When we founded The Charles Group back in 2011, one core value was essential to our business: treat our team members how we had always wanted to be treated by an employer. Since day one, this ethos has helped us shape every part of our agency, from how we conduct business, to how we collaborate with employees, clients, and vendors.

 

The past 3 years have brought a lot of changes to our business – the biggest being the shift to remote work. Our team has had to embrace a whole new way of working, and working parents have had to adjust in more ways than one. That got us thinking. What more can we do to support our working parents?

 

As leaders, we strive to cultivate a culture of acceptance and create a work environment that supports the individual needs of all of our valued team members. But as parents, we understand the importance of supporting our employees in their parental responsibilities.

 

We now know just how much post-pandemic work culture has affected families. An APA study found 72% of working parents were stressed due to disruptions and uncertainty about school and childcare schedules. In another study from KinderCare research, 39% of working parents said finding affordable and quality childcare was preventing them from balancing work and parenting responsibilities. Within families, working mothers seem to have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. A survey by the Center for American Progress revealed that working mothers make job decisions based on child care concerns, rather than their financial situation or career goals.

 

After learning more about the effects of post-pandemic work culture and speaking with our team members, we kept circling back to that first core value: how would we want to be treated by an employer as a working mother and father? What tangible benefit would make a real difference in our lives?

 

We’re very proud that TCG has remained on the cutting-edge of employee support, from offering full-time remote work, to mental health breaks and additional flex time for staff – but we know we can do more for our team. 

 

After many Google Meets and planning sessions, we feel we have created a great benefit for the current and future working parents of The Charles Group. With that, we’re proud to be rolling out TCGS official Parental Support Policy for 2024! The details? Working parents on our full-time team will receive an annual stipend to offset the rising costs of childcare.