The balance of power has moved from employer to employee when it comes to the rules of the workplace – according to a survey of 1,750 workers.
The results show businesses need to change tack if they want to fill vacancies and recruit talent:
- Under 35s place the highest value on family life (56%)
- This age group also has the biggest career aspirations (45%)
- 51% of under 35s continue to re-evaluate career options and employers with family-friendly policies are favoured
- 67% of working parents have resorted to using annual leave to cover childcare when back-up care is used up
- 93% of employees who used back-up care rated their employers as highly supportive of family.
Bright Horizons’ annual Work + Family Snapshot has revealed under 35s expect to achieve career success without sacrificing their personal lives – and the tight labour market is forcing organisations to listen up.
For the first time, 18-35s are breaking real boundaries by actively seeking out companies that enable them to put their home lives on an equal footing with building a successful career – and there are signs other generations are following suit.
The report also highlights increasing numbers of employees in all age groups who have experienced care disruptions – with 57% reporting childcare breakdowns lasting five or more days.
Over two-thirds said having a backup care programme in place at work had enabled them to work on a day they would have otherwise not been able to. However, when subsidised backup care days run out, 67% have resorted to using annual leave as cover, sacrificing time intended for rest and recuperation.
Encouragingly, over 9 in 10 (93%) employees who used backup care provision rated their employers as highly supportive of family, creating greater loyalty and less desire to seek new job opportunities.
Bright Horizons says this year’s annual Work+Family Snapshot comes with a warning to companies without family-friendly policies in place to urgently rethink their approach and pay close attention to the demands being placed on their employees.
Denise Priest, Executive Director, Work and Family Solutions, commented:
The statistics send a clear message to employers – younger people fully expect to blend career ambition with family; this is the new normal. The UK’s most progressive businesses are already showing up for their employees by playing a practical role in their home and family life, and providing support that helps them combine both successfully.
Our data shows businesses cannot afford to be complacent. We have all seen that an increasing number of employees are looking for new opportunities and being a supportive employer will attract them.
Denise Priest, Executive Director, Work and Family Solutions
Bright Horizons’ annual Work + Families Snapshot survey aims to understand more about the current and future challenges its clients’ employees face as working parents and carers. To review the full Work + Families Snapshot 2023 report download here: https://solutions.brighthorizons.co.uk/resources/research/uk-work-family-snapshot-2023.
Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and Family History Zone. After obtaining a bachelors degree in English literature and media studies, Joanne went on to spend two years of her life writing and teaching English in China and Vietnam. Prior to joining Black and White Trading, Joanne was a marketing coordinator for luxury property in Brighton focusing on blog writing, photography and video creation.
