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Home › Articles › Caregivers › On-site Daycare

On-site Daycare

Who Measures Up?

By Charlene Torkelson

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Although the convenience of having your child at your place of employment is wonderful, companies that provide on-site daycare must also ask the question "Who is most often given the benefit of this care?" Do upper management positions take priority when selecting who will benefit and who will find a spot? Some women who are not in management positions find the hours do not fit their work schedule with many working evening hours or changing shifts. The cost is another concern for those who are not at the top of the salary tier. Although Merck offers a 20 percent subsidy, imagine having several children in this system. Would the cost of daycare be worth the time spent working?

When posed with the question of using an on-site daycare facility, former corporate executive and current entrepreneur, Ann Loff, responds, "Although convenient to have my children at the same location as my work, I find that I need some time to switch from my working role to my mother role at the end of each day. I need the travel time to change roles. I also think it is important to spend lunch hours formulating relationships with co-workers rather than feeling obligated to lunch with my child simply because they are in the building."

Loff found it more convenient to hire an in-home care provider for her two children. Although she admits it was expensive, she reminds us that situations change each year as children get older. The needs and solutions are always changing, and years needed for childcare quickly pass – too quickly, she concludes, now that her boys are older.

Of the Top 10 companies on the list, most do not offer on-site childcare. However, flex time, backup daycare, family and pregnancy counseling and referral services, lactation programs and telecommunication options were readily available in most companies listed. Many offered pre-tax childcare options and referrals.


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