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As Americans are having fewer babies, the White House has been gathering ideas on what can be done to increase the birth rate. The New York Times reported that one of the ideas is a $5,000 baby bonus to entice women to have more babies, received after delivery. Other ideas being entertained to start a baby boom include: reserving 30% of scholarships for the Fulbright program, the prestigious, government-backed international fellowship, for applicants who are married or have children; government-funded programs that educate women on their menstrual cycles, so we understand when we ovulate and conceive; and a National Medal of Motherhood awarded to mothers with six or more children. While President Trump and his administration want a baby boom, none of these ideas address the root causes of why Americans arent having babies and why the annual birth rate is at a record low. Mothers don’t need a medal, they need meaningful family policies. If Trump truly wants a baby boom in his administration, heres what the government can focus on delivering for all Americans: better maternal healthcare, national paid leave, affordable childcare including not ending Head Start, better public education including not closing the Department of Education, safer schools,and a better cost of living for all. And sure, the government alone cant solve this problem. As the Edelman Trust Barometer survey reminds us that trust in government continues to decline, business continues to be the default solution for societal issues because it is seen as outperforming government on competence. The pressure on business leaders to step upincluding from their own employeesshows no sign of disappearing, particularly when it comes to how to best support employees and their families. Private-company based solutions to public policy shortcomings will leave millions of Americans out, but its still in business owners’ interests to support the working parents they employ (both moms and dads). In our workplaces, heres a reminder of what leaders can begin to do to help all parents start and expand their families: Support employees with buying their first home One factor in the decline of U.S. birth rates is lack of affordable housing. According to a Clever Real Estate study, 70% of Americans are afraid of an impending housing market crash. And 32% of Americans are afraid they won’t be able to make housing payments as a result of todays economy. Middle-class families in half in less than half of the U.S. can afford an average priced home. And If you cant afford a home, you may be less likely to want to start a family. Heres where leaders can step in: Offer resources and support your employees ability to purchase their first home. Partner with companies like Multiply Mortgage, a Denver based-company that offers employees one-on-one sessions with mortgage advisers, employee education sessions around the home purchase and financing process, and mortgage interest rate discounts of up to .75%. The company partners with a network of 15 to 20 lenders to access discounted interest rates. Homeownership has become increasingly out of reach for many Americans, and we dont expect interest rates to fall to the levels we saw in 2020 ever again, shares Michael White, cofounder and CEO of Multiply Mortgage. White says companies work with them with zero cost to the employer, other than low administrative cost to promote the benefit internally to employees. For leaders, this can be a win-win. Employees who own their home and put down roots into a community are far less likely to leave your company and relocate somewhere else. Partner with other companies to solve the childcare crisis A recent Lendingtree study showed that it costs close to $300,000 to raise a child in the U.S. today, from the time they are born until they turn 18 years old. Costs have jumped 35.7% versus when the study was conducted in 2023. One of the biggest drivers of costs continues to be childcare, which is close to $18,000 a year. In places like the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Hawaii, the cost is closer to $25,000 a year. A $5,000 baby bonus (which may also be taxed) would hardly make a dent in that cost. According to a recent HiBob report, only 15% of companies surveyed provide childcare-related benefits. Leaders can step into help solve another root cause then it comes to why Americans are having less babies: the childcare crisis. Employees need to be able to afford childcare, and have access to reliable, safe options so they can be fully present to contribute at work. Companies can partner with local childcare providers and negotiate a group discounted rate for their employees. They can also partner with Bright Horizons and bring a corporate day care to their location, and help fund the costs. If you cant afford the cost on your own, and are worried about low utilization rates, find other companies to partner with you to build a daycare center in a location that all employees can access. Finally, you can provide a caregiver stipend to employees so that they can use that to pay family members or friends to help take care of their children. For leaders, this can be another win-win. Employees who can be fully present at work, and not worry about whether their children are being well taken care of, are able to make an impact. And we know there are limits to linking childcare coverage to a job. The most important thing an employer can do is to let their employees know they support their roles as parents, by offering support with childcare, and other related benefits, and most importantly, providing them flexibility to be there for their children as needed. Remember to focus on parental leave, not maternity leave The U.S. still remains one of only seven countries that doesnt guarantee any paid family leave. If companies are busy lobbying the U.S. government about lowering tax rates, preventing regulations, drug pricing, fossil fuel incentives, data privacy, and more, they should add paid family leave to that list. Until then, the burden remains on companies to offer leave to parents and help fill this societal gap. As I discuss in my book, Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace, when we dont offer parental leave, and focus only on maternity leave, we put the burden on mothers to constantly be the primary caregiver. Ill never forget working for a leader who didnt want to create a parental leave policy. His response to me was, Why do we need to give dads time off when they have a kid? Its the mom doing all the work, and the dad is on the golf course using this as vacation time. He needs to be back in the office. According to research from the brand Dove Men + Care, giving fathers time to bond with their child not only helps the other parent, but also later on, can lead to better behavioral outcomes when the child is in school. Fathers who are close to their children are healthier, and have stronger and happier marriages with their partners. In Sweden, the data shows that for each additional month of paid parental leave taken by the father increases the mothers earnings by 6.7%. Imagine the positive ripple effect this can have on our society. Finally, the stereotypes about fathers not helping when a child is born and playing golf, or not being lazy or useless or not good at parenting is not only damaging to fathers, but also to mothers. Its up to all of us to shatter these stereotypes. Leaders need to support more men in taking parental leave, leaving work early to take their kid to doctors appointment to attend that school play, and being a public role model when it comes to all things parenting. And men who are leaders should be doing it themselves. If we want more women to become mothers, we cant leave fathers out of the equation. If the government refuses to address the declining U.S. birth rates with solutions that address the root cause, businesses will need to step up to support parents. Creating a society where we can start and expand our families and support both children and parents is best for everyone.
Category:
E-Commerce
The year is 2014, and Im stuck in Ukraine. I have a particularly antsy mother who wasnt keen on me visiting the country just weeks into Russias attempted invasion, and she is expecting me back home. In Odessahundreds of miles away from the Maidan and the nascent conflictthe worst example of war Id seen was a heated snowball battle between those who wanted to remain Ukrainian and those who wanted to be Russian. The reason Im stuck has nothing to do with Russia: Its bad fog grounding flights at the tin hut airport Im due to fly out of. But with no reliable phone communication back home, I know my family will put two and two together and make five. The problem is allayed when I return to the plush hotel Id been staying at, which was happy to have us pay for another nights lodging, and get on Skype. Im able to call home, explain what happened, and keep them from panicking when I dont step off the plane back in the U.K. as expected. International calls remain prohibitively expensive. And for a generation that doesnt own smartphoneslike my parentsor a country that steadfastly refuses to join the rest of the world on WhatsApp (hello, United States), Skype has proven a lifeline. My use of the platformto call home when stuck in war-torn Ukraine for an extra day, or to check on the status of my sick grandfather in hospital on the sidelines of a conference in the U.S. earlier this yearis very much a first-world problem. But the reality is that the imminent closure of Microsofts digital calling service (which the company attributes to dwindling user numbers and its belief that the same service can be offered through Microsoft Teams) will leave a significant gap for many who depend on it. Im not a Skype power user, but by my own estimation, Ive used the platform at least once a week for the last decade or more. My job as a tech journalist means I frequently call American contacts and sources. The countrys intransigence and refusal, with very few exceptions, to download and install WhatsApp on their cellphones means that unless I want to be hit with eye-watering minute-by-minute charges for calling them for interviews, I need to find an alternative. Since the early 2010s, that alternative has been a rolling Skype subscription to call the U.S.400 minutes per month, landline and cellphones, has proved plenty for me. Shortly, it wont be. Our lives, and our families, are increasingly scattered to the four winds. And in the two decades since its 2003 founding, Skype has helped those families stay connected. Its also helped a good number of people whose jobs involve international interactions do so at a manageable cost. Its notable that mentioning the closure of Skype on a regular roundup of tech news stories I do for a U.K. radio station received the most personal correspondence from listeners. They told me they too were worried about the closure of the service and were seeking out alternatives. Skype has long been unloved, long surpassed by the likes of Zoom andwhisper it quietly, and by tamping down your gag reflexMicrosoft Teams. Indeed, its Teams that Skype is recommending people move to, without realizing it doesnt offer exactly the same experience. But Skype was our little app that could. And its disappearance will be a loss for many beyond just me.
Category:
E-Commerce
Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Companys workplace advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions. Q: How do I decide what to take off of my résumé? A: There is much debate about if your résumé really needs to be one page. But regardless of if its one page or two, there are some common elements you can cut to make your résumé easier to read and more effective. Here are a few: Work history thats more than 15 years old This one isnt cut and dry. You shouldnt just delete everything before 2010. But heres what to consider cutting or condensing. If you have been at your last (or current) position for fewer than five years, you can keep a few bullet points under each of your previous jobs dating back 1015 years.But if a role on your résumé is from more than 1015 years ago, your old responsibilities, tasks, and accomplishments are likely not very relevant anymore.The exception is if you are looking to make a career change and you have older relevant job experience. You can list your positions with just title and dates but add a couple of bullet points to the older related experience. Your cover letter (yes, you still should write one) is the best place to connect the dots for the hiring manager on how your older experience is related. Jargon, clichés, and hyperbole You should avoid unnecessary jargon, clichés, and hyperbole in all parts of your job search process, but your résumé is the most crucial place to trim it out. If your résumé is being read by AI, phrases like seasoned solutions-oriented team player wont pass the keyword screens. Those words are similarly meaningless (and might actively work against you) if your résumé is being read by a real person.The best résumés follow the basic rules of good writing. Think of the golden rule of prose: Show, dont tell. An easy way to do this is to replace adjectives with numbers and facts: Instead of dynamic sales professional with a distinguished track record, try Closed over $1 million in new partnerships each quarter. Your objective or summary and your mailing address I dont know who ever thought an objective on a résumé was necessary. Your objective is to get hired, so anything you write here is just throat-clearing wasted space. Some people replace objective with a summary, which, in theory, can be useful for recruiters or AI that’s doing a quick scan. Most often though summaries are also useless because they are filled with meaningless buzzwords (see above). Youre better off formatting your résumé in an easy-to-scan way where your skills and accomplishments are clear.Including your mailing address is a relic of a time when applications were sent via snail mail and is an easy place to streamline. If you’re applying to an in-person job, however, you may still want to include the city you live in. The header space of your résumé should also include your email, phone, website/portfolio link, and one or two professional social media profiles, like LinkedIn. Fancy formatting, your photo, basic skills If you are early in your career and feel like you dont have enough to fill the page, it can be tempting to pad your résumé by adding basic skills like proficient with Microsoft office suite. But skills like that are assumed and adding them can actually make you look less experienced. Dont try to fill the space with colorful large fonts, formatting tricks, or your headshot either. White space is better and a simple format is easier to read, by both humans and applicant tracking systems. If you feel like your résumé is too thin, you may need to expand your definition of experience. (Heres my advice on how to make up for lack of experience on your résumé.)Want more advice on what to cut from your résumé? Here you go: 5 ways to make your résumé more impressive without lying Many job applications are never read by a human. Heres how to make sure your résumé gets seen 5 things you should take off your résumé right now
Category:
E-Commerce
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