What's happening?
Recent years have seen a surge in societal challenges relating to children’s wellbeing and
education. These include:
- a rise in school absenteeism with now about 1 in 5 children being regular absentees
1 in 6 children aged 5 -16 being likely to have a mental health problem (as reported by the
Children’s Society in 2023) - an increase in the number of referrals and subsequent diagnoses for ADHD and other types of neurodivergence
- complex and time consuming special needs issues with increased demand from parents clashing with diminishing resources in schools
- an increase more generally in school related anxiety amongst young people, including
pressures related to examinations.
How are employees effected?
One increasingly visible effect of these developments is their impact upon parents in the
workplace. Many parents who are also employees will be affected by one or more of the issues
outlined above at some point. Often, as in the case of a child’s persistent absence from school,
the situation may be ongoing over months or even years. There has recently been greater and
more open acknowledgment, firstly in the USA and increasingly in the UK, of the impact child
related matters can have on parents at work.
Productivity and compasion
A clear connection is being made between child related difficulties at home and what happens
to parents at work. Some common occurrences are:
- parents need to take frequent short periods off work for issues related to their child (eg
meetings at school or medical appointments) - parents need to take more extended time away from work, perhaps because their child is not
attending school at all - parents are preoccupied or exhausted by home issues when they get to work, affecting their
ability to carry out their jobs to the expected standard - ultimately, the wellbeing and mental health of these colleagues can be negatively affected.
There can be a particular combination of pressures depending upon the parenting
arrangements at home. Single parents may bear an especial burden of pressure. However,
tensions can also arise in two parent families, either when both parents are in full time work or
when one is at home.
Increasingly, considerate and astute employers are becoming more aware of these situations
and recognise that it is in the best interests of both their employees and the organisation to take
positive actions. Indeed, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has suggested that as
many as 9 out of 10 working parents say support from prospective employers is important when
considering a new role.
Take action
So having decided to act, what can employers do?
One positive course of.action is to get in touch with us at Abrial. We specialise in helping
working parents to effectively balance the responsibilities of home and the workplace. Through
coaching and guidance, we assist colleagues to find workable solutions and to better manage
their own wellbeing. The CIPD endorses this approach, recommending external coaching as an
intervention for parents in the workplace.
As a first step, we discuss with potential client organisations which approach will be best for their team. Our interventions are bespoke to each organisation we work with, however, to give an idea of some of the strategies we use:
- group seminars for employees on helping with commonly occurring situations (eg supporting
children with special needs or managing exam related anxiety) - small group coaching or advisory sessions for employees who share a similar child related
need - one to one coaching to support employees through particularly challenging situations.
Email us at info@abrial.org for a chat about how we can work with your organisation.