Operation: Bye-Bye Babysitter

While this solution may not work for every business, I promise you, there is a creative solution that can.

STANDRET/STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Last year, a single-parent teammate voiced a challenge at our company. While their income was double the average community individual’s income (per census.gov), it still was not enough for the teammate to provide an accustomed lifestyle.

Between the cost of maintaining an individual household, health insurance, and daycare, the teammate felt they were on the “hamster wheel of life” — constantly running, but going nowhere.

As a small business owner, I was in jeopardy of losing “the right person for the job.” As a team, we would have lost a values-driven, culture-fit family member. The hard part? No one did anything “wrong.” Our company’s base salary is higher than any area competitor’s, and each teammate has the opportunity to earn an additional 50% annually. Not to mention, health, vision, dental, 401K, IRA, WFH Flex-Fridays, and more.

So…what’s the problem, you ask? For a single parent, it still wasn’t enough.

While daycare ate 42% of their income, and housing took another 40%, what were they to do?