Essay: The benefits of on-site daycare to a business

Starting an On-site Daycare Center
According to Bright Horizons Family Solutions, ‘On-site child care is one of the most powerful supports an employer can offer’ (Bright Horizons, 2014). Other educational foundations address this topic as it is becoming an important employee/employer bargaining chip. Fact Sheets prepared by ‘The Sloan Work and Family Research Network of Boston College’, Questions and Answers about Employer-Supported Child Care. (2009) provide statistics concerning Employer Supported Child Care that help bolster the argument for this type of employee ‘benefit’. In actuality there are several incentives for the employee and the employer to embrace this idea.
Increased Productivity
Onsite child care reduces stress often felt by parents when their children are away at day care locations that may not be close to the workplace. The parent is no longer burdened with trying to find satisfactory and reliable care. This enables the employee to concentrate on their work which ultimately results in increased productivity. Another thing to consider is saving in time and money. Since the employee and the child are commuting to the same place, no time is lost dropping off the kids at some other location. Therefore, the time saved can be applied to the employees work. The employee also saves money on gas. According to a (2001) Bristol-Myers Squibb On-Site Child Care Assessment, ‘prior to the opening of the BMS on-site child care centers, half [of respondents] reported the amount of additional time needed to pick up and drop off children as less than 15 minutes, with about one-third listing a time between 16 and30 minutes. The remaining employees either spent more than a half hour doing this (9.7%) or had children who was cared for at home (8.3%). However after the centers were opened, nearly half of the employees (48.1%) reported needing no additional time to drop off their children’ (Boston College Center for Work and Family, 2001, p.3).
Boosts Morale and Profits
Maintaining a happy and focused workforce is a necessary part of the formula for company’s stability as is being able to consistently show an increase in profit. An employer who commits to providing something important and personal to as on-site daycare will be rewarded with the respect and loyalty of her employees. Parents are grateful for the onsite child care provided and see it as a major employee benefit. Usually after giving birth, women often consider staying at home versus working. In the global post, Finn (2014) states in the Global post that, ‘according to the Bright Horizons 2007 study, 89 percent of parents stated that one of the determining factors in returning to work was the support of an on-site day care center’.
Reduce Absenteeism and saves Money
Another benefit of an onsite childcare is that it reduces absenteeism. Most often employees will call in due to unavailability of babysitters or daycare/school closures, with an onsite childcare provided; it eliminates the problem or reduces it.