Working parents and carers are increasingly reconsidering their jobs as childcare and eldercare pressures intensify, with many using sick leave to manage short-notice care emergencies, new research suggests.
The latest Modern Families Index, published by Bright Horizons Work + Family Solutions, a provider of employer-backed childcare and family support services, found that 43 percent of “sandwich carers”, those juggling childcare alongside caring for ageing relatives, were actively reconsidering their job due to care pressures.
The report, based on insights from 3,000 working parents and carers across the UK, also found that 21 percent used sick leave last year to cover care emergencies, while stress levels were rising, with 29 percent of working parents reporting very high stress.
Sick Leave Used to Plug Care Gaps
The research suggested many employees were relying on time off intended for illness to manage care breakdowns, raising concerns about both workforce wellbeing and business continuity.
Working parents took an average of 4.2 days off to cover childcare, while carers took 4.1 days for eldercare, the report found. It said 21 percent used sick leave to manage short-notice care needs.
Bright Horizons said the pressures were coinciding with an increasingly challenging economic backdrop, social expectations around parenting and the growing care needs of ageing relatives.
Chris Locke, executive director of Work + Family Solutions at Bright Horizons, said care pressure was becoming a structural challenge for employers, with implications for productivity and retention.
“What this year’s findings underline is that care pressure is no longer a personal issue playing out quietly in the background. It is becoming a structural challenge for employers, with clear implications for productivity, retention and workforce stability,” he said.
Locke said that when people were repeatedly forced to cover care breakdowns through sick leave, annual leave or reduced hours, the cost to organisations could quickly add up.
Mothers Report Greater Career Impact
The Modern Families Index found mothers were 50 percent more likely than men to say having children had harmed their career.
Nearly half of mothers who also care for ageing adults, 48 percent, reported a negative career impact, compared with 38 percent of fathers, the report found.
Stress levels were also higher among mothers juggling both childcare and eldercare, rising to 39 percent in that group.
The report suggested stress was increasingly affecting employees’ ability to function at work. It found 29 percent of working parents reported very high stress, while 77 percent of those experiencing high stress said it sometimes made it hard to function.
Locke said flexibility alone was not enough to prevent stress and disengagement, even in hybrid workplaces.
“Many employers have made progress on flexibility, but this data shows that flexibility alone is not enough. Care does not fail on a schedule, and without agile practical support in place, stress, absence and disengagement may continue to rise even in hybrid workplaces,” he said.
The report found that hybrid working patterns were not necessarily reducing stress. It said employees working onsite one day per week reported stress levels of 41 percent, suggesting the pressures on working families were being driven less by working pattern itself and more by unpredictable care breakdowns.
The report also found that 37 percent said their working arrangements made it harder to switch off.
Confidence in Employers Stalls
The Modern Families Index found only 63 percent of employees felt comfortable discussing family responsibilities at work.
Among employees expecting a child, confidence fell to 59 percent, suggesting some workers did not feel able to raise care needs or seek support.
Locke said organisations that were better placed to navigate 2026 would be those that treated care support as part of workforce resilience and invested in practical help that worked in real time.
“Organisations that are better placed to navigate 2026 will be those that recognise care supports as a core part of workforce resilience and invest in support that works for their employees in real time,” he said.
“Providing go-to solutions when care falls through helps employees stay focused and productive and gives businesses greater stability in an increasingly unpredictable labour market.”