Parenting and caring

The value of support working parents and carers. 

A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a family member or friend due to illness, age, disability, a mental health challenge or addiction. Becoming a carer involves significant changes emotionally and mentally. It can also involve physical changes if becoming a parent (i.e. pregnancy and giving birth). And it is not a once-off change; this transition involves continual adjustment and readjustment. 

Given the physical, emotional and practical pressures experienced by parents and carers, it is unsurprising that some may experience periods of stress or mental ill-health.  

Some of the challenges these workers may experience include:  

• loss of identity, meaning, relationships and structure 
• missed opportunities for workplace development, promotion and advancement 
• greater levels of fatigue, psychological distress, anxiety and depression 
• low supervisory support 
• lack of job control and role clarity 
• challenges managing change on multiple fronts 
• feelings of loneliness.  

Low workforce participation by mothers also has broader implications—Australia has one of the lowest rates of mothers’ participation in the workforce, which can affect economic productivity and equality. Therefore, it is important to ensure a workplace is set up to support working parents upon return to work. 

What organisations can do to support working parents and carers 

Supporting parents and carers to consciously navigate the caring journey can include providing strategies and supports that will help them manage the intersection between life and work throughout their working lives. Organisations that support working parents and carers are more likely to see increased engagement, job satisfaction, productivity, performance and worker retention, and lower rates of absenteeism. 

Here is how your organisation can support workers with parenting and caring responsibilities: 

• Provide access to job-protected paid family leave, available equally to all parents and carers. 
• Visibly support and enable fathers and non-birth partners to take longer periods of parental leave. While it is natural to focus on mothers, it is equally important to support all parents, including fathers, non-birth partners and foster parents. 
• Include support options for those going through challenging situations related to the parenthood journey (e.g. fertility issues, miscarriages and stillbirth). 
• Encourage family flexible arrangements (e.g. on-site childcare, term-time working arrangements, family-friendly meeting schedules). 
• Recognise every journey to parenthood is unique and intensely personal. 
• Automate and embed processes into systems (e.g. reminders for when someone is returning from extended leave). 
• Champion and promote flexibility in senior management roles, so caring responsibilities are not seen as a barrier to professional advancement. 
• Provide easy and independent access to policies and procedures, so workers can see what is available without having to ask. 
• Equip leaders with family supportive supervisory behaviours that help link workers to emotional support, practical resources and information, alongside role modelling of flexible arrangements and commitment to respecting boundaries. 
• Establish peer networks to help people connect with and learn from the experiences of others. 
• Provide access to carer-related support and direct services, including Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and dependent care assistance programs for mental health support if needed. 

Do not 'set and forget’ your approach. Consider what support is needed for all types of family carers, and how those needs change over time. 

Parents and carers appreciate flexibility—e.g. opportunities for part-time work, flexible hours and family-friendly meeting times. They also benefit from senior leaders who champion and demonstrate flexible work practices. 

What people can do when becoming parents and carers 

Here is what you can do when you become a parent or carer: 

• Educate yourself about the supports available to you as a carer, such as government funded carer payments, Paid Parental Leave, and parents/carers right under the Fair Work Act 2009 to ask for flexible work arrangements.  
• Seek out any available support, practical resources and information in the workplace to prepare for your transitions (e.g. peer support groups, leave policies, etc). 
• Adapt work goals to align with caring commitments. Ensure you clearly define and communicate personal boundaries to your workplace. 
• Connect with others through a local support group or organisations that provide services and support specifically for carers and parents. 
• Speak to other family members about dividing up caring responsibilities (e.g. siblings sharing care for an elderly parent). 
• Reduce your risk of burnout by adopting self-care and wellbeing strategies that provide you with sufficient recovery time.  
• Reach out for assistance if you are experiencing poor mental health. 

Find out how SEEK supports expecting and new working parents to navigate parental leave by reading this case study.

‘Put on your own mask before helping someone else.’ Taking care of your own health and wellbeing makes it easier to care for someone else. It helps to clearly define your personal boundaries and make sure your workplace understands and respects your boundaries.