Why you should get parent proof

Fact: the majority of the workforce are parents, but we fail to run organisations that actually work for parents. Research shows 92% of parents struggle with combining work and family, only 1 in 3 companies have specific policies for parents and over half of employers (56%) do not have clarity on laws around parental leave and rights.

What happens if we change this? It pays off. The evidence is in the numbers.

Financial benefits

Parent-specific policies lead to a 2.3x higher cash flow per employee over 3 years

More productivity

Supportive work cultures prevent burnout and give a boost to productivity

Team benefits

Clear parental leave plans ensure continuity in teams and secure client relations

Higher retention

24% of mothers leave or change their job after pregnancy due to a lack of support

Parent-specific policies lead to a 2.3x higher cash flow per employee over 3 years. If companies have supportive work cultures, employees are more engaged, the quality of their work improves and they are more productive. Supportive work cultures that actively include parents, through clear parental leave plans for example, ensure continuity in teams and secure strong client relations. And if parents feel supported, they stick with you.

There is a huge (and often invisible) reason why people leave their job: parenthood.

For example, 24% of mothers leave their job or change employers after pregnancy due to lack of support.

Proof clearly tells us that parents are feeling unsupported, and proof shows that if you change that, your company thrives.

Benefits from parent-specific policies

Less burnout

Save €100,000 or more per avoided burnout case

Less absenteeism

Save €340 per day per employee, reduce absenteeism

Higher retention

Save 1.5-2x of annual salary in replacement costs

Greater revenue

Get a 12-14% uptick in revenue growth

Let’s zoom in on two major challenges for companies: burnout and employee retention. In the Netherlands, stress-related absenteeism has surged, reaching a 36% increase over the last five years. And it's draining companies financially.

On average, a single day of employee absence costs a Dutch employer €340. If stress leads to full burnout, the average absence duration in the Netherlands is now 318 days. Let’s do the maths: €340×318=

The average cost of burnout per employee = €108,120

Research from HumanCapitalCare highlights that parenting is a significant driver of this stress. Women, who still disproportionately handle the “mental load” of parenting, take significantly more days off due to stress than men (31% versus 20%).

Feeling unsupported is a big reason for people to leave their job, young parents in particular. The financial impact of this for the company is huge.

What we know from Dutch research, looking at replacement costs - such as recruitment, onboarding, and lost productivity - when someone leaves your company because of a lack of support, this adds up to 1.5 times of their annual salary, and 2 times for people in senior management.

Like we said, the evidence is in the numbers. Don’t let parenthood drain your company financially.

Let’s get you parent proof.

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