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Insights from the Alight Employee Mindset Study reveal trends in work-life balance
Juggling the responsibilities of work and home is challenging for everyone in today’s world of constant demands. But those who are tasked with caring for others often find it especially difficult not only to achieve work-life balance personally, but to secure the help they need to ensure their loved ones are getting what they need as well. This holds true both for parents and for caregivers of disabled, ill or elderly adults.
Employers emerged from the pandemic with a new understanding of the toll that the stress of juggling work and family life can take on employees. Unburdened by the need to “hide” the part of their life that is filled with kids, extended family, pets and hobbies, parents and caregivers began making strides towards achieving better work-life balance.
According to the Alight 2025 Employee Mindset Study, parents and caregivers are on par with their colleagues in terms of their ability to effectively balance/manage their work and personal life commitments (61% of parents, compared to 64% of caregivers and non-parents/non-caregivers). What’s more, half of parents (49%) and caregivers (51%) rate their overall wellbeing positively, compared to 43% of other workers. With a growing number of employers enacting return-to-office policies, however, those numbers may begin to change.
Many parents and caregivers have been hit hard by the end of flexible pandemic-era policies, like hybrid and remote work, which made it easier to manage professional and home responsibilities. Not surprisingly, they value the opportunity to work from home even more than their non-parent/non-caregiver colleagues, as it enables them to continue earning a living, while tending to their loved ones’ needs.
2025 Alight Employee Mindset Study
The 2025 Employee Mindset Study focuses on the U.S. workforce, delving into key areas such as employee wellbeing, workplace culture, benefits engagement, total rewards and technology.
One-third (34%) of parents who are currently working remotely say they would look for another job if asked to return to the office, while 7% would quit and 20% would comply but expect their engagement to drop. In fact, they feel so passionately about the issue that 43% say they would be willing to take a pay cut in exchange for more flexibility. However, that might be an attractive concept more in theory than in reality due to the increasing financial pressures that many parents and caregivers are under.
Too costly to quit
Despite their frustration over potentially losing the ability to work from home, the majority of working parents are not currently thinking about leaving their jobs, quite possibly because soaring childcare costs make it necessary for them to continue working, even if that means leaving their child(ren) in the care of someone else. According to a BabyCenter survey of more than 2,000 mothers, annual full-time care for one child averages more than $16,500, and 40% of families seeking daycare placements have been put on a waitlist, with an average wait time of 6 months. Three-quarters (76%) of working parents say that paying for childcare strains their family's budget, while 84% say the expense hinders their ability to save money (54%) or pay off debt (25%).
For Gen Xers—often dubbed “the sandwich generation” because they frequently find themselves balancing caregiving responsibilities for both aging parents and children—the financial burden can be even more significant. With caregiving costs rising significantly, this can incur more debt for caregivers and increase feelings of financial instability. According to the Mindset Study, 51% of Gen Xers are concerned the money they have saved won’t last until retirement, and half report feeling worried they won’t have enough to retire at the age they want to.
Personalized support is key
Working parents and caregivers aren’t shy about their desire for specialized support and resources from their employers. When such programs are offered, they are highly valued, yet relatively few employers are stepping up to provide support for parents’ and caregivers’ unique needs. Among employees who use parental support programs and employees who take advantage of caregiving support and resources, 88% find the help valuable. Unfortunately, just 17% of parents and 14% of caregivers have such programs available to them at work. Consequently, 42% of working parents spend at least five hours of work time each month dealing with childcare issues or concerns, like caring for an ill child at home or taking a child to the doctor.
Still, parents and caregivers feel generally positive about their employers, with 70% of each group saying they tell others good things about their company, and six in 10 believing their employer generally cares about their wellbeing. Interestingly, both groups are more concerned about their long-term job stability than their non-parent/non-caregiver co-workers (44% of parents and 45% of caregivers compared to just 28% of others). While it’s difficult to assign causation, a contributing factor may be that they feel confident they have found an employer where juggling work and parenting/caregiving is at least do-able, and they are unlikely to let it go and worry about finding it again if they were to lose their current job.
That’s not to suggest employers should be content to rest on their laurels, confident that working parents and caregivers aren’t going anywhere. On the contrary, it’s incumbent upon employers to provide support, guidance and resources that will enable these employees to manage their families’ needs.
Something as simple as living a healthy life often seems out of reach for these individuals, with 54% of parents and 58% of caregivers saying it requires more attention than they are willing and able to spend. What’s more, 55% of parents and 59% of caregivers wish their employer offered more resources for mental health, compared to 35% of other colleagues.
Not surprisingly, parents (61%) and caregivers (76%) are far more likely to regret a healthcare decision they have made in the past year than non-parents or non-caregivers (47%). Because these individuals are responsible for the children and adults under their care, in addition to themselves, they are probably making more healthcare decisions in a month than most people make in a year. The likelihood of regretting one (or more) is infinitely higher because of the sheer volume of decisions being made. Clearly, parents and caregivers would benefit greatly from navigation solutions.
of caregivers wish their employer offered more resources for mental health
Parents and caregivers are also more open to personalized electronic support and guidance when relevant information can save them time and money. When asked if they would be interested in receiving personalized messaging from their employer around certain benefits and programs based on their personal health or financial information, 73% of parents and 70% of caregivers say “yes,” compared with only 54% of non-parents and non-caregivers.
When faced with the temptation to seek new opportunities elsewhere, a strong benefits program is far more likely to keep parents and caregivers from jumping ship than their non-parent/non-caregiver counterparts (16% compared to 2.5%). A personalized high-tech, human-touch benefits solution empowers employees to not only improve their own wellbeing, but to make the best choices about the care being provided to their loved ones. In turn, this enables them to live their best lives at home—and to be more engaged and productive at work.
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