Finding quality, affordable childcare is an essential need of working parents. As the pandemic highlighted, childcare often tops the list of employee stressors — affecting all aspects of well-being, from job retention and productivity to family life and mental health.
As we developed our Oklahoma City corporate campus, Chesapeake leadership recognized an opportunity to better support work-life integration for our employees. The company created one of the only employer-sponsored childcare facilities in the state, building a 63,000-square foot playland for inspired early childhood learning and development. For many corporate employees, the Chesapeake Child Development Center is just steps away from their offices.
The Child Development Center is as visually interesting as it is purposeful — primary colors divide the center into quadrants, organized by age, each with an external courtyard. The 24 early education classrooms are flexible to accommodate different ages and thoughtful details, including a bench outside of each classroom for a “final hug,” reinforce how families interact with the space. The facility also features a tornado safe room and lactation rooms.
Bright Horizons, the leading provider of employer-based childcare, manages the center which has capacity for over 300 children. Chesapeake provides financial subsidies to increase affordability for employees and scholarships are available based on financial need.
For working parents, having the Child Development Center has offered safety and education for their children, convenience and an opportunity to grow their careers at Chesapeake.
Lindsey Hall-Wiist joined the company in 2008 and currently serves as a Reservoir Manager. Her three daughters have all participated in the Child Development Center and her youngest is currently a preschooler.
For Hall-Wiist, the center has offered both peace-of-mind and convenience that has enabled her to focus on her work and better split responsibilities with her husband David, who also works at Chesapeake.
“I have tremendous trust in the CDC when I drop my daughter off,” said Hall-Wiist. “I know that she will be safe and well cared for and that David or I can easily visit her if she needs us. This trust allows me to focus on the important work I do every day at Chesapeake.”
Chesapeake offers additional benefits to employees who are growing their families or juggling family pressures. From adoption assistance and four weeks of paid parental leave (for moms and dads) to four hours of flexible scheduling each week for personal or medical appointments, we recognize that our employees have full lives outside of our offices.
“I have tremendous trust in the CDC when I drop my daughter off. I know that she will be safe and well cared for and that David or I can easily visit her if she needs us. This trust allows me to focus on the important work I do every day at Chesapeake.”