1 Establishing Onsite Daycare or Providing Other Childcare Benefits for the 412th Medical Group Squadron WRTG 394 29 October, 2016 Executive Summary...

Establishing Onsite Daycare or Providing Other Childcare Benefits for the 412th Medical Group Squadron

WRTG 394

29 October, 2016

Executive Summary

Purpose and method of this report

Employers often recognize the impact of personal lives in the workplace and consider ways of satisfying their employees but in most cases, leave out working parents when planning on increasing employee engagement. There are many benefits of working for the United States military, however childcare help isn’t one of them. This is a reoccurring theme even for other major companies. Thus, working mothers and fathers rarely get the support they need from their employers when it comes to childcare. Establishing onsite childcare or receiving some childcare benefits is a great step in helping employers realize that this is one of the main desires of working parents. The purposes of this report are to:

• Determine the problems working parents face when it comes to this topic

• Prove the benefits of offering childcare in the workplace for both the employees and employers

• Provide/present solutions for the problems at hand

• Create an establishing childcare plan for the workplace

Existing employees were interviewed about stressors at work in the past month by our leadership to determine the main cause of low morale in the office due to personal lives. Analysis of data on the economics of childcare and research was conducted to get an idea of employee’s opinion for an onsite daycare or solutions to the problem of inadequate childcare in the area.

Findings and conclusions

According to the survey, 85% of work stressor at the office was due to the employee’s personal lives mainly including inadequate childcare for parents, new parents, and soon to be parents. Based on the research showed, over 90% of the employees would willingly contribute to an onsite daycare, the other 10% were the employees without children, in which case wasn’t necessary for them to participate in the funding of the onsite daycare. Analysis of data on the economics of childcare suggests that onsite childcare is not only affordable, it is in many cases profitable and with the number of working parents, the demand for this work/life benefit is sure to increase

Recommendations to childcare issue at hand

• Take steps in providing plausible ideas for onsite childcare/providing info to help get started

(meaning being the person to take initiative and come up with a plan to present to the office the problems we’re facing and the reasonable solutions to those problems. Having recorded information, resources, benefits, and people who are willing to help get us started with a movement)

• Gather ideas what employees are willing to sacrifice for this benefit

(meaning provide the research at hand on how we can get over the financial aspect, and how many people are willing to help fund this alongside the money from the military)

• Offer alternative

(meaning if the idea of the onsite daycare does not fall thought with leadership, to propose another idea of a way to get to the bottom of this issue since it is affecting so many of the people in the workplace)

Memo to the Chief Master Sergeant of the 412th Medical Group

Polen Gogce

NCOIC of Public Health

412th Medical group

29 October, 2016

Chief Anthony Soto

412th Medical Group

Bldg 3000, Edwards Air Force Base

Dear Chief Soto,

As discussed in our previous meeting, I will be sending in the report entitled Establishing Onsite Daycare or Providing Other Childcare Benefits for the 412th Medical Group Squadron.

As research shows, many fellow airmen are willing to do what is possible to overcome this problem. I have been examining additional conveniences that can be installed to increase work productivity and reduce the stress of many employees. I strongly believe that an onsite childcare facility would benefit not only the employees but also the employer and be a great investment that generates benefits for our squadron.

The report presents the current problems in the workplace for working parents, and discusses how onsite childcare is plausible for working parents. Additionally, it discusses why this problem should be addressed/approved and solutions for the topic at hand.

Hopefully your understandings will be fulfilled by this report and find it effective for our workplace. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me at (888) 888-8888.

Respectfully,

SSgt. Polen Gogce

Executive Summary 2-3

Transmittal Memo 4

Table of Contents 5

1. Introduction 6

1.1 Purpose of the Report/Problem 6

1.2 Scope of the Study 6-7

1.3 Sources and Methods 7-8

2. Findings and Discussion 8

3. Recommendations 8-9

4. Conclusion 9

5. References 10

1. Introduction

Personal life often helps motivate employees and gives them the drive to bring forward many great things into the workplace. In order to promote workplace productivity, most employers recognize the impact of personal lives on the workplaces and consider ways of satisfying their employees, but in most cases said person’s family is often overlooked. Numerous amounts of research on employer supported childcare has come to surface. Childcare is an issue of enormous importance to employees and the economy. Working mothers and fathers are making significant contributions to the U.S. economy and the companies that employ them, especially when talking about the United States military, but are they doing so without the support they need? The U.S. Air Force offers many benefits and services to their airmen, but child care benefits are not included. Fact of the matter is parents need reliable childcare. According to the National Study of Employers (2014), only about 7% of company’s nationwide offer daycare “at or near the worksite.” There are a number of reasons employers may find it beneficial to support childcare. Some include to improve employee morale, to reduce turnover or absenteeism, and to keep loyal employees a part of their company. Casey and Dobbs (2009) state that “employer-sponsored childcare is a win-win,” and for many companies, investing in childcare “benefits the bottom line.”

1.1 Purpose of the Report/Problem

The purpose of this report is primarily to discuss the benefits of providing onsite childcare for the 412th medical group. It is to update our Chief of the current situation that is affecting two-thirds of his medical office and providing him the research conducted to reduce this problem in the workplace from ongoing. Informing him of the advantages of establishing onsite childcare, or providing other childcare benefits for working parents will overall improve the organization. Employers find that child care issues can have a significant impact on their businesses, which is exactly what is taking place our office. Lack of access to affordable, quality child care may make it difficult for businesses to hire qualified employees. In the military, an E5 (staff sergeant) makes about $25,480-$28,851 depending on their years of service, however the annual cost of childcare in southern California (Kern County) is $12,005 for a childcare center and $7,834 for a family childcare home. Technically, someone with a child, making $25,480 serving their country is spending close to half of their salary on childcare with no support from their employer. Thus, productive and valued employees may leave their jobs because of child care problems, increasing hiring and training costs (Connelly, Degraff, & Willis, 2004). In the military’s case, employees could not reenlist once their contracts are up, due to their responsibilities to their families. Employees may be obligated to take time off because of child care problems, or spend time at work handling child care concerns which has lately been the case. All of these factors can reduce productivity, performance, and profits causing minor matters to become major problems.

1.2 Scope of the Study

This study examines:

• The impact this issue is having on work productivity

• The benefits for both the employee and employer

• Employee’s willingness to implement the onsite childcare

• Suggestions for other childcare aids

This report is due to the issues being faced recently from about three months ago, until now. It was done with the help of the whole medical squadron, taking everyone’s opinions, thoughts and answers into consideration during the interviewing process. The costs involved in the proposed onsite childcare facility was considered, alongside the money needed for startup, new employees, furniture, etc. but a value was not put on paper since the specific decision maker may have other ideas.

1.3 Sources and Methods

Throughout the research of the report in the past month, leadership interviewed existing employees in the squadron. A total of 32 employees took a survey and were part of the interviewing process. The feedback from the employees in the medical group were applied as more confirmation to the research already at hand. On the survey they were asked the following questions:

• What is the main cause of low morale in the office? Top answer being: family/personal life.

• Are working parent, Yes or No? 30 people answered Yes

• How many of you have children under the age of 5? 24 People with children under the age of 5; 6 People answered over; 9 said both under and over the age of 5; 3 are currently pregnant.

• How many people take or have taken leave solely for childcare reasons in the last 3 months? 16 people answered JUST for childcare reasons, 3 said they will be in the next couple of months

• Yes or No to the idea of establishing onsite childcare? 30/32 people voted YES. The other 2 had no preference (since they aren’t parents and would not be asked to monthly fund an onsite childcare center)

• Would you be willing to help fund the childcare (monthly)? 30/32 People said YES.

The pie chart above is a visual of the unanimous votes by the office to put an onsite childcare center into effect. More than 90% of the medical group squadron are working parents, who have at one point been affected by the inconvenience of childcare stressor. It is safe to say that the common vote of the working parent is all for the idea of either the onsite child care facility or childcare benefits because 90% are experiencing the similar issues.

The interviews spoke with leadership, about work and family programs including childcare, and how those programs affect the bottom line. About two-thirds of the employees interviewed were female, the other male. According to the interview, investing in work/family policies will more than likely:

• Retain employees at all levels of the workforce

• Improve employee morale

• Be beneficial for employees to balance work and family life

• Increase productivity

• Decrease distraction

2. Findings and Discussion

On-site childcare allows the employer to have control over quality, and can often be operated by outside contractors with experience in managing childcare settings. The United States government should be able to pay for the construction and maintenance of the center with the office parental fees covering the cost of operations. Being an employer that doesn’t currently provide child care assistance, this report can be used to provide some ideas about how to benefit both the employee and the company by investing sooner rather than later. We can start by assessment of the needs of the employees and of the types of existing child-care facilities is the necessary first step in planning this benefit (Building Quality Workforce, N.d.). A cost analysis is appropriately conducted next. Costs of child-care programs vary greatly because of factors such as regional differences in the costs of child care and the program specifications of the employer (Shellenback, 2004). Once these issues have been resolved, the employer can implement the chosen program.

3. Recommendations

Many people view child care as a single issue with only one solution, this is incorrect. There is not one child-care plan that is right for every organization. There are a few different ways to go about this issue. Although an onsite childcare center is the ideal solution, there are resource and referral programs, subsidizing childcare programs, or flexibility for working parents. First and foremost, the squadron Chief must grant permission to establish the childcare in the spare building by the medical group. Though there are costs to install a daycare, there are also numerous benefits. According to a study done by Matos and Galinsky (2014), “more than two thirds of respondents report that the benefits from childcare programs are greater than costs, or that the programs are cost neutral.” The most obvious costs would include renovating an already existing area into a daycare facility or adding on a new building area for the daycare, staffing, equipment, and cleaning contract. Once taken cost into consideration, we can take into account the number of people in the squadron willing to give a portion of their paychecks (just like they are paying for childcare funds) to start up the childcare, and reduce the cost substantially. Resource and referral programs are the next best option. This is a program that is funded by the employer (U.S. Airforce in our case) that provides families with free referrals or resources to discounted childcare packages. The third option for companies that don’t want to further deal with this issue but want to help fix it is subsidizing or partially funding childcare. This option is also costly but saves the employer time.

Below is a table of the recommended solutions to worker problems with highlighted childcare strategies that benefit employers as well as employees.

4. Conclusion

Childcare is a serious distraction, and financial burden for most families. A study done in 1998, suggests that a family’s weekly childcare costs averaged $89 per family, or about $4,500 annually and represented about 8 percent of their income (Employer Sponsored Childcare Benefits, 1998). One can only imagine the increase of those numbers today. Providing an on-site or near-site childcare allows employees close access to their children, but may be costly to the employer. Synchronizing resources and recommendations provides a valuable source of information to employees at a relatively low cost to the employer. Subsidies allow employees flexibility in choosing their child-care center and may be easier for the employer to administer than other child-care alternatives. Implementing the program requires the organization to formulate the guidelines, communicate the plan to the employees, and evaluate the performance of the program. For companies committed to upholding morale, keeping productivity in the workplace, and reducing turnover by addressing the child-care problems of employees, it is recommended that a child-care program be implemented. Especially if employees are willing to help deposit, or take a pay cut to fund the center. A corporation that is not limited by its own resources, just as our office, should provide its own center. A corporation that chooses to limit the money that it spends on a program should research community resources that the employee may pursue. A company that wishes to limit the time it spends on a program should subsidize child-care expenses.

5. References

Building a Quality Workforce. (n.d.). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://www.childaction.org/providers/booklets/docs/Solutions for Employee Child Care.pdf

Casey, J., & Dobs, J. (2009, June). Effective Workplace Series. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from https://workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/sites/workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/files/imported/pdfs/EWS_ESCC.pdf

Connelly, R., Degraff, D. S., & Willis, R. A. (2004, October). The Value of Employer-Sponsored Child Care to Employees. On-site Childcare, 43(4). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/d/ddegraff/pdf/on-site-child-care-centers.pdf

Employer Sponsored Childcare Benefits. (1998, August). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/archive/employer-sponsored-childcare-benefits.pdf

Hamlin, Kristen. "The Advantages & Disadvantages of Child Day Care at a Workplace." Woman. (n.d.) Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://courtneystumpfl.weebly.com/uploads/3/2/3/0/32303775/proposal_.pdf

Matos, K., & Galinsky, E. (2014). Families and Work Institute. National Study of Employers, 67. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://familiesandwork.org/downloads/2014NationalStudyOfEmployers.pdf

Shellenback, K. (2004, December). Child Care & Parent Productivity: Making the Business Case. Linking Economic Development & Child Care, 20. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://www.douglascountysuccessby6.org/NEW/downloads/Child Care and Parent Productivity - Making the Business Case.pdf