Make the Business Family-friendly
Both parents employed, single parents employed, child rearing responsibilities, finding
reliable childcare and emergencies caused by illness are examples of family factors
causing farm employee frustrations. These same factors can cause tardiness and
absenteeism. The farms best employee does not necessarily escape family influences on
performance and reliability.
Making the business family-friendly means anticipating this family caused frustrations
and pressures. More important, it means helping employees deal with their family
responsibilities.
Some ideas to consider: providing child care on the farm, offering emergency child care,
providing a list of child care providers in the community, allowing flexible hours, job
sharing, health insurance with family coverage, gifts for a newborn, preschool
scholarships and scholarships for high school graduates who have been employed on the
farm. Family-friendly measures increase the cost of labor. They also help attract and keep
qualified employees.