If Companies Are Smart, Theyll Offer This To Millennials

If Companies Are Smart, Theyll Offer This To Millennials This article welches originally published in Hemispheres.Forget gourmet cafeterias, on-site massage services, even good old-fashioned ping-pong tables the hottest employee perk ansicht days is a pumping room. And no, these arent high-end gyms theyre luxurious private spaces where breastfeeding mothers can comfortably pump milk.Consider powerhouse advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather. The company has four suites in its New York City headquarters that have soft lighting, ergonomically designed chairs, heaters, magazines, bottles of water, and refrigerators to store milk until a mother goes home to her baby at the end of the day.For women like Lara OShea, a global consulting partner at OgilvyRED, a division of Ogilvy Many employers dont realize the hidden challenges we face after having a baby, OShea says, but thanks to the supportive environment at Ogilvy, I was able to successfully breast-feed for sixmonths.Ogilvys pumping rooms a re a sign of the times. With 64 million members of the millennial generationexpected to have children in the next decade, smart companies are doing all they can to support new parents mothers especially.For many companies, it starts with offering a meaningful amount of paid parental leave. According to the United Nations, the U.S. is the only developed country that doesnt require paid maternity leave, meaning that employers have been forced to fill in the gap. From tech titans to financial services firms and even the U.S. military, many have stepped up Four months has become the requisite paid leave at tried-and-true employers like Morgan Stanley and Johnson fathers.Even after the most generous of paid leaves, there is an adjustment period for mothers upon their return to work. According to Karyn Twaronite, Global Diversity and Inclusiveness Officer at Big Four accounting and consulting firm EY, companies are taking stepslike Ogilvys pumping roomsto ease that adjustment. In the past few years, I have seen an increased commitment by employers to help new moms transition back to work, she says. It is part of understanding the career life cycle. Retaining female talent has become increasingly important, and companies are realizing that supporting mothers as they transition through each stage is smart business.The data is definitive Companies that have gender-diverse workforces have stronger bottom lines. A recent McKinsey and given that 80 percent of college-educated women are destined to become mothersmany companies are seeing the importance of family-friendly policies and programs. Its elend about social responsibility its about business.Indeed, companies that dont cater to their female employees may be facing a sort of brain drain. A study by a Vanderbilt University Law School professor revealed that 57 percent of Gen-X and Baby Boomer women who graduated from elite colleges paused their careers for a period of time after they had children, and a majority of c ollege-educated Millennial women have reported in studies that they plan to take a career break when their kids are young because they foresee challenges juggling work with new motherhood. A study of nearly 1,500 highly qualified women I conducted for my book, Work stopp Thrive How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career, indicated that a majority of those who paused their careers did so because of inflexible work cultures and a lack of support formothers.Even in our somewhat more enlightened era, that lack of support is still an issue. Consider the experience of software developer Kathryn Rotondo. When she returned to her job three months after giving birth to her son, she was forced to pump breast milk in a unisex bathroomone without a lock. Twice a day, I had to barricade the door just so I could get some privacy, Rotondo recalls. It was mortifying.Shes not alone. Ask most women who returned to work after giving birth, and theyll regale you with pumping horror stories Cold storage closets, empty conference rooms, and parked cars are just a few of the places you can find women expressing milk. A recent study by the Jacobs Institute of Womens Health revealed that 60 percent of new mothers in the workforce do not have lactation accommodations, even though it is required by federal law in many cases. (A little-known provision of the Affordable Care Act called the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law requires businesses with 50 or more employees to provide a private space and a reasonable amount of time for pumping. But the law applies only to hourly workers, meaning companies like Ogilvy that are trying to attract top talent must create their own solutions.)Creating solutions for mothers in the workplace is absolutely necessary.It isnt just nursing mothers who are asking for help, either. Increasingly, new fathers are demanding support from their employers as well. Twaronite led a 2015 EY Global Generations survey of full-time workers which showed tha t two-thirds of Millennial men would change jobs, give up a promotion, or relocate in order to secure better work/life balance. These men actually reported a stronger willingness than Millennial women to make career sacrifices in order to have more time with their families.Creating meaningful solutions for mothers in the workplace is absolutely necessary, Twaronite says, but we cant forget fathers need help too.Sedef Onar, Chief Talent Officer at 72andSunny, understands this well. With the vast majority of its 650 employees hitting those child-rearing years, the agency wanted to ensure it had policies and programs to meet their needs. After expanding its paid parental leave, the company asked what other services it could offer. Onar was surprised to discover that new dads wanted coaching. We learned that men were uncomfortable asking about available resources and that they wanted support to be successful fathers, she says. Consequently, 72andSunny is looking at rolling out a coachin g program for both mothers and fathers in the coming year.The support for fathers makes sense, given the unprecedented challenges that young workers face. Unlike Boomers and Gen-Xers, the vast majority (78 percent) of married Millennials are in two-career relationships. While they may want to have one partner at home caring for the kids, many wont be able to afford it, so both women and men need support integrating work and family. Companies who dont offer such support risk losing both female and male employeesafter all, Millennial workers have been called the Go Generation for their willingness to pull up stakes when their demands arentmet.And why not? With the demand for talent greater than ever, wise companies are recognizing that offerings like pumping rooms are not perks but rather prerequisites for attracting and retaining the best employees. As Ogilvys Lara OShea says, I get calls from recruiters all the time, but why would I want to leave when I know I can thrive here as a p rofessional and a mother?--Lisen Stromberg is CEO of PrismWork, a culture innovation consultancy, and author of Work Pause Thrive How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career. When she isnt working, shes busy doing the happy dance to celebrate that shes well beyond those pesky breast-feeding years.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer