Released On 01 February 2022
Cityparents Survey: Work and Home - Where Do You Draw The Line?
The new working world generated by the pandemic has resulted in widespread acceptance of remote working and increased understanding of how employees manage family responsibilities alongside their jobs. In our Annual Member Survey, we explored the practical impact of this on daily life.
The key findings include:
1. Setting and respecting boundaries is a major challenge
72% of respondents are not able to regularly and effectively maintain boundaries between work and home life.
2. Members find little or no time to decompress
36% say they rarely find time to decompress; only 15% say this is something they can regularly do.
3. Work commitments very often take priority over family life
73% of respondents put work commitments ahead of family / home commitments either always, frequently or occasionally.
4. Technology is helpful in allowing flexibility - but there’s no escape
46% say they respond to work communications outside of work hours, at least several times a day. 73% respond to work communications whilst managing family commitments and 68% check work messages while on annual leave.
5. Career prospects are perceived to be deteriorating, especially for home workers
28% say their career prospects are worse than before the onset of the pandemic, and 70% believe that those working solely from home will not have the same opportunities as those based in the office.
Louisa Symington-Mills, Founder and CEO of Cityparents comments:
“The results show evidence of real progress for working parents with the majority of respondents feeling more in control of their work pattern now compared with pre-pandemic. However, the dominance of remote work and the growth of pervasive technologies mean people are finding it harder than ever to set and maintain boundaries, with clear repercussions for mental wellbeing.”
You can read more about our survey in our report Cityparents Survey: Work and Home - Where Do you Draw the Line? or watch this short video.