Working parents, flexibility and job quality: What are the trade-offs?

Working Families has been supporting parents and carers in work for over 40 years. Over those decades we’ve seen plenty of progress, but we know that some barriers to change have remained stubbornly in place. This report adds significantly to our understanding of the elements of work parents see as most important now and looking into the future, as well as their attitudes to job quality.

We are particularly pleased to be collaborating with King’s College London to fill this gap in knowledge. The juggling act parents carry out on a daily basis is much discussed: this research brings it to life by looking at the quality of the jobs parents can get, and the compromises they make to try and secure them alongside meeting their caring responsibilities.

For both employers and government, understanding the needs and priorities of parents when it comes to work is a top priority. Without knowing parents’ experience of job quality, and their sense of what it could be in the future, it is hard to develop meaningful policies and practices to make sure they are well supported and seen as valued and productive participants in the labour market.