The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread: Toast is a Workplace where Caregivers Thrive

By Abby Kreckel

Even if you haven’t heard of Toast, you’ve almost certainly used their platform. Toast is a restaurant point of sale and management system behind many of your favorite restaurants. But that’s not all there is to love. Toast is rapidly becoming known as an employer of choice because of their robust, supportive benefits package for whole-life care of employees and their families. Mother’s Monday had the pleasure of sitting down with a few members of the Toast team to talk about what it’s like to be a working caregiver at Toast, the best parts of their benefits package, and how the bread themed puns sprinkled through company culture never go stale.

Paige Marino, Employer Brand Program Manager at Toast, was eager to share more about the extensive benefits they offer all employees. It’s not just about a healthcare plan, according to Marino. “As we think about setting our employees up for success, we know a large part of that is helping to care for their wellbeing. Our benefits packages go beyond the traditional healthcare offerings because we know there is a lot more that goes into supporting the whole person.” One example of this is that the 12 complimentary therapy sessions in the benefits package are not just for employees, but their dependents as well. This is in addition to what is already covered by medical benefits. Marino also notes that when Toasters come up against a life problem, such as managing finances, they’re not left alone to Google ways to fix it. “We also offer financial wellness resources through LearnLux, where employees have unlimited access to Certified Financial Planners and financial and benefits education.”

But every employee is unique, and can’t simply fit in a box… or in a bread box, as Toast would say. Flexible stipend-style benefits round out Toast’s benefits package and allow each individual to care for themselves and their families’ unique needs. “Instead of requiring employees to submit receipts and go through a lengthy approval process, the stipend is simply added to the employees’ paychecks to be used however they see fit,’ Marino shared. “This could be used towards a more traditional wellness resource, like joining a local gym, or it could be used for something unique, like signing up for a new hobby or saving towards a dream vacation.” Toast’s benefits also include programs through Working Advantage and LifeMart through Care@Work and stipends/reimbursements for multiple programs, such as commuter stipends, WiFi stipends, and remote worker benefits.

Toast is especially known for being a workplace parents thrive in, whether it’s tangible benefits or an intentionally cultivated culture. No matter how a Toaster wants to start their family, Toast has a benefit in place to accompany, assist, and help fund that journey through partnership with Carrot Fertility, a benefit that all employees, whether enrolled in Toast’s medical plans or not, have full access to. Carrot Fertility provides inclusive fertility and family-forming benefits that cover all paths to parenthood — adoption, gestational carrier arrangements (commonly referred to as surrogacy), fertility treatments, pregnancy, and more. When the baby has arrived, Toast provides a robust, fully-paid parental leave program of 16 weeks regardless of tenure, with an additional short-term disability for 6 to 8 weeks for birthing parents. And it doesn’t end there - when childcare falls through or school is closed, Toast offers 10 days of subsidized backup childcare days per year through Care@Work, as well as free premium Care.com memberships to help find the best fit sitter for each individual family. 

The culture at Toast isn’t one where employees need to hide their identity as caregivers, but rather it’s celebrated and welcomed into the workplace. Marino says, “We love the unique perspectives and ideas each employee brings to the team, and we are dedicated to ensuring everyone feels like they belong and can openly and freely share their thoughts. We have Toast Parents and Toast Mamas employee resource groups for peer support. Those Slack channels are always buzzing with adorable pictures of children, or as we call them ‘Croutons’, recommendations for programs or products, and words of affirmation and encouragement.”

Speaking of ERGs, Mother’s Monday had the opportunity to speak with Emily Parra, New Hire Success Manager and the Chair of the Toast Mamas ERG. According to Parra, the solidarity she’s found in Toast Mamas has been a huge source of strength during this season of life. “During some incredibly challenging moments as a working parent, like a global pandemic and returning from leave,” Parra says, “this community has allowed me to connect with others in the same situation and know that I am not alone when struggling. I recently traveled for a work event and while it was a great trip, there was an added level of stress as I had to deal with pumping and traveling with breastmilk. Shortly after the trip I joined the monthly Toast Mamas meetup and I brought up this topic. It was very validating to hear from others who have had similar challenges with working while pumping and everyone began sharing tips and tricks to help each other out.”

One of the most critical issues facing working caregivers and mothers in particular is childcare. Parra notes, “I recently read a thread in the Toast Parents channel where everyone was discussing the staffing issues that daycare centers are facing and the challenge this creates for working parents. After years of closures caused by COVID, followed by seasons of unusually high rates of illness, the uncertainty felt by the lack of consistent childcare is exhausting and overwhelming. While some of us at Toast are lucky to have flexibility that allows us to juggle childcare while working, I know that is not the case for many working parents in the US.”

Through our work at Mother’s Monday, we know that offering benefits and flexibility is an important first step, but seeing those benefits used by leadership is crucial… words aren’t enough, and caregivers need leadership by example. When we asked Emily Parra how Toast leadership interacts with Toast Mamas, she painted a lovely picture. “I think one of the most important ways that leadership has supported this group over the last few years is by modeling what it looks like to be a working parent who sets boundaries and makes time for their families. This might mean putting holds on their calendars for protected time with families, or being vocal in encouraging their team members to establish working hours, norms, and boundaries. The group has also had the full support of the Toast’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team which helps to ensure that our feedback is communicated to the leadership team.” Parra went on about how this leadership by example impacted her own parental leave experience and how it led to her feeling personally empowered. “I had my second child in 2022 and I was so grateful to have 5 months of paid time off to spend with my baby, and I was even more grateful that the time off was accompanied by support from my team and Toast as a whole. It is one thing to offer generous leave and benefits that support parents, but it is equally important to have a culture where employees feel supported in taking leave and utilizing these benefits, and I think Toast has done an incredible job of creating that culture.”

Mother’s Monday applauds Toast for their phenomenal efforts in building and shaping a workplace that works for caregivers. To learn more about the company, their mission, or to check open job listings, visit them at: https://pos.toasttab.com/about. To access the Mother’s Monday toolkit to implement better benefits at your workplace, visit our website: https://www.mothersmonday.com/resources

Abby Kreckel is a Content Manager for the Mother’s Monday Movement.