A new report from Carrot Fertility highlights the challenges faced by employees around the world who are actively seeking to grow their families and their desire for more support from employers. The report, which surveyed 5,000 people across Canada, India, Mexico, the UK, and the US, found that financial and workplace challenges are the biggest barriers to family-forming. Financial challenges were cited by 63% of respondents, followed closely by workplace challenges, including considerations such as career growth, which were mentioned by 55% of respondents.
The report underscores the negative impact of fertility healthcare stress on productivity at work, with 65% of respondents saying that they have spent time at work researching fertility treatments, benefits, and family-forming, and 55% reporting that fertility challenges have detrimentally impacted their work performance. However, there is overwhelming employee support for employer-provided fertility benefits, which are deemed critical to recruitment, retention, and inclusivity, with 65% of respondents saying they would change jobs to work for a company that offers fertility benefits.
The survey also found that attempts to talk about fertility with colleagues and managers are very much taboo, with the vast majority of employees (79%) feeling uncomfortable discussing it openly at work, primarily because it could be perceived as unprofessional. The report recommends that employers can play a crucial role in easing many of the pain points employees feel from the workplace environment, and highlights the significant demand for fertility benefits in the workplace, presenting an opportunity for employers to enhance their benefits offerings to attract and retain talent.
Check out the full report here.
