How to Support Your Employees’ Desire for a Family

Emotional Support as well as Benefits

Employees who are struggling with infertility can be distracted from their work, even more so if their employer isn’t understanding of the stresses and time demands of fertility treatment.  But employers who are supportive can reap the benefits of employee loyalty and productivity.Here are some important ways you can help your employees feel cared for on their journey through infertility.

Let Them Know You Care

Providing family building benefits demonstrates that you care about your employees’ needs, desires and dreams.  Having a family is a basic, heartfelt want for many people. Helping them attain that dream by offering fertility benefits is extremely valuable to employees who need those benefits, or who anticipate needing them in the future.

Family Building Benefits Offer Options

Inclusive, comprehensive family building benefits not only offer fertility treatment, but also can include fertility preservation, surrogacy and adoption benefits.  They help those struggling with infertility whether they are straight or gay, trying to have a biological child, or focused on adopting to have a family.  Fertility preservation is increasingly important for young women who are not ready to start a family but want to freeze their eggs and keep the option of having a biological child in the future, or for people who need cancer treatment which will affect their fertility.  Offering complete benefits sends the message that you care about all employees and all kinds of families.

Understanding Treatment Needs

For employees undergoing fertility treatment, a major source of stress are the frequent appointments needed for IVF treatment.  Many fertility clinics have weekend and evening hours, but others do not, and some treatments or testing are only available during working hours.  Showing understanding and accommodating employees’ need to have appointments during the workday reinforces that you care, and that starting a family will not affect their status at work.  Not having to worry about coverage or being absent for appointments also helps employees focus on their work.

Recruitment Advantage and Increased Loyalty

Many leading high-tech firms and other companies in competitive industries are now offering fertility benefits to help them recruit and retain the highest quality employees.  Fertility IQ released their Family Builder Workplace Index for 2021, based on their survey of over 50,000 IVF patients.  Patients who received full coverage for their IVF treatment reported that they were “more grateful,” “more loyal,” and “stayed longer” with their company.  Increased loyalty and decreased turnover translate to lower costs of recruiting and retention. In response to this trend, the number of large companies offering or increasing fertility benefits has grown by 8% each year since 2019. Shouldn’t your company consider offering managed family building benefits?