Childcare As A Global Economic And Workforce Development Issue
The challenge for parents of finding safe, reliable childcare is not new. However, the pandemic helped expose the drastic need for solutions to this matter that profoundly impacts the economy. Since most households are accustomed to having two-income earners, it is a very difficult for parents to consider giving up one income for the sake of spending less on childcare. In families with a lower-income earner, or one or more parent without a degree, that decision might be easier to justify economically, but it’s neither an easy option nor one without compromise.
Like with healthcare, childcare is something that can be worth paying more for, as it is highly valued and thus considered an investment in a child’s well-being. It also helps keep employers’ productivity up, benefitting the economy. Childcare is becoming as much an infrastructure issue as roads and bridges, because families without childcare are not as likely to get to work and stay at work, making it an equally important potential investment for employers and employees.
Similarly, childcare is also a necessary component to allow men, but especially women, who want to improve their skills and knowledge by attending college or adding a certification in hopes of improving their career potential. Besides providing paid leave or childcare subsidies, employers could support working parents in several creative ways. In-house childcare is obviously one option, but so too is partnering with a childcare facility to cover some of their operating expenses, so the cost of running the business requires less overhead passed on to parents. Some companies help by finding /affording quality programs for children with special physiological needs.
In addition to improving employers’ productivity, it could also be seen as a vital benefit that will encourage longevity among would-be or current parents needing childcare, and make employers stand out among competing employers.
It’s one thing for parents to have a primary option for childcare, but the pandemic showed working parents that they also need a back-up option, for when the primary caregiver is unavailable or not an option, or school is called off for public health concerns. Parents who are freed up from constant worry about their children’s safety and well-being tend to be more content, better employees and a payoff to employers.
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