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One of the dives of construction 2024 construction championsRebecca Ozols Goss is Vice President of Growth and Strategy of Bell Construction, based in Nashville. Opinions are typical of the author.
For many working parents, parental leave is a milestone and a minefield. It is one of the most rewarding moments in life, but often presents with anxiety for career setbacks, team interruptions and company expectations.
Leaders have also mixed feelings about permission. Before I had my daughter, I admit that the leave seemed like an interruption of daily operations. At the same time, I valued the importance of the family above all.
As an executive and co-owner of a leading construction company, I have always believed in supporting working parents, but experiencing it firsthand changed my perspective on what is like real support.
Parental permission is more than a human resources decision; It’s a leadership test. The way a company approaches TI shapes the workplace culture, employees’ retention and team performance long after it ends these weeks. As the scarce of talent persists and the expectations of the labor change throughout the industry, companies that do not adapt will be left behind.
Attract talent
Employees remember how they were treated during important life transitions. If they feel supported, they become more committed. If they feel like a disadvantage, they begin to look for the door.
Rebecca ozols goss
Courtesy of Rebecca Ozols Goss
Parental permit is one of the clearest indicators of the company’s culture. Send a powerful message when the executives are achieved, encourage employees to use their leave of absence and recognize those who step on the entrance. He explains that employees are important at each stage of life, not only when they are in the office.
But free time is not enough. Today’s workforce is waiting for more: leaving both parents, back -to -back plans and security that starting a family will not quietly rule out their career. Leaders need to investigate and perfect their parental permit policies to be competitive. The companies that achieve this right create loyalty, confidence and reputation as a place where people want to stay.
This confidence goes from both ways. Leaders need to stop assuming that working parents are less productive. Parenting forces a new level of approach. It sharpens time management and decision -making in ways that benefit companies. I have seen new parents return and work more efficiently than ever, making the most of every minute. The companies that recognize it will get a competitive advantage.
Empowering teams
One of the main concerns that executives have about parental permission is how it affects the exit. Who will cover the responsibilities? Will productivity be successful? Things will fall for cracks? I had the same concerns before my own permission. Instead of treating it as an interruption, I chose to see it as an opportunity. My team was able to create confidence and take property in ways they had not had before.
Before leaving, I created a transition plan that stated who was responsible for what, but most importantly, gave my team full decision authority. They do not fill; Were at the helm. And he had full confidence in them.
Recognition was key to making my plan work. Employees who take on an additional responsibility during a colleague’s permission should know that their efforts are appreciated. He recognizes his contributions, celebrates his growth and says that they see it as a path to more opportunities. This might seem like public recognition, career development opportunities or an increase in wages that reflects their expanded role.
When people feel valued, they rise to the occasion. And when leadership supports this confidence with actual investment, employees are much more likely to remain engaged in the long term.
Returning to work
A strong parental permission policy is important, but what happens when employees return is so critical. A return policy that adapts to size can make it difficult to transition from what it needs for people and companies.
For my family, exhausting permit with my husband was the best solution. It allowed us to support the other’s races while assuring us that one of us was at home. For other employees, flexibility can mean deleting a calendar per phase, remotely working for a period or adjusting workloads while returning to the rhythm of things.
Companies that take a reflective approach to re -enter facilitate the transition for parents and the whole team, increasing the withholding through the table.
It’s time to stop treating parents’ leave as an obligation and start seeing it as an advantage of industry. The way company handles send a message about their culture, leadership and if the people at the top really care about their employees.
Before my own permission, I thought I understood what my parents needed, but to experiment -it gave me a new perspective. I have never been grateful: for my time with my daughter, for a team that I can trust and for a career that allows me to be a leader and mother. I also know the rare that this balance can be, and that is why I want to change the way leaders think about loss.
Supporting working parents is not just what you need to do; It is a successful commercial strategy. No one should have to choose between succeeding at work and presenting -home. The companies that adopt this philosophy will be those that make up the future of work.
