How Can We Support New Moms Returning to Work Without Flexible Hours or Daycare?

Dear All,

I am working on Post Maternity Benefits for female employees. As we are all aware, most companies only provide 12 weeks of maternity leave. However, upon returning to the office, many women feel they have no choice but to resign due to the lack of work-from-home or flexible hours policies to accommodate childcare needs. Additionally, we do not have a daycare facility.

To improve retention, I propose introducing work-from-home options or flexible hours to support female employees after they return from maternity leave.

I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on this matter.

Regards,
Ruchika
HR

Good effort, Ruchika. I believe working from home is the best option. In the absence of this, they can offer flexible hours or an option to come on alternate days.

Hi Neha,

Can you provide some valuable insights on Flexible Hours and Working from Home Policy? Specifically, I would like to know until when we can offer flexible hours after returning from maternity leave. Additionally, for Flexible Hours, could you clarify how many hours are mandatory to work? I am also seeking a draft or policy on this matter.

Thank you,
Ruchika

Hi, Ruchika,

In our company, we offer work-from-home options for at least 2-3 months post-delivery, depending on the medical advice/certificate provided by the doctors. If employees do not need to work from home, we provide flexible timing, requiring them to complete a minimum of 8 hours per day. The company also provides all the necessary infrastructure for working from home.

Moreover, we allow employees to bring their child to the office if the need arises on any given day.

Regards,
Chitra

Hi,

In our organization, we do give the option to female employees to either take an extra 1 month of leave of absence or they can work half-time for a period. However, the concern is that this provision is helpful for only 1 month or so; after that, one has to return to the normal routine (we have flexible hours). Personally, I believe that having a creche is a good idea if your organization has a good number of females who prefer it, but space for it should not disrupt office decorum or budget (important factor).

Another reason for resignation could be that females find it challenging to reintegrate into the mainstream workforce again after a break, as work was delegated during their absence. Therefore, when discussing benefits, steps should be taken to ensure that she can transition back smoothly into both office and personal life.

Regards,
Neha

Dear,

Your suggestions on working from home may be true for white-collar workers but not for blue-collar workers. These days, we see a situation where the recruitment of married women is not favored. The solution would be that post-joining, women should have a secure arrangement at home to take care of the baby.

With Regards,

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