Christine Michel Carter* says working parents will quit without remote work options.
To better understand working parents’ experiences since the start of the pandemic, the leading job search site for flexible and remote jobs FlexJobs surveyed more than 1,100 parents with children 18 or younger living at home.
As before the pandemic, working parents cite increased productivity as a benefit of remote work (51 per cent).
Presumably, these working parents have found ways to make their environment set them up for success.
Brie Weiler Reynolds, career development manager and coach at FlexJobs and Remote.co adds:
“These professionals work best when they work for companies that trust them, allow them to work where, when, and how they work best, and understand that processes and results are often more important than location.”
In thinking of the future after the pandemic, FlexJobs found 61 per cent of parents say they want to work remotely full-time, while 37 per cent prefer hybrid.
Additionally, 62 per cent of working parents say they would quit their current job if they can’t continue remote work.
On a positive note, working parents have saved considerably by working from home – over 21 per cent say they’ve saved more than $200 per week.
Also, although female labour force participation hit a 33-year low in 2021, 66 per cent of working parents think that continuing remote work will help improve gender equity.
Weiler Reynolds believes one of the biggest lessons of the pandemic is the level at which working parents value flexible work, and specifically, remote work.
“Given the added stressors from pandemic living, the fact that 62 per cent of working parents who worked remotely during the pandemic would give up their jobs if forced back to the office says a lot about how valuable remote work has been to them.”
As of early April, six per cent of Americans are unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More specifically, 38 per cent of working parents had to either reduce their hours or quit their jobs entirely because of the pandemic and childcare responsibilities.
For working parents looking for a new job opportunity that would allow remote work, FlexJobs recommends researching the organisation, being direct in the job interview, and figuring out whether or not the culture supports remote work in a more indirect way.
For those concerned with asking their manager for a hybrid work schedule, FlexJobs has prepared a few helpful tips.
They include scheduling a specific time with your boss to discuss it and clarifying how your hybrid schedule will help your boss, the team, and the company.
Weiler Reynolds offers additional food for thought for parents who will be forced to make difficult decisions about returning to the office or finding a new, permanently remote job.
“Keep this in mind: the long-term options working parents have for remote work have greatly expanded since the pandemic began.
“More companies than ever are hiring for long-term remote work and embracing at least hybrid offices post-pandemic.
“If your company isn’t one of them, it may be time to find a new company.”
*Christine Michel Carter is a Senior Contributor at Forbes.
This article first appeared at forbes.com.
