COVID-19 forcing innovation at child care centers - State House News Service
By Katie Lannan
Massachusetts Business Roundtable Executive Director JD Chesloff said his organization has been hearing "a level of surprise by employers about how productivity has remained high amongst employees," which the employers largely attribute to increased flexibility in how and when work is completed.
"The downside to that is that people never really stop working now," Chesloff said, giving the example of a parent who's online at 5 a.m. before their children wake up and then finishes work after the kids are in bed.
"It's not sustainable," Chesloff said. "The amount that people are working needs to be addressed, and it's addressed through K-12 education and child care."
Chesloff said the changing nature of work means employers may need to rethink the benefits they provide -- a subsidized transit pass won't appeal to a worker who's not commuting -- and could consider subsidizing child care.
He said full-time day care may not end up making the most sense for parents who keep working remotely, and suggested "we start thinking about flexibility" in care delivery models.
Jynai McDonald, the family child care coordinator for the union SEIU 509, raised the idea of staggered shifts and programs that are available at non-traditional hours like nights and weekends to accomodate the needs of low-income families who don't have remote work as an option.
"Now more than ever, we will need flexible and non-standard hours of care," she said.