I've joined a task force at work and we're trying to come up with some 'blue sky' ideas around this topic. Obviously budget will be a consideration, but let's assume for now that it isn't - just trying to get a feel for what most people value. If you could design something pretty special to make working life easy for working parents (although with a particular focus on mothers to increase gender balance at work) what would you offer? Assume a decent maternity / paternity offering already. Could be things like:
- onsite creche
- guarantee of part time hours
- compressed working week available (ie 9 day fortnight)
- summer hours (half days on Fridays from May-September)
- emergency childcare provided
- reimbursement for cleaner at home
I think ideally it would be something which could make a splash like the recently announced 1 year paid paternity policy at Virgin. So, go wild!