Pressure to return to the office is forcing parents out of the workplace, with one in two (50%) expecting to quit their jobs, new research has revealed.
A study by Pebble found that employers are asking staff for an average of an extra two days a week at work, leading to three in five (60%) parents struggling to manage both professional and personal commitments.
The research highlighted that families are resorting to drastic measures to juggle their childcare responsibilities, and while half are planning to leave their current roles to seek ones that allow more home working, more than a third have already switched jobs to ones that don’t require as much time in the office.
The flexible working provider’s survey of 2,000 mothers and fathers showed that the backtrack on home working policies is costing families with children at nursery and primary school an average of £166 a week extra in childcare, increasing to £205 in London.
Of those polled, two in five parents reported struggling to afford the additional expense, which averages £664 per month.
The figures also revealed an increase of £98.70 a week in commuting costs, rising to £132.92 in the capital.
Overall, nearly two in five (37%) families believe the extra expenses are putting a strain on household finances, with one in five (20%) worrying about how much longer they can continue covering these costs.
Lance Beare, CEO of Pebble, said, “The fact that working parents are actively changing jobs in order to manage childcare costs is simply unacceptable, and it’s costly for businesses too. Families need both more flexible childcare options and employers that recognise the challenges of juggling work and home life.
“When you ask employees to be in a certain place at a certain time, they need to line up childcare; and this comes at a cost; without childcare in place, parents can’t work. Employers need to look at their company benefits and reassess what people need support with today; onsite yoga and pizza lunches are nice, but what about supporting the childcare needs of parents so that they can afford to keep working instead?”
The study also revealed a desire for more employer awareness of the challenges posed by an increase in office hours on working families, with nearly two in three (63%) of respondents wanting bosses to be more understanding.
Nearly half of those polled would like financial support when required in the office for extra days, while 45% believe parents should be able to choose whether or not to attend the workplace more frequently.
