Employers moving backwards in enabling parents to balance their work/family life

Bright Horizons’ annual Modern Families’ Index suggests little progress has been made to help working parents manage the cost of living and balance their work and family life.

• Cross-party Parliamentary group set up to champion flexible working

Key findings of the Index, which is based upon a survey of over 3,000 working families, reveal:

• 42 per cent are looking for alternative work this year, an increase of 4 per centage points on 2023, seeking higher pay and better support with family life.
• The number of employees who feel their employer is supportive of family life has dropped from 77 per cent in 2023 to 72 per cent in 2024.
• Two in three parents take time off due to last minute childcare arrangements with 49 per cent of parents using annual leave to cover this.

The survey also finds that working mothers are impacted the most, with almost three quarters saying they ‘carry the mental load for parenting’, compared to 48 per cent of working fathers.

Jennifer Liston-Smith, head of thought leadership at Bright Horizons, said, ‘The results of this year’s Modern Families Index are worrying to say the least. We would prefer to be reporting on progress - as we have in this research across the last decade and more - but something seems to be shifting in the wrong direction and the added pressures are clearly taking their toll.

‘Employers continue to face significant retention and recruitment challenges; retaining working parents and carers has to be a key focus to alleviate these and supporting their mental health and ability to perform at work should be at the heart of employers’ strategy.

‘With higher living costs and more companies urging employees back to the workplace, employers need to be moving forwards, not backwards in enabling employees to combine their career with family life. The imbalances in expectation and reality need to be addressed and employers need to be supporting employees from all angles.’