Parents at typical workplaces are not alright.

As the U.S. Surgeon General noted in , parents in today’s workplace face a perfect storm of loneliness, economic stress, and cultural pressure. Four in 10 (41%) parents are so stressed most days, they cannot function, according to data from the American Psychological Association.

The company you work for plays a big role in your mental health. Managers have a than their doctor or therapist.

At the Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents™, a consistently positive experience at work contradicts the trend seen at typical workplaces, according to research from ���[�ʘ���®.

At these companies, 90% of working parents look forward to coming to work, and 91% say they want to work for their company long term. But for parents at typical workplaces, only 52% of parents look forward to their work each day, and just 65% plan to stay in their role.

Learn strategies from other great workplaces at the For All Summit™ April 8-10 in Las Vegas!

What makes the difference for parents

One of the key differences between the Best Workplaces for Parents and a typical workplace is how much control parents feel they have over their experience. In practice, that often comes down to their experience with their direct manager.

“What makes the biggest difference for working parents is if they feel their people manager wants them to succeed at work and at home,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO at ���[�ʘ���. “Do you have a people leader who cares and listens, or are you powerless to change your experience, unable to set healthy boundaries or pursue personal goals?” 

Researchers have shown that a lack of control over one’s environment directly correlates with for employees. For parents, exercising autonomy can be even more challenging. that parents are spending more time at work as well as more time with their children, sacrificing personal time, leisure, and sleep.

At the Best Workplaces, 50% more parents report that management involves them in decisions compared with a typical U.S. workplace. That experience is correlated with higher levels of well-being: Parents who say management involves them in decisions are 30% more likely to say their work has meaning and 20% more likely to say their workplace is psychologically and emotionally healthy.

“When parents feel their people leader and company cares, they give more effort and your business reaps the benefits,” says Bush. “Giving parents a sense of control over their work environment unlocks their creativity and passion.”

When parents say they are involved in making decisions that affect them, they are 30% more likely to report adapting quickly to change. When parents say their work is meaningful, they are 26% more likely to give extra effort on the job.

This increase in agility and discretionary effort is crucial for innovation, forces companies to reinvent themselves .

How to give working parents more control

The Best Workplaces for Parents offer a clear alternative for creating workplace norms where parents can thrive.

Here’s how companies that made this year’s list listen and respond to the needs of parents to offer more flexibility and make work more meaningful:

1. Ensure working parents at every level of the organization can share feedback about their experience.

The Best Workplaces use multiple listening channels to make sure they collect feedback about the experience of parents across the organization.

Wegmans Food Markets, the No. 26 large company on the list, schedules leaders to work shoulder-to-shoulder alongside frontline employees and hold regular one-on-one meetings to get feedback. Hilton, the No. 3 large company on the list, brings team members together for a daily huddle before each shift to share key information and collect feedback.

At tax consulting firm Ryan, No. 13 on the large company list, senior leaders hold regular listening sessions with a cross section of 12 to 15 employees to get feedback and then take action on common themes uncovered.

2. Maximize flexibility to directly address the needs of parents in the organization.

After listening to parents, winning workplaces take action to offer more flexibility and choice to employees.

At Wegmans, employee feedback uncovered how frontline employees struggled to manage at-home responsibilities without a consistent weekly schedule. The grocery chain created a company-wide program to give hourly employees a consistent day off each week, making it easier for employees to schedule personal events. (Hear more about how Wegmans embraces flexibility.)

At Hilton, team members can choose how they work and what type of work they do through gig work opportunities. Hilton allows team members who qualify to select shifts and explore new roles, potentially learning new skills and growing into a new career.

3. Empower parents to make a difference in their role.

Having meaningful work improves employee retention across your entire workforce. For parents, meaningful work can justify the sacrifices and tradeoffs needed to juggle work and family responsibilities.

Like any other employee group, working parents want to develop their skills and grow their careers. Cisco, the No. 1 large company on the list, gives every employee access to personalized one-on-one career coaching sessions.

To ensure that every employee has the opportunity to make an impact, Cisco invests in programs like its Women Inventor Network, which aims to increase the number of employees who submit patents and participate in innovation.

Programs don’t have to directly target working parents to have an impact. Since parents are represented in most demographic groups in the workplace, efforts to support those groups also benefit parents.

When every employee has a better experience, working parents benefit as well.

Make the list

Use ���[�ʘ��� Certification™ to enter your company for this and other Best Workplaces™ lists. Start here.

Dec. 03, 2024 (Oakland, Calif.) — The company you work for makes an enormous difference for many working parents.

With the U.S. Surgeon General issuing an advisory on well-being for working parents, employers that invest in support for their parents can seize a competitive advantage in fight for top talent.

���[�ʘ���® analyzed the survey responses of over 635,000 employees with parenting responsibilities who work for ���[�ʘ��� Certified™ companies. For companies offering a better experience, there are clear benefits.

At the Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents™, 50% more parents report that management involves them in decisions compared with a typical U.S. workplace. 

When working parents said that they felt involved in decisions that affect them, they were:

• 20% more likely to report psychological well-being
• 30% more likely to report adapting quickly to change

The key relationship that determines if employees feel they have a voice in decision making often comes down to their direct manager.

“What makes the biggest difference for working parents is if they feel their people manager wants them to succeed at work and at home,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO at ���[�ʘ���. “Do you have a people leader who cares and listens, or are you powerless to change your experience, unable to set healthy boundaries or pursue personal goals?” 

Working parents at winning workplaces are also more likely to say they have a healthy work-life balance and to say their work is meaningful. When parents said their work was meaningful, they were 26% more likely to give extra effort on the job.

“When parents feel their people leader and company cares, they give more effort and your business reaps the benefits,” says Bush. “Giving parents a sense of control over their work environment unlocks their creativity and passion.”

Who made the list

Here are the top five large companies (1,000 or more employees):

1. Cisco
2. NVIDIA
3. Hilton
4. Bain & Company
5. American Express

Here are the top five small companies (10-999 employees):

1. WestPac Wealth Partners
2. IntraFi LLC
3. Braze
4. Mercury
5. Greenhouse

Learn what tactics these companies use to create a winning workplace culture where parents thrive.

Images available:

About the 2024 Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents

���[�ʘ��� selected the 2024 Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents by analyzing the survey responses of over 635,000 employees with parenting responsibilities at ���[�ʘ��� Certified companies that also met the criteria for this list. To be eligible, a company must submit at least 50 responses from U.S. employees with parenting responsibilities. Company rankings are derived from 60 employee experience questions within the ���[�ʘ��� Trust Index™ Survey as well as data around parental leave, adoption, flexible schedules, childcare, and dependent health care benefits. ���[�ʘ��� determines its lists using its proprietary For All Methodology to evaluate and certify thousands of organizations in America’s largest ongoing annual workforce study, based on over 1.3 million survey responses and data from companies representing more than 8.2 million employees this year alone. Read the full methodology.

To get on this list next year, start here.

About ���[�ʘ���

As the global authority on workplace culture, ���[�ʘ��� brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Its proprietary platform and ���[�ʘ��� Model help companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming ���[�ʘ��� Certified and receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces list.

Follow ���[�ʘ��� on , , and or visit greatplacetowork.com and sign up for the newsletter to learn more.

About Fortune

Fortune upholds a legacy of award-winning writing and trusted reporting for executives who want to make business better. Independently owned, with a global perspective and digital agility, Fortune tells the stories of a new generation of innovators, builders, and risk takers. Online and in print, Fortune measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks and holds companies accountable. Fortune creates communities by convening true thought leaders and iconoclasts — those who shape industry, commerce, and society — through powerful and prestigious lists, events, and conferences, such as the iconic Fortune 500, the , and Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit .

Contact: Kim Peters: (415) 844-2574, kpeters@greatplacetowork.com

When an Alabama Supreme Court ruling found that frozen embryos qualify as people under the law, fertility care was disrupted with in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in the state.

Efforts to protect IVF care nationwide were stymied when a bill was , and politicians are now adding fertility care to the debate of what promises to be a raucous presidential election cycle. 

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill to provide legal protection for IVF providers on March 6, but at least one provider Alabama to allow them to restart treatments for patients.

Medical experts say that legal precedents like the one now set in Alabama will prevent women from receiving fertility care.

“If patients are now forced to transfer abnormal embryos that we know will likely result in a failed pregnancy or miscarriage — the emotional burden will be detrimental to many, and complications suffered from a miscarriage may further compromise the patient’s future fertility,” says Dr. Janet Choi, chief medical officer at Progyny, a fertility services provider.

“Additionally, if patients now have to take added time off work to drive hours across state lines and receive treatment, the experience will be even more mentally and financially taxing than it already is.”

What this means for employers

For employers, the shifting legal footing for IVF care could create headaches. While 21 states and Washington, D.C. have laws that require employers to offer fertility coverage in their health care plans, 14 states have proposed legislation that would recognize embryos with personhood under the law.

Even state-by-state law change could have implications for employers in states without such laws. IVF providers might try to avoid transferring embryos because of the risk and cost involved. Fertility coverage could prove even more complicated than efforts by employers to cover travel expenses for abortion care after Roe v. Wade was overturned in the Dobbs decision.

“This should be a wake-up call to employers to ensure that the fertility and family-building benefits they’re providing are truly inclusive and comprehensive, and what contingencies are available if an employee cannot access the care they need,” says Cassandra Pratt, CHRO at Progyny.

Legislation that prevents embryos from being discarded could dramatically raise costs, and with most employer coverage plans capped at a set number, that coverage could become a lot less effective in states with new laws regarding embryos.

“Employers with fertility and family-building benefits should look into the details of their plan,” Pratt says.

“Most plans have limitations on access and the type of coverage it provides. For example, a limited number of in-network fertility clinics, or restrictions on who can gain access to coverage. Most will require a diagnosis of infertility, which is written in a way that prohibits the LGBTQ+ community and single parents by choice from gaining access.”  

Attend our annual company culture conference May 7-9, 2024

How great workplaces support parents

The Best Workplaces for Parents™ are companies that have varied and comprehensive programs to support employees with childcare responsibilities. In a 2020 report in partnership with Maven, ���[�ʘ���® found that 81% of the Best Workplaces for Parents that year offered fertility coverage, compared to 65% of companies that did not make the list.

(Source)

The report found that on top of financial and educational support on their fertility journey, employees also benefit from mental and emotional support. Of the women who suffer from infertility issues, 40% struggle with their mental health, per the report.

And that’s before the legal picture around IVF treatments became even murkier.

“There is a lot of uncertainty right now, which could cause emotional and mental strain,” Pratt says. “We highly suggest employers also provide mental health support — whether that’s through their current benefits, EAP, or other carveout provider.”

Where appropriate, leaders and managers can also reach out proactively with team members to address the issue and provide support one-on-one.

It’s a mistake to take a wait-and-see approach, Pratt adds.

“HR and benefit leaders can proactively start the conversation with any employee they believe may be directly impacted and provide mental health resources to support their employees,” Pratt says.

“From a benefit and policy perspective, this is when HR and benefit leaders really need to do their due diligence around benefits that support reproductive and family-building care. This is, and will remain, a must-have benefit.”

Progyny says it will work with its patients to see if employers will cover tissue transportation.   

The cost of inaction

For employers who don’t take steps to preserve access to fertility care, Pratt sees a potential issue with employee retention.

“Even before this decision, and especially after Dobbs, we have seen time and time again that people will travel or will move to gain access to fertility treatments,” she says. “That signals that they will change their jobs to gain access as well.”

The number one action your organization can take right now? “I would advise companies that currently lack comprehensive fertility and family building benefits to reconsider,” Pratt says.

Survey your workforce

Identify what employees expect from industries and companies in the workplace today. Contact us to get started.

There’s a lot of joy when you become a parent, but the stress of taking time off weighs on many new moms and dads.

Many don’t have access to paid leave.

Some U.S. employees are eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave through the (FMLA), but the U.S. is the only wealthy country in the world that , according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (In comparison, .)

The ability to take time off without having to rush back for a paycheck is eased for parents at the 2022 Best Workplaces for Parents™ where paid paternal leave is 16 weeks on average for new moms, and nearly 12 weeks for new dads. ���[�ʘ��� determined this year’s list by analyzing data from more than half a million employees with parenting responsibilities. 

Paid leave not only helps working parents enjoy time off with their newborns, but drives retention.

Nearly nine out of 10 parents at the Best Workplaces for Parents say their company has “special and unique benefits,” and when that’s true, they’re 65% more likely to stay with their employer.

A staggering 91% of parents at these companies want to work at their companies for a long time. That’s a far cry from the 55% of parents at a typical U.S. workplace who are open to changing jobs by the end of this year, according to a July ���[�ʘ��� survey of nearly 4,200 workers.

But offering paid paternity leave alone isn’t a silver bullet for retention.

“What sets these companies apart is they have cultures that allow new parents to take paid leave without fear—fear of losing their job, fear of missing out on a promotion, fear of getting left behind,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of ���[�ʘ���. “Offering time off in cultures where it can’t really get taken erodes trust.”

These cultures also provide employee well-being support. More than 90% of parents at Best Workplaces say they’re encouraged to balance their work and personal lives.

“Offering paid time off for parents is a good start, but what’s their day-to-day experience like when they’re back at work? Can they make it to their kid’s soccer practice and still get promoted down the line? The answer should be ‘yes,’” Bush says.

Couple time off and employee wellness support with meaningful work, and you’ve created a workplace that will attract and retain parents.

Here’s what the research tells us:

1. Expand special and unique benefits, such as paid leave.

Nearly nine out of 10 parents at the Best Workplaces for Parents say their company has “special and unique benefits,” and when that’s true, they’re 65% more likely to stay with their employer.

Since 2020, these workplaces have steadily increased paid parental leave (by 12 days for moms and 17 days for dads over the three-year span) while other .

Great workplaces offer cultures where new parents can take that time. More than 90% of moms and 70% of dads take the paternity leave their companies offer.

“I made the move to Toast last month from a different company and was pleasantly shocked at the benefits package. I re-read it a few times to make sure I was actually reading and seeing it correctly,” said an employee at Toast, ranked No. 21 among large companies. “A lot of companies say today that they support parents but their PTO policies and benefit packages don't actually align with that statement.”

In addition to extending paid leave beyond FMLA requirements, great workplaces for parents offer financial assistance around fertility needs and support nontraditional families.

“When PMG leadership found out I was becoming a foster parent, they enacted foster care parental leave immediately and still are the only company I have heard of to have such a benefit. Just one example, but [the] underlying understanding that PMG as a business has — that in order for us to be successful, the people have to be seen and supported — is one that permeates our culture,” said an employee at PMG, ranked No. 24 among small and medium-sized companies.

“Offering paid time off for parents is a good start, but what’s their day-to-day experience like when they’re back at work? Can they make it to their kid’s soccer practice and still get promoted down the line? The answer should be ‘yes.’” - Michael C. Bush, CEO, ���[�ʘ���

2. Offer work-life balance support.

One in four , according to a joint Maven/���[�ʘ��� study. This burn-out contributed to millions of parents to leave the workforce during the height of the pandemic. Many had to choose between their jobs and taking care of their children.

show no sign of slowing down, making work-life support a key retention driver for parents. Great workplaces understand that parents might want to walk out the door if they have to skip yet another daytime school play, sports game for a work meeting.

Parents are nearly 40% more likely to feel their company is a great place to work if they believe people are encouraged to have a healthy work-life balance. And 91% of parents at these winning workplaces believe their companies support that balance compared with 62% at a typical workplace.

“My boss always allows me to be at events for my children,” said an employee at Baird, ranked No. 45 among large companies. “They always support my family and never make me feel guilty or bad for needing to take off for events with my children. I'm never afraid to ask my boss.”

But it’s not just parents who feel supported at these companies. If you create a culture where you’re communicating respect for people’s lives outside work, it’s good for everyone, regardless if an employee is a parent.

At these workplaces, when nonparents feel they’re encouraged to balance their work and personal lives, they’re 48% more likely to say their employer is a great place to work and they’re 39% more likely to stay with their companies for a long time.

3. Connect meaning to work.  

All employers should prioritize connecting what your employees do with the organization’s greater purpose.

It’s not only that the top retention driver for parents is purpose at work, it is also a key predictor of employee attrition for all workers. (Download our Power of Purpose at Work report today.)

Parents at a typical workplace experience less meaning at their jobs — 57% — compared with 88% at the Best Workplaces for Parents, which has a large impact on retention.

There is a three-fold increase in the odds that a parent will stay with their company if they believe their work has special meaning and is more than “just a job.”

Show working parents that they — and all employees — matter. It's what we want in our lives, both inside and outside of work.

Interested in making a Best Workplace list?

Find out how and apply to this or other Best Workplaces lists. 

This year, ���[�ʘ���® conducted the largest-ever study of working parents to understand their workplace experience, the unique challenges they face and how leaders can support them.

Our 2021 report, , sheds light on the many challenges – aggravated by the pandemic – that parents are facing in the workplace.

The motherhood penalty

For career women, motherhood can come with a penalty. The typical mother will see a , while men see their earning power increase by 6% upon becoming a father.

What does this mean?

Well, it could mean that some employers still hold archaic values – those that suggest women should be caregivers while men should be the breadwinner of the household.

The penalty also results from caregiving responsibilities falling mostly on mothers; the average mother spends 38 hours a week on childcare and household responsibilities. The disparity is even more stark for mothers of color; many of whom bare close to all childcare and household responsibilities.

Some entering motherhood feel forced into part-time or lower paying roles to make time for their family. Others decide to give up their career entirely to dedicate 100% of their time to raising young kids and are happy to make the choice.

But the choice doesn’t come without consequence, however. According to a study published by the American Sociological Review, stay-at-home moms are half as likely to land a job interview as moms who had been laid off from a previous job. So, moms risk difficulty re-entering the workforce when the time is right.

The childcare crisis is also stripping choice from mothers who want to work. Without adequate childcare benefits, mothers must trade in their day jobs for unpaid childcare responsibilities. In lieu of spending a large portion of their income on childcare, some mothers are making the sacrifice and leaving their hopes for a successful career behind.

In addition to mothers who have left their careers, there are those mothers who don’t have a partner with whom to share financial responsibilities. In spite of how badly they want to dedicate their time to their family, their income from work is a necessity.

There are also mothers who have the resources to leave the workforce but have chosen to continue up the career ladder, regardless of how challenging the climb to the top is.

How are executive mothers navigating work and life? It’s no easy task and the career ladder tax for working mothers with high ambition is high. Mothers in executive roles continue to have a very different experience at work than their male counterparts.

The experience gap for men and women in similar roles is not simply shaped by the employer. It’s informed by systems of belief, family structures, institutions and more. As we move the needle, and create more equitable workplaces for all, we’re also exposing a history of sexism with deep, rotten roots.

Joanna S. Lublin, author of , illuminates the challenges career women continue to face. Even those Gen Xers who were lucky enough to be raised by trailblazing women who refused to choose between kids and career.

She tells stories of daughters who became leaders themselves, following in the footsteps of their audacious Boomer mothers.

More than ever, today’s leading women (and men) were raised by working mothers. In a recent Lublin shares an anecdote of an executive mother she interviewed for the book. In the story, the woman in invited to a lunch with other VPs in the company.

As the only woman in the room she was asked to “check if the lunch had arrived.” In response, a coworker came to her defense and said “if you want to know where the food is, go check yourself. It is not her responsibility to bring the lunch.” When asked if that moment surprised her, the VP responded “no, because his mother was a working mom who raised him right.”

When asked what the most pervasive and difficult challenges “power moms” were still facing, Lublin said it came down to two things: “How women view themselves and their role in the world, and their unwillingness to ask for help.”

In the Forbes interview, Lublin shared more anecdotes about these power moms asking their male partners to take on more household and childcare responsibility, and the repercussions at home as their careers began to soar.

According to this year’s ���[�ʘ��� report, the inequitable burden of childcare placed on women is only part of the issue. Working mothers aren’t seeing the same gains as working fathers as they move up the career ladder.

Our study revealed that across managerial roles, moms have lower results than dads for equity in recognition, promotions, compensation, involvement and favoritism. These gaps more than double as employees move up in managerial responsibility. The greatest gaps happen between mothers and fathers in executive positions.

So, how do you create an equitable and inclusive workplace experience for leading moms?

Lublin’s “power moms” need what their subordinates need. They want to know and believe they are being paid fairly, are being recognized and rewarded for their hard work, and  that promotions are going to those who best deserve them.

To learn more about how to support working parents, read our full report

Working Parents, Burnout & the Great Resignation. 490K+ working parents have spoken. Here are 5 keys to attracting, retaining, and sustaining them.

Founder and CEO of Maven Clinic, Kate Ryder, and ���[�ʘ���'s VP of Data Science & Innovation, Marcus Erb, join for a covnersation about what parents are still experience in the workplace, and how increasing the standard of care for all pareents helps both your employees and your bottom line. 

In this 45-minute session, you'll learn: 

• How to break-through parental burnout and retain working parents
• What a half a million working parents have to say about how their organizations are meeting their needs and helping them thrive
• How the BEst Workplaces for Parents™ are combatting the Great Resignation by creating high-trust, equitable workplaces For All™

Want more insights?

In this session, you will learn how KPMG:

• Maintained equity in the way its people experienced the firm
• Supported its working parents and kept them engaged in a year when America was hit by a caregiving crisis
• Is accelerating its efforts to achieve its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging vision

• Effective strategies to help your company attract and retain working parents
• Why supporting parents should be a key component of every organization's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategies
• How the Best Workplaces go beyond maternity leave to support employees throughout the entire journey of planning and raising a family
• How Maven supported its employees and members through 2020 with one of the largest telehealth networks in women's and family health