Remote work offers flexibility and balance to many working parents. But the very latest developments in teleworking have brought to light a still little-known problem…
The rise of remote work is regularly hailed for providing a better work-life balance, but it can also have serious downsides. The ninth annual Modern Family Index, compiled by The Harris Poll for Bright Horizons, a global provider of early learning, childcare and workforce training services, has released its numbers. And they are contrasting. Among working parents, 36% said they felt a little more fulfilled in their jobs than they did three years ago, and 58% said flexible working hours were a factor in this satisfaction. But…
About 8 in 10 parents who work remotely at least part of the time admit they juggle work and family responsibilities during the workday, with 47% driving their children to activities and 44% helping them with their homework. A quarter of parents who work while in parenting roles almost never mention their day-to-day parenting duties to their managers, while 41% say they sometimes believe they have to hide their personal responsibilities from co-workers.
In turn, about 4 in 10 parents also say that when working from home there are times when they spend days without leaving their house, while 33% admit that they “feel very isolated” when they work remotely.
But another more recent and very serious problem arises for a large part of these employees: teleworking makes many parents feel that their careers will be affected. 35% of parents who work from home part of the time believe that their hybrid schedules negatively affect their career and 40% would like their managers to advise them on the desirable time to spend in the office.
Dads were particularly concerned: 44% of those who were working worried that if they used benefits aimed at balancing work and private life, it would negatively affect their performance. And there is an explanation for this phenomenon: support from managers for telecommuting parents, very strong at the start of the Covid pandemic, has faded, according to Stephen Kramer, CEO of Bright Horizons.
Today, with the pandemic receding, nurseries and daycare centers are open and “employees are expected to be productive and have understood how to meet their family responsibilities while (tele)working “There should be real concern about the mental health impact and feelings of isolation caused to employees by remote working,” he said, adding, “There should be real concern with employers. him to seize the question “to make this balance more realistic for the employees”.
