Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 23, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 15 You know your business inside and out; we know business banking inside and out. Local businesses like yours count on us to help them manage their cash position and grow—because it's what we know, you know? WE HAVE THE KNOW-HOW TO KNOW HOW BUSINESS WORKS. Member FDIC Member DIF Scan to learn more. WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP F O C U S derstand is that just because a woman doesn't have children doesn't mean her out-of-office time is available, and she may in fact have other caretaking responsibilities, said Jansky. Child-free employees may take care of elderly parents or disabled siblings, vol- unteer, or serve on boards, all obligations and activities demanding very real time commitments that should be valued by employers, Jansky said. "We kind of center parents over everything else," said Jansky. "It's not a competition … I'm just saying that there are other lifestyles and other time obliga- tions that people should be a little more conscious of." Equitable flexibility While being child-free proves ben- eficial in industries like the legal field, overworking child-free employees can negatively impact their longevity in a given company, said Zolezzi-Wyndham. "It can make a woman feel like she is seen … as somebody who will say 'Yes' to everything, even when she doesn't want to," said Zolezzi-Wyndham. "What can happen is that she comes to resent that and actually disengages from the workforce." To mitigate this issue and broader burnout among child-free employees, Jansky recommends employers adopt policies that remove parental status from workplace decisions. Companies should equally consider flexible time policy requests, known as flextime, Jansky said. She sees flextime oen afforded to parents to accom- modate pick-up and drop-off times and school vacations. While this is a beneficial and important use of flextime, child-free employees should have just as much access to the benefit. "If you offer it to some people, offer it to all people. Your policies should be broad and inclusive and not designed for one type of lifestyle," said Jansky. "If you're going to design flexibility, stop making people justify it." W Employees without children are just as likely to get a raise A study conducted in 2022 by ResumeLab found 74% of employees feel workers with children are treated better than those without. Responders reported disparities in compensation and workplace expectations, including child-free professionals being denied time-off, made to work overtime, and given a greater workload than their peers with children. When polled online, the overwhelming majority of WBJ readers said employees with and without children are equally likely to get a pay raise. At your business, are employees with or without children more likely to get a pay raise? Both are equally likely to get a pay raise. 87% With children 9% Without children 4% Child-free biases A 2022 study conducted by ResumeLab found child-free employees felt they had been treated unequally in the workplace due to their child-free status. 63% Said they were denied time off 69% Said they were made to work overtime 70% Said they were given a larger workload Source: ResumeLab

• Cover