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A quarter of Australia’s working parents and carers are worried about their work reputation if they lean on flexible working arrangements.
A finding of the 2024 National Working Families Survey, Parents at Work and UNICEF Australia said that the “concerning” new research reveals competing work and family pressures for working parents and carers have not shifted much in five years.
Having surveyed more than 6,200 working parents, the survey “sought to understand the experiences of working parents and carers in balancing work, family and personal commitments”.
With access and attitudes to flexible work one of the pillars considered within the survey, the analysis found that more than one quarter (or 26 per cent) of working parents and carers were worried about their reputation in the workplace if they did use flexible working arrangements offered by their employer.
According to the analysis, the proportion of people worried is higher than it was in 2019 – when 22 per cent of men and 12 per cent of women were concerned about the factor.
Diving even deeper into attitudes to flexibility, 50 per cent of respondents expressed agreement that a worker’s commitment to their job is questioned if they use family-friendly work arrangements.
More than half (56 per cent) of respondents also said it is more acceptable for women to use family-friendly options than men, while half of all respondents also said that employers are less likely to support men in taking paid parental leave to care for family.
What is most illuminating however, is the fact that a majority of all individuals surveyed – up at 74 per cent for men and 67 per cent of women – agreed that managers who adopt flexible work leave policies themselves “are better at managing employees who also adopt these policies”, lending weight to the fact that an investment in family-inclusive policies do make a difference.
The chief advocate for children at UNICEF Australia, Nicole Breeze, noted “life as a parent is really hard when you’re worried that your job commitment is being questioned, or too drained to contribute to your family when you get home from work”.
“We know that family friendly policies such as flexible work and parental leave are valuable for the wellbeing of working parents and their children, but we must make these more accepted and the norm in workplaces, for men and women,” she said.
“It is good for gender equality, and by supporting the wellbeing of parents and carers, we can safeguard the wellbeing of the children or loved ones in their care – to be happy, healthy and safe.”
For Parents At Work CEO, Emma Walsh, the results reveal more needs to be done in supporting the attainment of better work/life balance among working parents and carers.
She said: “In trying to strike the balancing act and rise to the pressures and commitments working families face, it is evident that this is not being noticed enough by workplaces.”
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