A report identifying that millennial parents are struggling to maintain a reasonable work and family life balance has led to calls that employers need to ‘tackle unrealistic and unmanageable workloads’.
Working Families and Bright Horizons ‘The 2016 Modern Families Index’ has revealed that of this age group 78% are working full time and that 42% felt burnt out. This figure is over double that of the nearest counterparts.
What is interesting in this survey is that millennial fathers are more resentful towards their employers than other groups and that 58% did not feel confident when requesting a reduction in hours, working remotely or just setting a boundary on responding to calls or emails.
Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, argued that younger generations are most likely to share caring arrangements. However, working life has not caught up, with long inflexible hours remaining the norm.
‘If we want children to have the time with parents that they need, and for parents to give their best at work, employers need to tackle unrealistic and unmanageable workloads,’ she said. ‘Otherwise we are short-changing families and we are short-changing the economy.’
Denise Priest, director of employer and strategic partnerships at Bright Horizons, added that the Index highlighted that millennials are doing things differently at home and work, challenging embedded notions of engagement and loyalty in the workplace.
‘However, these increased expectations continue to bump up against working commitments, leading to stress and, in some cases, burnout,’ said Priest.
Also revealed by the Index, is that were work encroaches on family life, parents are likely to enter into a negative pattern which will overspill into the workplace. Of those surveyed more than 1/3rd said they took annual leave to cope, whilst 28% indicated they were more likely to take sick leave.
Comment
This Index, highlights that a cultural change in attitude towards fathers and the role they play within their families may well still be a long way off.
