1. Please share a brief about your journey of transformation to parent-friendly work culture.

    

   Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) has embarked on a journey to evolve our parent-friendly policies and practices, driven by our core values of empathy and inclusion and our vision to be the best place to work in healthcare. Recognizing the importance of balancing professional life with family commitments, we have implemented a range of additional policies and enhance existing practices, to support caregivers through different phases of parenthood and family life.

   Our initiatives include offering up to 2 days of paid leave for antenatal and adoption appointments, flexible maternity leave options, and 6 days of parental leave for both mothers and fathers. We also provide support during pregnancy loss, with leave options and funded access to wellbeing services. To further assist caregivers, we offer flexible work policies, including remote work options, staggered start and end times, part-time working and job-sharing opportunities. Understanding the importance of milestones, our child event leave means that parents don’t miss those special moments in their child’s journey.

   Additionally, we have established resources available through our Intranet portal, including online courses and wellbeing resources, supporting parents to navigate work-life balance. Our commitment to a supportive culture is reflected in our continuous efforts to enhance policies based on caregiver feedback and engagement surveys.

   This holistic approach ensures that our caregivers can thrive both at work and at home, fostering a nurturing and supportive workplace environment.

    

2. What inspired you to join this movement towards building a parent-friendly workplace?

   Our inspiration to join the movement towards a parent-friendly workplace stems from our core values of empathy and inclusion. We recognize that supporting our caregivers in balancing their professional and family lives is fundamental to supporting caregiver wellbeing and engagement.

   The journey began with understanding the unique challenges faced by working parents. We understood that by providing comprehensive support, we could create a nurturing environment where caregivers feel valued and empowered. The Parent-friendly label, directly aligned with our vision of a flexible and supportive work environment. The guidance of the label gave us a framework to follow and helped enhance our already generous policies. This led to the enhancement of existing policies and implementation of new policies, such as flexible maternity and parental leave, increased support during pregnancy loss, flexible work arrangements and school event leave.

   Our commitment to a parent friendly culture is further driven by the understanding that supported and engaged caregivers provide the highest quality of care to our patients. By fostering a parent-friendly culture, we aim to enhance caregiver engagement, retention, and productivity, ultimately contributing to our vision of being the best place to work in healthcare.

    

3. Please share ONE unique parent-friendly workplace initiative that your organization is particularly proud of and has made the biggest impact on your employees.

   We are particularly proud of our new policy of School Event Leave, a new policy we introduced at CCAD.

   This initiative falls under the Family Care program category, focusing on creating a holistic, nurturing environment that addresses the needs of both caregivers and their families.

   Through offering School Event Leave, we enable our caregivers. to be present for important moments in their children's lives; caregivers with children from KG1 to Grade 12 can access up to 3 hours per child to attend school events such as the first day of school, parent-teacher meetings, concerts, and other educational activities.

   The positive feedback from our caregivers highlights the importance of this initiative in enhancing their work-life balance and reflects our commitment to empathy and inclusion, ensuring that our caregivers feel valued and supported in both their personal and professional lives

    

4. In your opinion, what are the key benefits organizations can achieve by shifting to parent-friendly workplaces and culture? makes parent-friendly workplaces the wave of the future?

    

   Shifting to a parent-friendly workplace and cultures brings a range of strategic, cultural, and economic benefits to CCAD. It exemplifies who we are, striving to be the best place to work in healthcare.

   Inclusive cultures attract and retain a broader range of talent, improving decision-making and innovation. By implementing parent friendly policies, CCAD stands out in a competitive global healthcare market.

    

   Reducing parental stress through supportive policies improves focus and engagement while reducing stress and burnout. Engaged caregivers deliver the highest quality patient care and patient experience. By supporting our caregivers balance their responsibilities we are directly impacting patient experience and patient outcome.

   Investing in parent support helps maintain career momentum during critical life stages, especially for women, ensuring a strong future leadership bench and reducing gender inequality.

   This commitment to a parent-friendly workplace also helps lower absenteeism and reduce burnout as flexible scheduling and support services reduce stress-related absenteeism and help prevent burnout among working parents.

    

    

5. Can you please share two to three quotes from your employees as positive testimonials to how your parent-friendly policies have supported them in their everyday lives?

    

   "My wife and I are both working parents. My wife drives to work daily to Dubai. This means that as the parent who work in Abu Dhabi, I am frequently the one in charge in attending immediate parental needs for our children. Through the parent friendly policy, I am able to balance my professional responsibilities along with the commitments of my family life". Carlos Amurao, Practical Nurse

    

   “Being a parent of two children with special needs comes with unpredictable demands, and initiation of parent friendly policy. I can attend important school meetings and still stay on top of my responsibilities without feeling like I’m falling behind”.

   Salman Pervaiz Butt, Lead Perfusionist

    

6. You support your employees in a special way through offering remote working, staggered hours, flexibility around school events and accommodating caregiving responsibilities. Please share real story(s) (anonymous if you prefer) where your employees have benefited from this support.

    

   Noreen Tejano – Specialist Continuous Improvement

    

   A Grateful Heart: My Testimonial on the Power of Compassionate Workplace Policies in CCAD

    

   As a mother of a beautiful son, Caleb, who has autism, I am personally and profoundly grateful for the compassionate workplace policies that Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) has put in place. The flexibility to adjust my schedule—whether for therapy appointments, school meetings, or during moments of sensory overwhelm / tantrums / meltdowns — has allowed me to be fully present for my son without compromising my role as a committed caregiver. Having staggered hours has been a lifeline, enabling me to attend morning therapy sessions without fear of job insecurity or falling behind at work. These policies reflect more than flexibility—they reflect a culture of empathy and understanding.

    

   I am also truly thankful that Caleb has been receiving insurance-covered therapy since he was three years old. This support has transformed his life, he can even pray by himself now. His progress over the past three years has been nothing short of a miracle, and I sincerely believe this is a blessing from God, with CCAD being His instrument.

    

   I’ve shared this benefit with other caregivers who have children with special needs, and together, we are witnessing how these policies uplift not only our children’s development but also our own well-being as parents.

    

   Please continue being the kind of organization that truly cares for its caregivers—especially those of us walking the special journey of raising children with unique needs.

    

    

7. Could you describe a moment where insights from collected data (such as employee surveys, system generated) played a key role in achieving a positive result or overcoming a challenge being faced by your employees?

Insights collected through our Caregiver Experience Survey highlighted the desire for more flexibility to enhance work life balance and family responsibilities.

The survey data revealed that caregivers were seeking more flexibility to manage the unpredictability of caring for children brings.  

In response, we extended our parental leave benefits to include up to 6 days of fully paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers, which can be taken flexibly within six months after the birth of the child. Additionally, we introduced up to 2 days of paid leave for antenatal and adoption appointments, allowing both parents to be present during crucial prenatal care. We also increased the nursing hours from 1 hour to 2 hours per day, up until the child reaches 18 months old. This policy allows nursing mothers to have dedicated time to care for their infants without compromising their professional responsibilities. Many more adjustments were made to support caregivers through the different phases of parenthood.