Economic volatility is shaping employer decision-making in many ways — and employee benefits are no exception.
With benefits costs soaring and inflation taking a bigger bite of spending, HR and benefits leaders are under pressure to balance cost control with meaningful support for employees. While some employers look to manage soaring health care costs by increasing employee share and others are eyeing benefits for the chopping block in order to help their bottom line, data suggests that some employee benefits commitments remain steady.
Several family-related benefits, including parental leave and child care assistance, are actually growing — a trend that indicates they are turning into table-stakes benefits among employers rather than niche offerings that can be easily cut during times of volatility. A recent report by The Best Place for Working Parents, a Fort Worth, Texas-based organization that recognizes employers that support working parents, found that employers broadly are still prioritizing family benefits. The number of employers offering child care assistance, nursing benefits, and paid leave for new parents has increased in the past year.
“To be competitive, to be at the top for talent, you have to be adaptive and be thinking about these policies that not only are proven to help working parents and caregivers, but also will have a benefit to your bottom line,” said Sara Redington, co-founder of The Best Place for Working Parents.
SHRM recently spoke to Redington about how organizations are rethinking family benefits, where they’re expanding support, and why listening to employees, who may be anxious over economic volatility, is vital.
SHRM: Where do family benefits stand today? What’s growing and what’s declining?
Redington: Across our 2025 national trends report, we’ve seen an increase in most kinds of child care benefits across sizes of companies, which is really encouraging. We’ve got an increase in backup child care, onsite child care and child care assistance. Parental leave also is a great policy where we’ve seen an uptick.
We did see a downturn in dependent health care [74% of organizations offered it in 2025, down from 93% in 2023], some of those more expensive policies. But it’s really encouraging to see that child care assistance and parental leave are on the upward trend across companies.
Nursing benefits are another tipping point policy, meaning most employers are really leaning into nursing benefits as a great policy [90% of employers offer them, according to the report].
SHRM: What transformation have you seen in family benefits over the years? How are employers looking at them differently?
Redington: More businesses are quickly adapting to employee needs rather than setting an HR policy, creating it, and setting it on the shelf and saying, “This is what we’re offering.”
We’re seeing many more innovative employers leaning into the idea of, “Let’s re-evaluate what policies and benefits look like. Is that serving the needs of our population?” And if they aren’t, then they shift.
One of our employers, an Iowa manufacturing firm called Country Maid, started by partnering with the child care center down the street. They were subsidizing some of those costs for their employees. Then they talked to employees and they heard, essentially, that they would rather have a ramp-on, ramp-off policy so they could be a little slower on the way into work and out of work. And they heard that new parents would rather have a monetary bonus. So they switched to create a “bundle of joy” bonus that new parents receive. And they could use those dollars more flexibly — if they want in-home care or for other expenses.
So there’s creativity and listening to employees happening among employers. Those that are incorporating the feedback in real time are seeing the benefits.
SHRM: Why should employers continue investing in family benefits despite economic pressure?
Redington: First and foremost, employers know how expensive it is to [replace employees]. Some of these [family benefits] and policies are proven to boost employee morale, motivation, productivity, and satisfaction. The policies benefit employees, and they benefit employers. Employees are going to be more loyal and stay there longer if their employer offers these benefits.
And honestly, the workforce looks very different than it did even 10 years ago. You’ve got two-thirds of children under the age of 6 who have all of their parents in the workforce. You have 83% of Millennials saying that they would leave one job for another with better family-friendly supports [according to The Best Place for Working Parents], and you’ve got 75% of the workforce who are caregivers. It’s a different reality today than it was even a decade ago.
SHRM: For employers that are mulling making cuts to benefits, what would you encourage them to do?
Redington: Survey your employees [about what they value] and also look at [return on investments]. With things like child care assistance, companies can benefit financially.
