The Surgeon General of the United States, Vivek Murthy, recently issued an advisory on the mental health of parents. The advisory highlights the importance of parental mental health for the well-being of children and families, and it calls for action to address the mental health needs of parents.

The new advisory outlines some key points for why it was created:

• The mental health of parents is essential for the well-being of children and families.
• Parents with mental health conditions are more likely to have children with mental, emotional, and behavioral problems.
• There is a shortage of mental health professionals who are trained to work with parents.

This advisory hit home for me, as I recollected the early days of motherhood while trying to be productive in the workplace. I was working at a tech company, and after maternity leave, I struggled with sleep deprivation, lack of time management, and inadequate resources. It was very challenging, and I tried my best to make it work–working late to accommodate my employers’ needs, ignoring my mental health, and hiring expensive child care to support my needs. This was an unfortunate situation, but looking back, I did not try to advocate for change as I did in other areas.

Tech companies have long had a reputation for creating better workplaces, despite work demands. Also, losing parents to the demands of child care can be a detriment to the working capital of tech companies. This could be an area for them to lead. The list of recommended actions by the advisory provides insight into how employers can proactively mitigate these issues and provide support for their employees. Here’s how tech companies can adapt:

• Increase access to mental health care for parents, while also calling out the resources. Many employer benefits programs have employee assistance programs but they are highly underutilized.
• Develop and disseminate resources to help parents cope with stress and adversity. Like the above, it is important to make these resources visible and available.
• Promote policies that support the mental health of parents, such as flexible work arrangements and less-than-full-time work options, if possible. This may not be possible for all employee types, and should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• Deliver equity on parental programs. When I had my first child, my paid leave as a tech company leader equated to four weeks of pay, whereas my partner’s leave as a tech consultant was double that. The inequity was clear, and made me feel unvalued.

The Surgeon General’s advisory on the mental health of parents is a call to action to address the mental health needs of parents. This is where employers can take the lead toward progress. The mental health of parents is essential for the well-being of children and families, and for parents to be productive employee