Mary Beth Ferrante, PCC’s Post

🌟 Exciting News for Working Parents in New York! 🌟 New York has just established standalone paid prenatal leave, a game-changer for expectant parents! This new policy provides crucial support during one of life’s most important times. Want to know more about how this impacts working parents and businesses alike? Check out our latest blog for all the details: https://lnkd.in/enVDw7ip If you’d like to discuss how this can benefit your employees and effect your business, let’s schedule a time to chat! Pete Notaro (716)-225-2095 - Cellphone 📞 #PaidLeave #WorkingParents #NewYork #EmployeeBenefits #WorkLifeBalance #GroupManagementServices

Therese Rubio, GBDS, VBS is Nava Benefits' founding partner and writing for Human Resource Executive she admits that she was confused about family leave benefits before giving birth to my first child. And she's a benefits broker! She shares the power of family-focused beenfits in this post. In addition to helping with HR’s recruiting efforts, family-focused benefits can also boost employees’ job satisfaction and overall wellbeing. And, of course, employees who are happy are also less likely to be lured by one of your competitors. For HR leaders, there are a few things worth considering before your organization rolls out or expands benefits in one or more of these three areas: family planning, paid family leave and benefits that support employees after they return from parental leave. https://lnkd.in/dqyDsWbf #employeebenefits #familybenefits #familyplanning #parentalleave

Paid family leave benefits have been rising over time, but there are hurdles to their full adoption. Thinking of building out your parental leave policy? Check out this blog post from our friends at Risk Strategies to get started!

At BT Group we want to be a company that’s there for our people when they need us. One of the reasons I joined BT Group was the flexibility they were willing to provide me to accommodate my family life around my work life and the recent changes to our family and carers benefits reinforce this. In the past month, we’ve reviewed our policies and benefits, making significant improvements to how we support our colleagues. For carers, we now offer up to two weeks paid leave so colleagues can support their loved ones who have a disability, a long-term illness or older parents. For parents, we’re introducing a new family leave policy for any parent welcoming a new child. That’s 18 weeks’ full pay, then 8 weeks’ half pay and up to 26 weeks’ at the statutory rate, for every parent, no matter how their family is made up. And to support colleague wellbeing, we now offer access to a 24/7 online GP service and additional women’s health services, which includes help with menopause symptoms, cancer screenings and periods. All this puts BT Group in the top 33% of FTSE100 employers. With less than 50% of companies offering aligned maternity and paternity leave, BT Group is one of the leaders in our sector. Watch our recent video featuring colleagues from across the business demonstrating how important their family time is to them. It touches on the real-life experience of parenting and caring, so if you find either of these subjects difficult for you personally, you don’t need to watch it – all the information you need is in this post. #FamilyLeave #Support #Wellbeing

When my kids were young, they loved the feeling of being in the middle of a sandwich, with mom and dad as the bread. However, as they grew older and eventually taller than me, that playful desire faded. Now, as I find myself in the "sandwich generation," I’m juggling the responsibilities of caring for my children, aged 4 to 15, alongside my aging mother-in-law, who is battling Parkinson’s and dementia. I can confidently say that this adult life sandwich is not easy to digest. Many long days, constant juggling of schedules and so many trips to the grocery store have only been manageable after my bride took a reduced schedule with a huge amount of work flexibility. Thankfully, her career allows for part-time work at a reasonable exchange of time for compensation. My heart and prayers go out to anyone battling the competing priorities of a growing family and aging parents, exhausting doesn’t begin to describe the physical and mental toll this life stage can take. A recent CNN article highlights a growing awareness among employers regarding the strain that caregiving responsibilities place on their employees. 61% of employees are managing caregiving duties while working full-time. By offering benefits such as elder care consultations, care coordination support, and elder care leave, employers can significantly improve their employees' mental health. As companies shift their focus beyond traditional benefits like medical, dental, and life insurance, they are beginning to understand the value of a holistic approach to employee well-being. The concept of work-life balance is just a buzzword; we live one life, not two separate identities to squeeze into a 24-hour day. My life encompasses spirituality, family, community, income-generating activities, and gratitude for my blessings. Each of these areas doesn’t receive the same attention every day or year, but nurturing all of them helps me create the life I aspire to live. Employers who support their employees in achieving balance during these evolving life stages cultivate a culture that promotes thriving teams, boosts profits, and enhances employee retention. #sandwichgeneration #caregiving #employeebenefits

As a member of the workforce who has experienced the challenges of balancing care responsibilities and work, I truly appreciate the efforts Grayce is making to close the gap in support. Having access to personalized care plans and dedicated care partners can make a world of difference when you're navigating these demands. The focus on providing not only practical tools but also emotional support is essential for reducing the stress, overwhelm, and burnout highlighted in the MetLife study. It's great to see such comprehensive solutions being offered! #worklifebalance #employeewellbeing #employeebenefit

In Gallagher’s most recent Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking report, 81% of UK companies have implemented wellbeing strategies to support working parents. 🚼 What makes this more impressive is that it was only 15% this time last year. 📈 The most common strategies these companies have put in place are: 🔰Enhanced parental leave pay (88%) 🔰Extended parental leave (40%) 🔰Offering 3rd party support to new mothers (22%) It’s nice to see companies adjust the way they support their employees. Want to stay ahead of the curve in what support your employees want?  Drop me message. 📩  #parentalleave  #matleave  #patleave  #health  #healthandwellbeing

Have you ever met someone and just thought that they're a really really brilliant person? 💫 Well, that's exactly what we thought when we first met todays #heraWCW , Claire Hunter. And if you know Claire, you'll know that she's not one to blow her own trumpet which is precisely why we're doing it for her! 🎺 In our opinion, Claire personifies what it means to be a diversity and inclusion champion and as the Senior People Manager at Papier she's inspired many people, both internally and externally, to start pushing the needle in the right direction when it comes to creating a more inclusive workplace. 👏🏻 And if you attended our event last week and heard Claire's section on some of the changes that she's been the driving force for at Papier, you'll know exactly what we mean. Following a review prompted by Papier's Working Parents ERG, in 2023, Claire enhanced the parental leave offering to: ⭐20 weeks fully paid Maternity leave (from 12 weeks) ⭐12 weeks fully paid Parental leave (from 3 weeks) ⭐4 weeks phased return (for both parents) In addition to the enhanced parental leave, Papier: ⭐Offer family relationship and parenting coach sessions ⭐Have a room in their gorgeous office that is specifically dedicated and designed for pumping and feeding ⭐Facilitate phased return and KIT days  ⭐Gift new parents with things like an Air BnB voucher that can be put towards a very previous full night's sleep! Claire listened to the Papier employees, understood what they valued and instigated change. And that's one of the things we love most about Claire - she's a changemaker. Claire has made sure that all employee policies (including parental leave) are fully transparent and incredibly easy to access for those who work at Papier and is a firm believer in that if a policy is difficult to find, somethings gone wrong. 📢 SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE AT THE BACK! 📢 Claire knows that things might not be perfect, and she recognises that there will probably always be progress that needs to be made but goodness, what an advocate for creating inclusive workplaces she is, by always going out of her way to lean in to understanding the needs of others. 🚀⭐👏🏻 P.S. Kemi Badenoch it feels like you could probably learn a thing to two about parental leave from Claire and the team at Papier... Image Description: A picture of Claire in the foreground. Claire has long dark brown hair, is wearing a cream t-shirt with a gold necklace, holding a red and pink Papier diary and smiling. The Papier image is in the background against a brick wall and next to a book case

A recent article from WorkLife highlights the pressing need for employers to support their caregiving employees. With staggering statistics revealing high levels of stress, feeling overwhelmed, and burnout among caregivers, it's evident that the caregiving crisis significantly affects the workforce. Employees who receive care from their employer are more likely to experience increased happiness, productivity, and loyalty. These numbers emphasize the critical role of robust support systems for caregivers. At Homethrive, we've seen and experienced these challenges and are dedicated to offering comprehensive caregiving solutions for all life stages. Our attentive client success team ensures employees fully utilize our user-friendly digital platform, providing round-the-clock support. By addressing diverse caregiving needs such as childcare and care for aging family members, we contribute to improving productivity, retention, and overall well-being. Message me to learn how your organization can collaborate with Homethrive to assist your caregiving employees and cultivate a resilient, productive, and loyal workforce. Discover more about the significance of caregiving support in the workplace: https://lnkd.in/gUQTFakR

While not exactly respite care that would alleviate work AND caregiving responsibilities, this new S&P Global and AARP Employee Caregiver Survey found that some employers do offer subsidized back up care. While only 19% of respondents were offered subsidized back up elder care by their employers, 57% of those used it, and nearly 71% said the used benefit was helpful. For those working caregivers who work full or part-time and then return home to full-time caregiving duties during their "time off", the five day work week is a myth. ARCH would encourage employers, who want to support their caregiving employees to stay in the workforce and be productive, to consider providing a respite care benefit to their caregiving employees. They deserve and desperately need to experience "time off" just like their non-caregiving peers. Yet respite is never mentioned or recommended as an employee benefit. The documented benefits of respite care to reduced caregiver stress should not be overlooked. Lifespan Respite grantees and partners are working with employers to help them consider respite as a valuable benefit to offer to their employees with caregiving responsibilities.