Back in April, we shared results from a Cleo member survey which demonstrated the early challenges faced by working parents in the first weeks of the COVID-19 shutdown. As schools and workplaces closed their doors and lockdown orders went into effect, 20% of respondents said that either they or their partner were considering leaving the workforce to care for their children.
Nearly three months later, the situation has become not only more complex but more dire. Results from a new member survey (conducted in late June) highlight the additional challenges that working parents face amid COVID-19. Continued closures of daycares and schools, limited summer camp options, and uncertainty around when offices will reopen in the aftermath of COVID-19 contribute to what has become a persistent problem: the lack of childcare and the tremendous burden it places on working parents – especially mothers.
Nearly every American company has employees who are working parents. There are more than 34M families with a child under 18 years old in the U.S. Among these households, 97% have at least one employed parent, while 61% of households have two working parents.(1)
Here’s an overview of some of the significant themes and how they compare to our April findings:
“Preschool was closed for our older child. We spent 2 months with no nanny, no preschool and both partners working full time. I would take the kids in the morning (8:30-12:30) and my husband would take the afternoon (12:30-5) and we would both work after they went to bed.” – Cleo member
“It took 4 weeks for us to find a nanny, and I had to take an extended leave from work to care for our two kids myself.” – Cleo member
As the months go by, working parents are losing optimism about returning to work, and the future workplace.
Women continue to be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 when it comes to childcare and household responsibilities. As a result, they’re leaving the workforce at a higher rate than their male counterparts.
“Our baby was about to be one year when Covid-19 hit. I was on the verge of looking into childcare and starting to explore jobs and/or part-time work in March. I’m a graphic designer and left my role to extend my parental leave. Because my partner is working from home and we’re okay with a single salary, we decided that I’d continue with full-time parent-duty for the foreseeable future.” – Cleo member
COVID-19 has caused havoc for working families and many parents are struggling to balance between work and family – and as our recent data demonstrates, many have already made the difficult decision to scale back or depart from the workforce. Unfortunately, the federal government has done very little to address the childcare crisis. The onus is on employers to take action and enact the appropriate measures to ensure parents are supported through this unprecedented time. As the first step toward this goal, we encourage employers to reach out to their parent communities. Understanding your community’s needs, challenges, and current childcare situation will help inform actionable solutions.
At Cleo, our customers’ parent communities are our first priority. Cleo has always prided itself on helping parents return to work. We supply employers with the tools and resources they need to help parents navigate changing demands so they can continue to thrive in the workplace – even (and especially) in times of crisis. In May, we partnered with UrbanSitter to introduce Cleo Care, a unique childcare solution designed to get parents back to work. Cleo Care helps parents find safe and secure childcare through vetted and personalized caregiver and co-op matching, as well as one-on-one coaching. If you’re interested in exploring Cleo Care for your parent community, drop us a line here.
From our most recent member survey, we are hearing that Cleo members are now even more likely to attribute Cleo’s services as helping parents return to work. When asked about agreement with the statement, “Support that I received from Cleo made me more confident in my ability to return to work.”, 84% of respondents agreed in April and 92% of respondents agreed in June.
As we face this sobering data on the additional burden placed on working parents from COVID-19 that seems to have no end in sight, we invite a new perspective from our employer clients and partners – to be inspired by the creativity and resiliency of the working parents in your population and to take a note from them in how they’ve already approached this time. As we consider new solutions, it’s clear the playbook doesn’t exist – and that what is required is new approaches and thinking. The Cleo team is committed to supporting our members as they navigate life as working parents in today’s context.
For this report, we surveyed 136 respondents from 11 Cleo customers, representing a variety of industries including tech, finance, and food and beverage. Of the respondents, 71% were female and 29% were male. 40% of respondents had manager responsibilities and another 40% were junior or individual contributors. Respondents represented a range of household incomes. Approximately 25% of families had a household income of less than $100k/year and 33% of families had household income of over $250K/year. All respondents were more than four months post-birth, and had been enrolled in Cleo for at least three months.
(1) https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/employment-in-families-with-children-in-2016.htm
(2) Healthpayer Intelligence. “Employers Could See High Financial Returns for Mental Healthcare.” Sep 2018.