Patagonia, a California outdoor gear and clothing company, has operated for more than three decades while offering the best work-life balance for its workers. In recent years, it has improved on its child care program, so much so that it has able to retain 100 percent employment of its working mothers.
Quartz reports that Patagonia's remarkable 100 percent retention rate for working mothers is even higher than the whole of the United States' work force, which currently sits at 79 percent. Many of these women even hold management positions at Patagonia. However, even male workers are also benefiting from the company's support for working parents.
What the company did was to establish an in-house daycare center for employees with children. This child-care program, which is already running for 30 years, has actual teachers. Some of these teachers are bilingual to cater to multicultural families.
So, as the parents work in Patagonia, their children are within the office premises being cared for and reared by professionals. Families having lunch together is a common sight at the office cafeteria. It also also common to see parents use their break times to visit their kids at the childcare center for some minutes of reading or play.
If an employee has to travel for work, the company also pays for the nanny. If not, one of the center's teachers can tag along on the business trip to tend to the employee's child. These benefits are so remarkable that the parents don't miss out on quality time with their children even if they are at work.
The New York Times recently profiled Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard. A lover of the outdoors, the head of the company has always believed that work-life balance is vital and that family is the priority above anything.
When Chouinard formed his company, he did so by hiring friends. When his company grew, so did his friends' families. That's when the company recognized that it should be supporting what the family needs, instead of cutting down on benefits. Learn more about Patagonia in this video below.
