The Work-Life Balancing Act

Working parents are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress. Learn how companies can better support their employees who are balancing full-time jobs and caregiving responsibilities.

April 2, 2025 | by BCCCC Staff

A 2024 report from the U.S. Surgeon General’s office suggests that parents are facing more stress now than at perhaps any other time in recent history. Two-fifths of parents say that on most days, “they are so stressed they cannot function,” and roughly half of parents call that stress “completely overwhelming.”¹

How does this relate to companies and employees? According to data from Guardian Life, nearly one-quarter of adults in the United States (22%) now split their time between full-time work and caregiving responsibilities—effectively “pulling double duty.”2 If your company supports working parents and caregivers through its employee resource groups (ERGs), employee assistance programs (EAPs), or other employee benefits, the following profiles are worth a read. And if you aren’t yet offering these types of supports, the insights and examples that follow—courtesy of BCCCC member companies UKG and FirstEnergy—may be even more valuable.

The U.S. is aging. The 65-and-older set, in particular, is growing twice as fast as the rest of the population.³ By 2054, 23% of Americans will represent the senior citizen category.⁴ This growing demographic will need more assistance (in part from their working-age children) with everything from life’s daily activities to help managing chronic health conditions. 

Kids, of course, need someone to care for them, too. And much has changed since the 1960s, when roughly 50% of mothers with children under 18 stayed at home full time.⁵ Families can’t afford to designate a stay-at-home parent. Meanwhile, working inside and outside the home proves stressful for most; six in 10 working moms say it’s either difficult or very difficult and 52% of working dads agree.⁶

Further, as of 2019, the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent homes.⁷ Single parents—and especially single moms—face even steeper challenges when it comes to budgeting their time and paychecks. When the pandemic hit, many were forced to opt out altogether: six months into the COVID-19 outbreak, unpartnered mothers experienced the largest decline in employment among working parent groups. The rate of decline was nearly double for Black and Hispanic unpartnered moms.⁸

Even now, the so-called “return to normal” hasn’t arrived for everyone. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an estimated one million women—many of whom left their jobs to take on full-time childcare duties during the pandemic—are still missing from the workforce.⁹

It all adds up to a mental, physical, and financial bandwidth crisis for 100 million working adults who must somehow juggle their professional roles in the workplace alongside parenting and/or caregiving roles at home.¹⁰

Why do working parents and caregivers need support from their employers?

Research suggests that working parents and employee caregivers report higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depression, along with lower levels of job engagement, than do colleagues without caregiving duties at home.¹¹

“Working parents and caregivers make up a large part of our employee base,” said Meghan Jurica, director, customer management at FirstEnergy. “It is important to us to create an environment that empowers employees to openly share what challenges they face to both increase awareness and actively address their concerns. We want to leverage the individuality of our employees as a competitive advantage. By supporting our working caregivers, we hope to create a better balance between career and family.”

Additionally—as both FirstEnergy and UKG recognize—supporting this particular demographic enables career advancement for a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

“We are committed to supporting all our employees—from recruitment to retirement—because we believe businesses succeed when all individuals are respected, all voices are heard, and all employees feel safe and welcomed as their whole, authentic selves,” said Pat Wadors, chief people officer at UKG.

How can companies provide employee support?

The most obvious and immediate type of employer support comes in the form of flexibility. Companies can help their parent and caregiver employees by offering more flexible working arrangements, including school-day aligned hours (e.g., 8:30 – 3:00), four-day workweeks, and telecommuting.

And yet, not every job can be performed remotely or according to a more convenient schedule. For roles that can’t be flexed schedule-wise or transferred to a home office, taking some aspects of the actual caregiving off employees’ plates may be helpful. Some companies do this by providing eldercare consultants or other benefits as part of employee assistance programs (EAPs). Some companies offer in-house daycare or adult care facilities.

Employee resource groups offer another valuable pillar of support to employees tackling multiple roles. Companies can also train managers how to be more supportive of families.

“Managers need to make it OK for their team members to have conversations about the struggles they may be having related to work/life balance,” said Wadors. “They can demonstrate empathy by sharing their own personal struggles with juggling work and parenting or caring for aging parents. [They can] then model good behavior to prioritize family by taking time off and sharing how they work toward balance.”

Last but not least, companies should practice listening in order to understand what their employees are voicing from the caregiving front.

“Listen to and ask questions of this employee base,” said Jurica. “You can demonstrate that you value their perspective and input by acting on concerns that are raised.”

Issuing employee surveys is one method of monitoring employees’ needs and expectations that both Jurica and Wadors say their companies have used effectively.

“To gather information about our employees’ well-being, we conduct a global employee satisfaction survey (“U Krew Experience”–or UKX) twice a year. The surveys helps us better understand the needs of employees and how we can best support them,” said Wadors.

In addition to employee surveys, Jurica said FirstEnergy hosts regular events that encourage open discussion. Individuals share their perspectives, experiences, and any challenges they are facing. 

What do ERGs for working parents and caregivers offer?

“When I learned of my mother’s gallbladder cancer diagnosis, a team member referred me to CARES [Chronic Illnesses, Awareness, Resources, Education & Support],” said Tonya Evans, corporate public relations strategist at UKG.

CARES is one of two employee resource groups in this category at UKG; in 2023, the company also launched NEST, which provides resources and support to empower parents and caregivers to thrive at home, at work, and in life.

“I was immediately set up with a CARES Champion. Champions are U Krew team members who volunteer to support other U Krewers who have a family member with a chronic illness. They reached out to me to schedule an introductory meeting right away and were there to answer any questions that I had throughout my mom’s treatment.”

Evans says she was lucky to have a CARES Champion who was also a cancer survivor.

“They shared information and provided tips on what my mom should take with her during her chemotherapy treatments. They also told me what to expect during the initial process. I think the most valuable conversation was when they shared insight on how I could best support my mom. There were times when I reached out to just to cry, and that was such a vital outlet for me,” Evans said.

More than 250 FirstEnergy employees across the company’s five-state footprint are members of its Family Network EBRG. The mission: to create awareness of issues and concerns working caregivers face daily while supporting FirstEnergy Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. The Family Network group—employee-run with the support of an EBRG coordinator based in human resources—strives to provide workplace support that creates balance between career and family while taking steps to change the culture around caregiving.

“We attempt to schedule some events over lunch hour to maximize the number of members available to participate. We have also recorded events in the past to be accessed by employees when it best fits their personal schedules,” said Jurica, chair of the Family Network.

Importantly, the value of successful parenting/caregiving ERGs goes well beyond what happens at the office in group meetups or via online resources.“

I was surprised at how great [ERG members] were at anticipating my needs,” Evans said. “For example, before my mother started her cancer treatment, they delivered a backpack full of things that she would need during her treatment days like snacks, books, a water bottle, and a notebook. It was such a kind gesture and really made me and my family feel like we were not going through this alone. My mother took that bag with her to every treatment.”