Over Half Working Parents Want to Quit Because of Uncaring Employers

More than half of working parents in the US are considering leaving their jobs because they feel their employer does not care about their concerns, revealed a new poll.

Around 54% of working parents feel their employer has not cared about their concerns during the pandemic, according to a Harris Poll survey carried out by on behalf of Catalyst and CNBC. Interestingly, employed men are far more likely than women to say they are considering quitting their job; because they believe their company (50% versus 30%) or manager (44% versus 29%) does not care about them.

WAKE-UP CALL FOR LEADERS

While roughly three out of five employed parents (62%) say their employer has improved their childcare offerings and policies since last year; a similar proportion of employed parents (61%) feel they are burnt out at work from managing their children’s educational needs during Covid-19. Almost two in three employed parents (65%) think their ability to do their best work has been impacted by worries over sending their children back to school in the pandemic. Most of the working parents say they want their children’s school to mandate masking for everyone (78%); and mandate vaccination for eligible students, teachers and school staff (69%).

“This survey is a wake-up call for CEOs,” stated Lorraine Hariton, President & CEO of Catalyst. “The 9-to-5, in-the-office paradigm is outdated; and if you don’t respond to your employees’ needs by offering flexible and remote-work options and by showing empathy, you are going to lose valuable talent and derail innovation.”

MORE WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY WANTED

The findings suggests that employed parents could benefit from more support from their employer, particularly flexible working arrangements. In fact, 76% of staff say they want their company to make work permanently flexible in terms of schedule and/or location. However, their desire for work flexibility is being met with a conflicting message. Employees report that their employer thinks they are more innovative and work harder on-site.

The survey found that half of employees intend to make a career change because of the pandemic. Of those who intend to make a career change, 41% said they are seeking flexible and/or remote work, followed by 39% who desire a raise and/or promotion and 33% with an interest in changing industries.

DISCONNECT BETWEEN EMPLOYERS & STAFF

Almost one-third of employees who intend to make a career change because of the Covid-19 pandemic (32%) say they’re going to look for another job in the same industry; while about one in five (22%) are going to quit their current job and start their own business. But there appears to be a disconnect between employers and employees; most workers surveyed say they are getting the message that their company thinks employees are more innovative (72%) and work harder (75%) in the office or on-site.

Among those who work 100% remotely, nearly two in five (39%) say their employer has implemented practices or policies since the pandemic that have positively impacted their willingness to stay at their job.

Another recent survey revealed that almost half (45%) of working parents felt discriminated against for focusing on their families during the global pandemic. Click here to read more.