Almost a third of working parents have been forced to cut their hours due to the struggle of finding suitable childcare.
A survey of 3,000 working mothers and fathers with children up to the age of 11 highlighted the challenges they face, with nearly a third (31%) requesting flexible working arrangements to juggle their responsibilities.
One in four (24%) rely on their partner or other family members, who have had to reduce their working hours or even give up their job altogether. Moreover, 16% claim that the difficulty of accessing childcare has put them off applying for new job opportunities.
Despite the support available, nearly half (46%) of working parents still find it challenging to separate their work and home life.
Jane van Zyl, CEO of the charity Working Families, which commissioned the study ahead of National Work Life Week (7th-11th October), stated: "Accessing affordable and reliable childcare has become a significant challenge for many families."
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She added: "Numerous parents are struggling to balance work and family life due to limited availability, rising costs, and long waiting lists. It's not just an inconvenience - it's a barrier that impacts career opportunities, financial stability, and overall well-being."
To cope with childcare issues, nearly three in 10 (28%) are adopting variable hours, 19% work remotely, and 15% work only during term-time.
Flexible working is crucial for parents, as it enables them to manage childcare responsibilities (63%), spend quality time with family (46%), and reduce living costs (45%).
A significant 77% of those polled via OnePoll.com even credited flexible working with allowing them to stay in their current role.
However, one in five parents lack flexible working arrangements, with those in the transport and logistics sector being the most affected (42%).
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Parents working in retail (32%), leisure, sport and tourism (30%), and hospitality and events management (29%) also struggle with inflexible work arrangements.
And for 60% of parents who currently work shifts, 27% receiving only up to one week's notice of their schedule, making it challenging to arrange childcare.
Jane van Zyl added: "Flexible working is not only a benefit-it's a necessity for today's parents who are juggling work and family life. By offering more adaptable work arrangements, we empower parents to be present for their children while continuing to thrive professionally."
"We'll be keeping a keen eye on the forthcoming alterations to the expected this week to see how the Government plans to tackle the issues working parents are grappling with through more robust flexible working policies."
Flexible working advocate and ambassador for Working Families, Anna Whitehouse also known as commented: "This is the reality for so many parents we're trapped in a cycle where childcare is either unaffordable or unavailable, forcing families to make impossible choices."
"Parents are reducing their hours or missing out on job opportunities just to get by day-to-day. The system, as it currently stands, doesn't work."
"If we genuinely want to support families, we need workplaces that enable parents to juggle the demands of work and childcare, without having to compromise their own wellbeing."
