Time-poor working parents encouraged to ‘go home on time’ on longest day of the year

Family

Over-worked parents in the North West are being told to ‘go home on time’ on Thursday 21 June and make the most of the longest day of the year with their family instead of putting in extra hours at their desks.

Figures from work life balance charity Working Families, and Bright Horizons, show only a third (36%) of working parents in the North West said they manged to go home on time every day. Another third (33%) said they went home on time only half the time, or even less frequently.

What’s more, a third (33%) said they don’t stop when they leave work as they put in more hours at home in the evening or weekend and this happens often or all the time.

Workload is the main issue for working parents in the North West with two thirds (63%) stating this was the reason they stayed late.

Sarah Jackson OBE, Chief Executive of Working Families, said: “We’re encouraging parents across the North West to make the most of the longest day by going home on time and spending quality time with their family.

“It’s also an opportunity for parents to reflect on their own work life balance and think about small changes – or big ones - they could make for lasting improvements.

“While employers and the Government have big roles to play in changing the culture of our work places, parents can help by letting employers know what they need, helping ‘normalise’ the desire for more family friendly and flexible ways of working.

“Going home on time is something we should all feel able to do, not just today but every day.”

The figures for the North West also showed:

• More than a third (37%) of working parents said work got in the way of saying goodnight to their children.
• Nearly half (45%) said it negatively impacted their ability to spend time together as a family.

Nationally, the figures showed that 40% of parents working full-time (35-36 hours a week) work extra hours. Of those, almost a third put in seven extra hours each week, the equivalent of an extra working day.

Even among parents who work part-time (25 hours a week), more than a third (34%) work extra hours. Of those, 30% put in enough extra hours to qualify as full-time (around 35 hours a week).