Did your parents ever bring you into work for the day when you were younger?
Well, now the tables have turned and it’s your turn to take mum or dad to work with the return of our Bring In Your Parents Day (BIYP) initiative – giving parents an opportunity to be part of their children’s working life for a day.
Back for its fourth year on Friday 4th November, we started this global initiative after research found that more than one in three parents have no idea what their children actually do for a living – a worrying disconnect that prevents both parents and children from sharing valuable knowledge. BIYP was launched to break down these career ‘barriers’ and since then, we’re proud that tens of thousands of parents from hundreds of companies around the world have joined us to celebrate the day.
We all have a vital role to play in closing the generational skills gap – the UK has one of the highest skilled workforces in the world, but a low level of employment among the over 50s. With the retirement age rising, and the ‘gig economy’ creating more and more portfolio careers, BIYP is a way of encouraging greater sharing of skills across generations and connecting older workers with new opportunities in the workplace.
We’re thrilled that over 30 companies have already signed up to get involved this year, seizing the opportunity to engage employees by improving understanding between staff and their parents. UK businesses on board so far include The Crown Estate and online fashion giant ASOS, who have 2,716 employees across their UK offices.
If you’re thinking of signing up, the business benefits of getting employees to engage more with their parents are clear. We worked with the London School of Economics to conduct a focus group with participants of last year’s BIYP, and the results demonstrate the value it had for workers in instigating a dialogue with their parents around work. Ultimately, employees who feel valued and happy are more productive, and the support they receive from parents can play an important part in job satisfaction.
Employees that took part said they felt proud to show parents the success and development of their organisation, which reinforced their feeling of belonging to the company. Parents also admitted to being more likely to promote the organisation’s products or services to outsiders, as a result of becoming more emotionally attached to their children’s employer.
By helping people to re-engage with the world of work we can not only say ‘thank you’ to our parents for supporting us in our careers, but help to inspire people to look again at career opportunities and to share their skills and experience more widely.
To find out more about Bring in Your Parents Day visit www.biyp.linkedin.com or join in conversations on Twitter with @LinkedInUK #BIYP.
