellenbarger. “Employers’ staffs are already lean, the thinking goes. Eventually the economy will rebound. If companies lose more workers, they fear being too understaffed to cash in when that day comes.”

So to help retain these parents, here are some of the benefits that companies such as Intel and Discovery Communications offer: child care centers, backup child care, scholarships for employees’ children, adoption benefits.

Shellenbarger also provided a statistic from a recent study cited in Harvard Business Review: “…Even a small layoff shocks and demoralizes survivors so much that many walk out the door at the first opportunity, raising voluntary quit rates an average 31 percent above previous levels.”

By offering these perks, these businesses are hoping to reduce stress and help employees balance their lives, she wrote.

Which companies in our region would you consider to be “family friendly”?