Building a family-friendly workplace

Through company policies, working conditions, compensation rates, and benefits offered, employers bear a profound influence on employees as well as their family life.

Catholic social teaching states that employers must treat employees with dignity, which includes paying fair wages and allowing for sufficient rest and leisure. But in his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII also says that the employer “is bound to see that the worker … be not led away to neglect his home and family” because of his work conditions. Workers should not be considered in isolation, but as part of families that deserve to flourish.

Sadly, sometimes even Catholic institutions and employers are not the best examples of pro-life, pro-family workplaces, whether because of financial constraints or a simple lack of awareness. But Catholic business leaders and policy experts suggest creative ways that organizations—whether Catholic or secular—can support families better.

PAID LEAVE FOR NEW PARENTS

Paid leave for childbirth is one of the most obvious ways an employer can be pro-life. “I think that should be non-negotiable,” said Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends at least six weeks of paid leave for a mother’s physical healing after birth or for any parent to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child. Historically, in the Church, women were considered exempt even from their Sunday Mass obligation for several weeks after childbirth.

But a recent study by FemCatholic—an apostolate dedicated to helping women live out the faith in the modern world—found that employees even of many U.S. dioceses receive little or no paid leave for childbirth.

Brown acknowledges that providing weeks of paid leave might be impossible for small businesses and nonprofits with limited finances. He advocates for creative solutions.
 
“Can we think about cost-sharing in innovative ways, maybe getting philanthropy involved?” suggested Brown. “If you’re a Catholic organization, maybe finding a Catholic donor who’s willing to endow a small fund that employees can tap into for paid leave around childbirth?”
 
He also believes there is room for pro-life employers to help improve government policy. Particularly, Catholic employers with limited budgets should ask the state to share the cost of paid leave. “Maybe that cuts across traditional party lines, but in a post-Dobbs era, it’s completely appropriate to be talking about how we can support new parents,” said Brown.

BEYOND BIRTH

After the first few weeks with a new baby, parents need other kinds of support.

According to ACOG, providing break time to pump breast milk is one simple way to support the physical health of new mothers and babies.
Brown also suggested that businesses that can afford it should consider providing on-site child care at the workplace, especially since there are benefits in the U.S. tax code for doing so.
 
“I am really curious to see how many businesses take advantage of that,” said Brown. “It’s a relatively new provision, so a lot of firms still don’t know about it or are still figuring out the best way to do it.”
 
This would give parents affordable child care as well as a chance to see their children during work breaks. “If you’re talking about serious capital investment from a firm — I think that would be something that businesses should look into,” Brown said.

He noted that Michigan recently implemented a policy that splits the cost of child care three ways, among employers, parents, and the state. “Sharing that cost among multiple parties is something I’m interested in seeing grow more and more,” said Brown.

WORKING AROUND THE FAMILY

A recent study by Lyman Stone at the Institute for Family Studies suggests that the slight increase in the U.S. birth rate in 2021 might be related to the rise in remote work.

“Remote work options allow families more flexibility to deal with unforeseen circumstances (like day care closures or school cancellations, or a sick child), and in some cases even allow parents to cut back on child care utilization,” said Stone.

Brown concurred: “Obviously different lines of work have different levels of flexibility … but to the greatest extent possible, having that sort of flexible work arrangement, and not penalizing parents for seeking that out, I think is something that’s really important.”

Some families decide to have one parent leave the workforce altogether to care for children. But these parents—more often mothers—may hesitate to cause a gap of several years on their résumé, in case they choose or need to work outside the home again when their children are older.

Brown suggested companies can be intentional about hiring women who took time off to care for children and helping them update their skills when the time is right for their families.

“That’s a way of thinking of workers as people who have obligations outside the workforce and recognizing that not everybody is cut out for, or should follow, a nine-to-five, five-days-a-week job. … And especially as we experience a labor shortage ... you’re stupid to turn away workers that can do everything that moms can!” said Brown.

ENCOURAGING OWNERSHIP

Leo XIII also said, “The law … should favor ownership,” in part because “Men always work harder and more readily when they work on that which belongs to them.”

Gellert Dornay, founder of Axia Home Loans, agrees: “No one washes their rental car!”
 
In 2016, Dornay gave 100 percent ownership of Axia to its employees and saw the benefits to them and to the business.

“Trust of big business is at an all-time low,” said Dornay. “This is because the boards only focus on maximizing shareholder value.” 
When a company becomes owned by its employees, “fiduciary responsibility is transferred to the employees,” he pointed out. “The board is now going to act in their primary best interest. It’s a radical change.”
Most importantly, employers must listen to their employees in order to support families.
 
“Senior management needs to walk the halls and have meaningful conversations with team members. They will tell you what needs to be done to create an environment for authentic human flourishing,” Dornay explained.
 
“Listen. Then act.”

RACHEL HOOVER is a freelance writer living in Tennessee.