Parenting is never an easy job, but it’s especially hard at the moment. For many parents, the combination of sky-high childcare costs, limited nursery places and a lack of flexible work — as well as a dearth of understanding employers — has led to stress, exhaustion and burnout.
There is a growing disparity between the support that working parents need and the support employers offer, which has declined significantly over the last year, according to the Bright Horizons’ annual Modern Families Index survey. Just 14% of working parents feel supported by their employee benefits package – and only a fifth of receive specific parenting support from their employers.
“Parents are in the midst of a childcare crisis, struggling to balance work and childcare responsibilities due to numerous sociopolitical factors,” says therapist and Counselling Directory member Rebecca Moseley.
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“Many families are geographically further apart, translating into a lack of familial support to help look after children. This is compounded by the rising cost of essential bills, resulting in a number of working parents without a support network having to offset the increasing cost of childcare by taking on overtime, working more than one job, or sacrificing quality time with their children in order to meet their financial obligations.”
In addition, there has been an upturn in return-to-office mandates, with an increasing number of employers demanding workers work in-office for at least part of the week.
“For working parents this can prevent logistical challenges and place more pressure on finding childcare, when they previously had been able to work from home and provide this,” adds Moseley. “The pressure arising from a lack of support with childcare can, and often does, cause working parents to experience intense feelings of inferiority, overwhelm, guilt, panic, stress and anxiety.”
Not only is a lack of adequate childcare affecting wellbeing, it’s also getting in the way of career advancement and fulfilment. Many women are stuck in roles below their capabilities and missing out on the chance to progress. There’s a shortage of high quality, well-paid, part-time roles — and the volume of people seeking part-time work outnumbers part-time vacancies four-to-one.
As a result, one in 10 have considered leaving their jobs because of the challenges that come with balancing work and caring responsibilities. So far, around a quarter of a million mothers with young children have left their jobs, according to the Fawcett Society.
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It’s in businesses’ best interests to support working parents. By doing so, companies can improve morale, keep good employees around longer and boost happiness, health and in turn, productivity. So what can employers do to help parents cope with the childcare crisis?
Provide tailored flexible work
While most employers offer some sort of flexibility, such as hybrid working, it’s important to listen to what parents need.
“The ideal work-life balance is different for every family and every individual — some parents would prefer to work from home, while others feel more fulfilled professionally and personally if they have social connection or time away from the family home by going into the office,” says Moseley.
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“Employers should encourage flexible working to suit each individual employee, as well as parental leave/flexi leave for issues such as needing to take a day to look after their unwell child or attend their sports day.”
Put firm boundaries in place
Many workers feel pressured to answer emails after hours, which eats into the time they spend with their families. It’s important for employers to put boundaries in place and ensure there’s no expectation to answer emails or calls once workers have logged off.
Offer childcare vouchers
“Offering supportive incentives to parents such as childcare vouchers, or having an onsite nursery for those larger organisations is helpful,” says Moseley. “It can also help to create a quiet or private area where women returning to work after maternity can pump if they are still breastfeeding.
“Smaller organisations which cannot offer onsite nurseries could look into linking up with their local authority’s registered childcare providers to offer discounts via salary sacrifice, and information for holiday clubs and playschemes,” she adds.
Offer additional support for new parents
Returning from parental leave is a challenging period for many parents, so it’s essential for people to have adequate logistical and emotional support. This might mean offering a phased return or a gradual introduction of responsibilities so workers don’t feel overwhelmed.
“Peer support could be offered for new parents returning from maternity or paternity leave, mental health support and counselling could be offered or subsidised,” says Moseley. “If appropriate, during holiday seasons a chance to bring children into the office to see what their parents actually do.”
Finally — and perhaps most importantly — employers need to have an empathetic and flexible mindset. Sometimes, parents will have to change their schedules at the last minute, or take time off to look after sick children. But research shows a non-judgmental, accepting attitude will boost loyalty, morale, innovation, engagement and more – making it worth the investment.
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