Not many people think about maternity benefits when applying for a job, and yet organisations differ hugely in what they provide for parents. Some offer the bare legal minimum, others offer a year’s maternity leave on full pay. In an era of increased awareness of the importance of work-life integration, The Guardian argues, following a study of 250 organisations, that it is the smart organisations that take maternity benefits seriously who will attract and retain talented staff.

The survey discovered that companies often treat family life as being entirely separate from the workplace rather than being, as they are in the lives of most employees, tightly bound together. Very few corporations showcase strong parental benefits among their recruitment incentives or as evidence of high corporate ethics. And yet any working parent knows how damaging it is to productivity, creativity and mental health to work for organisations that blank out or are hostile to the beating family heart of its staff.

The Guardian argues that good support to parents is a social contribution as important as a companies charitable donations, recycling or carbon footprint reduction efforts.

Continue reading ‘The best companies to work for…if you are a parent’