Employers come to the rescue of parents working from home with a babysitter

The challenges surrounding working from home combined with a busy family life can put extra pressure on families. For some parents, the situation is no longer tenable: for example, because it's the busiest time of the year at work due to year-end closures or because they work in critical sectors such as healthcare. Despite the emergency care that schools and daycares offer for essential professions, figures indicate that parents can have trouble finding proper childcare. After the government announced that schools and daycares were to close, Charly Cares saw a 500% increase in the demand for a babysitter.

Employers are no longer awaiting the consequences of the lockdown and are freeing up budget to support parents who work from home. For example, after the press conference, dozens of organisations signed up for Charly Cares' new business service, with which the employer can (partially) reimburse the costs of the babysitter. The development of this service was accelerated after the first lockdown due to indications that 80% of all babysitting services were used in order to be able to work from home effectively. Companies from the healthcare, accountancy, and critical sectors can use the new services to ensure that their employees can work (from home) productively. Where employers previously offered fringe benefits such as a gym subscription, they can now support their employees in these trying times by offering a business babysitter.

Immediately after the government's announcement that schools and daycares were to close, the demand for a so-called “Babysitting Angel” at Charly Cares increased by 500%. Thousands of parents have booked a fixed babysitter at home these last few days to help take care of the children and assist with homeschooling, so that they are free to focus on work. The reason for this acute need is easy to explain, according to founder Charly van der Straten: “Working parents have been dealing challenges related to family life, childcare, and working from home since March. I think that, after the announcement of the second lockdown, this target group though: not again, I'm going to arrange something.”

For many parents with younger children, assisting with homeschooling has proven to be extra challenging: it requires close attention and guidance. That takes time and can prove to be difficult, if not impossible, to combine with working from home productively. It is precisely in this area that a babysitter can offer a solution: they can help both with homeschooling and homework.