Employee Assistance Programs. Many employers offer as a benefit an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Generally, EAP's offer no-cost or low-cost counseling for employees and their dependents in areas such as family challenges, financial challenges, substance abuse or other addiction counseling and often legal counseling. This is an extremely helpful benefit for fathers who may have personal challenges from time to time (and what fathers don't?).
Bring Your Son or Daughter To Work Day. Many employers are signing on to the national movement to Take Your Son or Daughter to Work Day. This is a great opportunity to introduce your children to what dad does all day. It is a pretty low cost benefit for an employer that can pay big dividends with dads and their families.
On-site Family Seminars. Often employers will offer "brown-bag" seminars or after-hours seminars on family issues. These kinds of services are also helpful to fathers who want to find better ways to parent or to be a successful husband.
Wellness Programs. More and more popular today are wellness programs focused on helping employees maintain good physical and emotional health. Employers may offer an on-site fitness center, nutrition and diet counseling, incentives for preventive care and the like. A good wellness program is a good indicator of family friendliness.
Elder Care Services. More and more families are finding themselves in the position of having to care for parents or other older relatives. Family friendly employers offer some of the same benefits we traditionally think of applying to children from elder dependents. Find out if there are seminars, services or benefits that might apply if you are in that situation.
Conclusion
Fathers who are committed to putting their family first can often find themselves in conflict with employers who don't respect that choice. Finding a family-friendly workplace can help make these choices easier for dads.
