Working Dads survey reveals how well employers have behaved during pandemic

Here at Working Dads, we campaign tirelessly for businesses to think about how they treat their employees and to try to do better.

Which is why it comes as a welcome surprise that in our 2021 end-of-year survey, sponsored by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), 69% of you think your employer has provided good support through lockdown and the pandemic. That includes, amongst other things, good communication and engagement.

Being open to ideas and having an earlier finishing time were two of the things people liked about their work, while one said their employer provided “lots of free beer”!

While this is obviously not the case across the board, you were quick to trumpet what you saw your bosses doing well.

“They have a focus on family and have supported me both through official working practices like flexible working,” says one. “[The company] I work for is also full of amazingly kind and inspirational people which I have found has helped me through challenging times.”

“I have compressed hours at work which means I have one day within the working week free,” adds another. “I work remotely twice a week and I also have flexible hours of work.”

It’s also clear that some businesses are getting better about paternity benefits, but this needs to spread more widely and continue to improve.

“I just wish all companies gave more than two weeks,” explains one of you. “My wife was badly injured and unwell from childbirth. By the time we were getting some real family time in I was back to work. I’d like a month.”

“My employer has posters up around the building making sure dads or prospective new dads know what they are entitled to in regards to paternity leave or shared paternity leave,” says another.

“They give six months paternity leave. I wish this had been available when my children were born,” someone adds.

Above all, it’s clear what works and what companies need to do moving forward. That is, says one of our respondents, “Provide generous parental leave, support flexible working and [have] effective, enhanced employee assistance programme and wellbeing practices.”

Read more:

How I changed my routine to stop bringing the office home

Our 2021 end-of-year survey tells us how you feel

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