One of Best Workplaces for Parents in 2020

Edward Jones has been named one of the 2020 Best Workplaces for Parents by Great Place to Work® and FORTUNE Magazine. The firm, ranked No. 7 on the list of 100 companies, earned this award for creating consistently positive experiences for working parents.

Great Place to Work determined the Best Workplaces for Parents™ by gathering and analyzing employee experience feedback representing 4.8 million U.S. employees across more than 20 industries – the largest annual study of working parents to date.

“Edward Jones is extremely proud of this recognition that spotlights the work environment we’ve built, and evolved, to support our parents. This is particularly significant in light of the difficult and novel challenges facing parents this year,” said Kristin Johnson, Chief Transformation Officer. “We strive to create a people-first culture for all associates that allows them to effectively manage their commitment both to our clients and to their families.”

Since forming in Spring 2020, the Edward Jones Parental/COVID-19 Taskforce has acted as a key listening post and strategy team advocating for the needs of associates, their families and working in a remote environment. The 20-member taskforce, with representatives from multiple areas of the firm, has created critical policies, programs and solutions that provide support for navigating pandemic-related issues in five areas: workplace flexibility, time off, dependent care and educational support for children, health and wellness, and financial support.

Support for parents and families includes:

• Associates in distress due to COVID-related financial challenges can look to help from the Edward Jones Disaster Relief Fund. Associates and retirees donated $930,000 to the fund this summer to assist colleagues.
• To help ease family concerns around health expenses, the Edward Jones medical plan provides no-cost care for COVID-related testing and treatment through the end of 2020. And to remove barriers to care and the burden of costs, the firm waived the deductible for the treatment of COVID-19 from both in- and out-of-network providers.
• Associates have 10 extra personal days this year, and we’ve revised our sick/safe time policy, allowing associates to use sick time for any COVID-related reason, including childcare needs, through the end of the year.
• Many associates have worked remotely since mid-March, allowing parents to be with children and other dependents as schools and care centers closed.
• The firm’s Investing in You website contains a wealth of information for families struggling to balance childcare, at-home learning and work. There are 60-plus resources for working parents. The firm also offers free online webinars on subjects such as helping kids cope with pandemic anxiety as they return to school, how working parents can structure their day, and how to manage their workspace and teaching space.

Rankings are based primarily on parents’ scores of trust and fairness across the company culture, including levels of trust, pride, management effectiveness, innovation, diversity and equity. The analysis focused on how parents’ workplace experiences compare to those of their non-working colleagues and determining whether their job level, race/ethnicity or any personal characteristic changed the level of support they received as a working parent. Finally, each company’s parental leave, adoption, flexible schedule, childcare and dependent health care benefits were evaluated.