This week, Education Week highlighted EdNavigator, an organization that partners with employers to help working parents get a great education for their children as one of the top 10 big ideas in education. As peers in the work of educating parents, we couldn't be happier.
Started in 2013, Crumbine Ed helps Houston companies support their working parents by offering educational advising as an employee benefit. And in those four years, nothing has been harder than convincing corporate partners that this is something their working parents want and need.
Employees have spent years fighting the narrative that being a parent in the workplace is a distraction. That needing to stay home to nurse a sick child or attend a parent/teacher conference somehow makes them less committed. As a result, working parents have learned to suffer in silence. They give their jobs the first fruit and spend their off-work hours providing basic living essentials to their children, checking homework, researching and applying to schools, doing their best to not give their child the short end of the stick. While some feel forced to choose and exit stage left, others stay carrying with them an invisible backpack overflowing with worry that they are not being as good of a parent as they are a professional. In both cases, companies lose.
We know that happier, healthier employees produce better work. It's why companies offer health initiatives and sessions on how to manage your stress. But how do we extend those offerings to working parents? How do we support them in being happier and healthier?
We help them be better parents.
By having working parent employee resource groups (ERGs), companies create the space for parents to connect with, learn from and support each other. By providing a resource to help them get the best education for their children, you are giving them something invaluable: time and confidence in knowing they are doing right by their kids.
It's a win-win for everyone. And wins make everyone happy.
Interested in increasing your working parents' happiness and effectiveness in the workplace? Here are four ways Crumbine Ed can help. Read enough and ready to take action? Schedule a discovery call here.
