The resounding message from the 1,500, predominantly office-based, parents surveyed during May and June is that they are finding it increasingly difficult as the pandemic continues to look after their children while working from home. The word ‘juggling’ was used more than 150 times by those making comments in the survey.
Almost half (48 per cent) of pre-Covid fully office-based employees are considering asking for some more remote or agile working. More than half (55 per cent) of all respondents would choose to spend no more than three days at their place of work, with the rest done remotely.
Families approached lockdown childcare in different ways with some taking it in ‘shifts’ to work or provide childcare. While some reported a ‘Pandemic spirit’ of being ‘happy and cheerful’ others admitted to not coping. One said, ‘I am failing to give 100 per cent to any part of my life.’
Only 13 per cent of respondents want to go back to pre-pandemic ways of working. More than half (55 per cent) would prefer three or fewer days in the office, with the rest done remotely. A parent said, ‘I will actually enjoy my work from home when the nurseries reopen.’
The majority of parents surveyed (79 per cent) believe that a more flexible working life would have a positive impact on them and, by extension, on their employers. Fifty three percent of respondents agreed flexibility would increase their productivity while over half (58 per cent) agreed that it would increase their loyalty.
Parents expressed wanting more practical help from their employers with 70 per cent wanting more support with long-term childcare. An interest in back-up childcare for family emergencies was expressed by 64 per cent.
Jennifer Liston-Smith, head of thought leadership at Bright Horizons Work+Family Solutions, says this could be a ‘pivotal moment’ in determining how jobs work in the future. She believes that employers need to ensure that roles are flexible.
‘They and their employees have discovered that it’s possible to work well remotely,’ she said. ‘The challenge now is to lock in those gains while also combating the “always-on” culture and ensuring staff have healthy family lives too.
‘The pandemic spirit has carried us this far, but in the longer term, working parents also need support with childcare, and they need to feel they can switch off sometimes.’
