How virtual assistants give working parents a better shot at work-life balance

Between caring for their families and maintaining a career, working parents rarely catch a break — but this employee benefits provider is confident it can give parents some time back.

Yohana is a digital personal assistant service that was developed by a working mom to help working families cut down on routine tasks and chores throughout the day. Every user is given access to a team of assistants (actual people, not AI) that can take on three assigned tasks at a time, from finding a tutor or landscaper to meal-planning and researching flights. According to Yohana, users save up to eight hours a month.

"We want to help our members offload the things that create clutter in their minds and lead to burnout and stress," says Sean Paterson, head of commercial at Yohana. "Employers try to address burnout with spot solutions like gym memberships or mental health apps, which are all good, but it doesn't really get to the root of the problem: How do we give employees time back to focus on what matters most to them."

Read more: How 'psychological first aid' can help employees manage the stress of current events

According to a study from Ohio State University, 66% of working parents suffer from burnout, which results in poor work performance and higher turnover. Paterson, a father of two-year-old twins and a six-year-old, knows firsthand that work and family are incredibly intertwined, and when one part of his life becomes unmanageable, so does the other part. 

"Our lives don't exist in silos," says Paterson. "Work and life are blended together, and they're competing for the same resources — our focus, time and energy. Our service allows you to focus on work when you're at work and have things ready for when you get home."

Notably, 30% of Yohana's users said they would spend the hours they got back on their careers. And while that means the majority of users would choose to invest time back in their personal lives, Paterson argues that either way, it's a win for employers and employees. If workers have more hours in the week to themselves, then they're not as likely to be as lethargic or apathetic at work, he says.

Read more: With child care harder to come by, this CEO brings her baby to work

Paterson uses Yohana for weekly meal planning, gift ideas and event planning. For example, he wanted to take his wife to Napa for her birthday, and one of Yohana's assistants put together an agenda, booked the hotel and made dinner reservations.

"They actually helped me get into a restaurant I was trying to get but couldn't," says Paterson. "Yohana handled hours of planning, and my wife was super happy with the outcome."

Read more: Child care, PTO and upskilling: Moms share what they need to succeed

There's no one-size-fits-all solution to creating work-life balance, but Paterson encourages employers to consider how they can enable that balance and avoid the damaging effects of burnout.  For Paterson, time is key to the solution. 

"Employers should care," says Paterson. "If they can solve this problem, then they're going to get much more productivity, engagement and loyalty from their employees. That pays dividends for employers."