The most recent U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents was released in September 2024, and the title says it all: Parents Under Pressure. This callout about just how much parents are struggling finally brings attention to the parent-facing side of the pediatric mental health crisis. According to the report, 41% of parents say that most days they are so stressed they cannot function, and 48% say that their stress is completely overwhelming.
The pediatric mental health crisis is not just about kids.
While there are many factors that contribute to this extreme level of stress, the emotional and financial strains of caring for your children cannot be ignored. Caregivers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities often experience increased hardship as they navigate the additional demands in caring for their child. When surveyed, more than double the number of parents and caregivers of children with special health care needs reported having “fair or poor mental health” compared to those caring for children without such needs.
If you are an employer, this information is important. There’s no emotional boundary between home life and work life. You don’t stop caring about your child, worrying about your child, and advocating for your child when the workday starts. You don’t stop caring about your profession, career growth and accomplishments when the workday ends. But how exactly does a child’s emotional and behavioral wellbeing impact their caregiver at work? What career choices are parents making, how do they rate their own work performance, and what does their life satisfaction look like when their child is struggling?
In a Mightier study shared earlier this year, 69% of currently employed Mightier caregivers reported that their child’s behavioral or mental health has negatively impacted their career. 8% reported that they had left a job entirely due to their child’s mental or behavioral health. 60% stated that the quality of their work has been impacted by their child’s mental or behavioral health, and 36% reported missing two or more days of work in the past month to provide mental health support for their child. Families are systems, and there’s no way to address a caregiver’s mental health without also addressing their child’s.
So what now? As an employer or HR professional there are so many ways you can help mitigate the parental mental health crisis. Families operate best when the mental health needs of both children and caregivers are supported, so we’ve listed 5 things you can do to make life better for parents, especially those of children with mental health needs.
1. Prioritize the Mental Health of Your Employees, and of their children
Supporting your employees’ mental health directly can significantly increase their work performance and, more importantly, their overall wellbeing. In the same ways you support workers’ physical health with sick days and health coverage, you can support your employees’ social-emotional well-being through benefits like mental health days and counseling services.
You can also provide funding for less traditional mental health programs such as Mightier, a digitally accessible, at-home, play-based therapeutic program designed for kids. In a study of families whose children played Mightier for 12 weeks, parents reported less distraction at work, fewer missed days, and an increase in physical health, mental health, happiness, life satisfaction, and relationships. Families also report 73% less conflict between them and their kids.
2. Get Creative in Supporting Your Employees’ Childcare Needs
Childcare is the most requested benefit by parents, but less than a fifth of working families have access through their employer. Childcare is a major issue for working mothers, and the absence of affordable and dependable options can lead to increased stress and anxiety. As an employer, you can assist by providing innovative means of childcare including:
- on-site childcare
- offering subsidies
- collaborating with local childcare providers
When reliable childcare is accessible, mothers can concentrate on their work without worrying about their children’s safety and well-being. A study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that families with access to employer-supported childcare experienced lower levels of work-family conflict and higher job satisfaction.
3. Foster a Flexible Work Environment
In a survey of 1500 working parents, over a third of parents planning to leave their job cite flexibility as a major factor. Mothers in the workforce particularly prioritize having options regarding their return to the office, and they are not waiting for guidance. Research published in the Journal of Marriage and Family indicates that flexible work arrangements correlate with reduced stress levels and increased job satisfaction among working mothers. Flexibility in the workplace can include opportunities for working remotely and the freedom to take time out of their day to meet their child’s needs without negative repercussions.
4. Offer Creative Policies and Benefits
Employers can extend their benefits to support the well-being of parents and caregivers in the workplace, such as parental leave policies and employee assistance programs (EAPs). EAPs are workplace initiatives designed to support employees’ mental health and well-being. They offer work-life balance resources, crisis intervention, and referrals to outside services, enhancing overall employee morale and productivity. Many employers are finding success in partnering with mental health EAPs like Lyra, Spring Health, and Modern Health. EAPs also provide training and workshops on stress management and resilience. By creating a supportive environment, EAPs help reduce absenteeism and improve workplace satisfaction.
5. Empower Managers to Support Mental Health at Work
Even with the best of intentions, managers may not be fully equipped to best support employee mental health. Being creative and finding ways to provide professional development that thoroughly educates them on the importance of parent/employee well-being and trains them will help promote a more supported workplace. A positive manager-employee relationship helps create an inclusive workplace environment that employees want to stay in.
As an employer, you care deeply about the humans in your organization, and there are steps you can take to make your workplace supportive and safe. The good news is that you are not in this alone; there are so many mission based organizations working together to make sure families thrive.
If you’re interested in continuing the discussion and finding ways to further support employee wellness, let’s chat!
About the Expert
Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW has a passion for understanding families’ emotional needs, expanding mental health literacy, and turning evidence-based therapeutic approaches into playful, accessible and engaging forms of content. As the Clinical Director at Mightier, Jessica specializes in clinical content strategy and development, qualitative research, and family programming. Prior to Mightier, Jessica worked with neurodivergent children in school and group counseling settings, with teens and adults in inpatient psychiatry settings, and delivered outpatient therapy to adults struggling with anxiety and depression. Jessica received a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and is mother to twin daughters.
