‘Modern Families at breaking point as parents buckle under the strain of overwork’
Modern Families Index published
The UK's working parents are struggling to cope with the strain of overwork – and deliberately stalling and downshifting their careers to reverse the negative impact it is having on family life, according to a new study. The 2018 Modern Families Index, published by work life charity Working Families and Bright Horizons, states that the stress of the modern workplace is pushing parents to breaking point, creating a 'parenthood penalty'. According to the study, many parents are obliged to work far over their contracted hours due to increasingly intense workloads or because they feel it is expected of them.
The Modern Families Index provides a snapshot into the lives of working families from across the UK: 2,750 working parents responded with at least one dependent child aged 13 or younger who lives with them some or all of the time.
According to the Index shows a third of parents said that work had a negative effect on their relationship with their partner and a quarter said it led to rows with their children. 5 per cent of parents agreed 'my work life balance is increasingly a source of stress'.
Only one in five families says they have got the right balance between time (to spend with family) and money (earning or having enough income) to see their family thrive, with over a third saying they haven't got enough time or money.
Parents are keen to mitigate the effects of work on family life. They identified flexible working as a key way ofgetti ng a better balance, but many felt that they could not make use of it because of the nature of their job, manager's attitude or workplace culture:
- Almost half of parents are not comfortable raising the issue of workload and hours with their employer.
- Fathers are less comfortable asking for formal flexible working arrangements - and more likely to lie or bend the truth to their employer about their family responsibilities.
- Twice the number of fathers compared to mothers believe flexible workers are viewed as less committed and over double the number of fathers believe working flexibly will have a negative impact on their career.
For the Index, click here. For a summary, click here.
21/1/18
- Keywords:
- families