Parents' Concerns About After-School Care Lower Job Productivity

Working moms and dads are less productive on the job when they are worried about what their children are doing in the after-school hours, according to a report by nonprofit research and advisory organization Catalyst.

The study, conducted in cooperation with the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University and sponsored by Citigroup, Fannie Mae, and Pfizer corporations, was based on a survey of 1,755 employed parents, 44.7% of whom are fathers and 55.3% of whom are mothers.

Researchers estimated that, of the more than 52 million working parents in the United States, at least 2.5 million experience high levels of stress due to concerns about their children's activities after school. This stress, according to the study, costs businesses between $50 billion and $300 billion a year in lost job productivity. The types of problems that lead to lower productivity range from minor disruptions to diminished overall job satisfaction. These concerns were found to be especially acute for parents who have more responsibility for childcare in the household, who work longer hours, and whose children are older or spend more time unsupervised.

When asked how employers can help alleviate their concerns about their children, three-quarters of the working parents surveyed said they would like to have the flexibility to arrive at work later, leave work earlier, or take off part of a workday when necessary. Results also showed, however, that many of these parents are afraid that taking time off for family reasons and asking for flexible work arrangements could jeopardize their opportunities for advancement.

The report recommended that employers not only grant employees flexible working hours, but also focus more on goals and results when assessing an employee's performance, rather than on time spent in the workplace. In addition, researchers called upon companies to invest in community after-school care programs, expand supports related to after-school care, actively communicate the availability of these supports to employees, and transform the workplace culture by better educating supervisors and managers about the needs of working parents.

Ilene H. Lang, president of Catalyst, said parental concern about after-school time "is an equal-opportunity issue, cutting across gender, race, and rank, from factory floor to executive suite."

Lang called measures to reduce these concerns "a win-win proposition." She added, "Businesses can increase productivity and retention in today's round-the-clock work environment by cultivating an agile, results-focused workplace, where work and life responsibilities aren't mutually exclusive."