Working parents are increasingly stressed as the number of employees who say their employer is highly supportive of family life has fallen by nearly a third.
That’s according to the Modern Families Index 2025 from Bright Horizons, the community and workplace nursery provider.
Its annual survey of 3,000 working parents found that 29% of working parents feel very stressed – comprising 32% of women and 26% of men. Only 18% of working parents reported very low stress. Eight out of 10 of those reporting very high levels of stress said that it makes it hard for them to focus at work.
Working parents
Fewer than 2% of dads take shared parental leave
Data taken from the past five years shows just how stark the difference is between the highs and lows of employer support. After reaching its highest point in 2023, the index is now reporting a slow decline.
Seven in 10 working parents have concerns about the potential impact of increased expectations around returning to the office.
Jennifer Liston-Smith, head of thought leadership at Bright Horizons, said: “In the face of sustained financial and global challenges, we can see that for many employers, their focus has increasingly shifted back to operational productivity and cost control.
“This year’s report shows employees feel this shift and ironically the impact is likely to be seen in lost productivity, as well as in attrition, all of which increase costs for employers.
“Sixty-five per cent of men and 62% of women reported a childcare breakdown affecting work, while for those with adult caring responsibilities, 79% of men and 80% of women were affected. Employers who shift attention away from practical supports are likely to see work outputs impacted.”
While there is more flexibility now than in pre-pandemic times, this year’s findings compared to 2024 reveal a drop in overall flexibility and an increase in respondents saying their role or employer does not allow flexible working. More than twice as many people as last year say they are working less flexibly than a year ago, with 20% of respondents saying their employer or role does not allow for flexible working (2024: 10%).
In light of the Employment Rights Bill and its promise of default flexibility, the survey asked “What, if any, flexible working initiatives would you like your employer to offer?”.
The most popular forms of flexible working were “flexitime” (57%) and a “flexible working place” (43%). Three-quarters (75%) of those aged 18-34 declared some concerns about an increased return to office, with 68% of all people surveyed feeling the same.
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