🧸 Family-Friendly Benefits, Customizable Handbook Template, Technostress - Oct 10, 2025

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On today’s agenda:

🧸 Family-friendly benefits

📘 Employee handbook template

🚀 HR software recommendations

🧩 Employees quitting over technostress

THE HR SPOTLIGHT

🧸 Growing a Family-Forward Culture: Family Wins = Workplace Wins

Today’s HR leaders know that family-friendly benefits aren’t just feel-good extras — they’re smart strategy. Here’s a quick, upbeat look at challenges and game-changing policies to help your organization shine.

🧩 The challenge

• Many employees juggle kids, elder care, and full-time roles: about 53M Americans—or 21％ of adults—are family caregivers. 

• Only 52％ of U.S. employers currently offer paid caregiving leave, though demand is even higher.

In many workplaces, people tap vacation or personal days just to manage caregiving instead of real leave. If you don’t act, you risk turnover: “Employers without paid caregiving leave risk losing talent,” as one Prudential exec puts it.

💥 How HR can change the game:

• Flexible caregiving leave - Offer paid, intermittent leave (stop in mid-week to help a parent, return next day) — 81％ of employers allow this already.

• School-hour schedules & “family days off” - Let employees shift hours to attend parent-teacher conferences, doctor checkups, recital nights, etc. A “Family Day” (once per quarter) can be a morale booster.

• “Backup care & concierge” perks - Subsidize emergency childcare or eldercare services. Use platforms and services vetted for caregivers. 

• Culture + manager training - Train supervisors to understand caregiving as a legitimate workload. Encourage open dialogues, normalize flexible requests. 

• Policy bundling & benefits innovation - Combine these into a “Family Support Suite.” Think adoption assistance, eldercare stipends, or even lifestyle spending accounts that cover family wellness.

Smart HR doesn’t just “offer benefits” — it builds trust, keeps your people, and shows you care.

🏛️ State Policies on Family Leaves »

TOGETHER WITH SELECTSOFTWARE

Tailored HR Software Recommendations for Your Organization

Choosing HR software can be overwhelming—with over 1,000+ tools on the market, it’s easy to spend days and still feel unsure.

That’s why thousands of HR teams rely on SSR’s HR software advisors. Instead of spending hundreds of hours on research and demos, you’ll get free 1:1 help from an HR software expert who understands your requirements and provides 2–3 tailored recommendations based on your unique needs.

Whether you're looking for an HRIS, ATS, or Payroll solution, we help you cut through the noise and make confident decisions—fast.

Why HR teams trust SSR HR Advisors:

✅ 100% free for HR teams
✅ Get 2-3 Tailored solutions from 1,000+ options
✅ 1:1 expert guidance from HR advisors
✅ Trusted by 15,000+ companies

From MIT to the Indianapolis Colts, smart HR teams trust SSR to find the right software—without the stress.

Find the Right HR Software, for Free

 🖥️ Technostress Drives Quitting - HRD America

• What’s unfolding: recent report finds that 64％ of employees say tech has negatively impacted work, and 5% have quit over “technostress.”

• Why it matters: Ensure tools help, not haunt, by offering proper training, setting usage norms (e.g. “notification-free hours”), and gathering feedback early.

• What’s unfolding: Amid another failed congressional stopgap, Senate Democrats are floating legislation to immediately pay federal workers who remain on duty during the shutdown.

• Why it matters: For HR in government or contracted agencies, disruptions in pay can devastate morale and trust; now’s the time to plan policies that treat “essential” work with care and transparency.

• What’s unfolding: About 87％ of U.S. employees say an employer’s reputation influenced their career choice, and workers emphasize that values must be lived, not just posted.

• Why it matters: HR must align policy with values — transparency, well-being, fairness. Don’t let perks ring hollow if culture doesn’t follow.

WEEKLY GOODY

COMPLIANCE CORNER

• What’s unfolding: AI tools used in hiring are being targeted by class actions and proposed legislation alleging that such systems discriminate, especially against older applicants.

• HR implications: HR teams must audit vendor algorithms for disparate impact, document fairness tests, and prepare to adapt or defend against liability claims if AI proves discriminatory.

• What’s unfolding: Governor Newsom signed SB 642, which revises California’s Equal Pay Act effective January 1, 2026, broadening definitions of “wages,” modifying “pay scale,” and adjusting statutes of limitation.

• HR implications: California-based employers or those hiring remotely into CA roles should update compensation policies now—especially how you post pay ranges, calculate “wages,” and audit pay equity to avoid future litigation.

• What’s unfolding: Maine law now requires covered employers to pay workers for canceled or shortened shifts (show-up pay), generally two hours’ regular pay or what the full shift would have earned.

• HR implications: If you have operations or workers in Maine—or even remote staff under its purview—review scheduling policies and payroll systems to maintain compliance and avoid fines.

BREAKROOM

📬 Missed Wednesday’s issue on ‘DEI Metrics That Matter’? Read it »