Supporting Families, Strengthening Businesses: Lunch & Learn Highlights

On May 13, 2026, local employees, business leaders, and parents gathered at the Park City Library to learn about workplace policies and practical strategies that can strengthen employee retention and workplace culture.

Key themes discussed during the event included:

Family-Friendly Workplace Practices That Benefit Businesses

Becca Gerber, Senior Director of Community & Government Affairs at the Park City Chamber, shared how family-friendly workplace policies and new childcare tax incentives can help businesses better support working parents.

The conversation highlighted why these issues matter both locally and statewide: 74% of Utah families report needing two working parents to pay their bills, while childcare in Summit County costs an average of $1,800 per child each month.

Resources for businesses to improve family-friendly workplaces include:

• Best Place for Working Parents Utah, a free and confidential business self-assessment that highlights the top 10 research-backed policies that benefit working parents and businesses’ bottom line
• Expanded state and federal childcare tax incentives launching in 2026 that can help eligible small businesses offset childcare-related expenses

Building Workplace Culture That Supports Employees and Improves Retention

Sara Sargent, CEO and Master Distiller at Alpine Distilling, shared how she intentionally built workplace practices, policies, and systems that support staff both inside and outside of work. Flexible scheduling, proactive time-off planning, wellness benefits, and team-building experiences were highlighted as ways that have helped strengthen company culture and improve retention.

Sara encouraged businesses to start by taking employees to lunch or planning a team activity to spark conversations about the types of support that staff value most and identify opportunities to create more flexible, people-centered workplaces.

Supporting New Mothers Returning to the Workplace

Paige Mitchell, a Health Educator with the Summit County Health Department, shared resources and practical guidance to help businesses better support nursing mothers returning to work. In Utah, 59% of mothers with children under age 6 are part of the labor force, underscoring how important workplace support systems are for families across the state.

Paige reviewed both federal and Utah workplace lactation accommodation requirements and shared sample workplace lactation policies from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that businesses can adapt for their own organizations. She also highlighted a self-assessment tool for businesses  to evaluate workplace policies, communication practices, break flexibility, and existing lactation spaces.

Speaking from personal experience, Paige also shared how meaningful workplace support can be during the transition back to work after having a child. Some best practices discussed included providing private and comfortable lactation spaces, accessible electrical outlets for pumping equipment, and dedicated refrigeration for safe breast milk storage.

Takeaways for Businesses

• Supporting working families is not just good for employees — it is good for business, strengthening retention, workplace culture, employee satisfaction, and long-term organizational success.
• Businesses of all sizes can take meaningful steps to support working families through flexible workplace policies, accommodations, and available state and federal tax incentives.
• Listening directly to employees about the types of support they value most is one of the simplest and most effective ways to begin building a more inclusive, supportive, and resilient workplace culture.

These workplace support systems can have meaningful impacts on employees and families, while some actions — such as becoming a Best Place for Working Parents —  also contribute  toward your Green Business Certification.

To learn more and access event resources, view the Lunch & Learn slide deck here.

Stay tuned for our August Lunch & Learn topic and speakers!