The Pulse from UnitedHealthcare: 5 ways employers can support stressed-out parents

Dr. Donald Tavakoli weighs in on the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on parental stress and offers 5 ways employers can better support moms and dads in the workforce.


By Dr. Donald Tavakoli, National Medical Director of Behavioral Health for UnitedHealthcare

In August 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents.1 Parental stress is on the rise — and it’s having a significant impact on the personal and professional lives of mothers and fathers, leading to decreased productivity and increased absenteeism.

“Parents have a profound impact on the health of our children and the health of society,” the surgeon general announced in the advisory. “Yet parents and caregivers today face tremendous pressures.”

Those pressures may be age-old stressors like financial concerns or worrying about kids’ health and safety. They may also be more modern challenges like helping children navigate social media and technology use, rising rates of mental health concerns and what the surgeon general calls, “an epidemic of loneliness that has hit young people the hardest.”

At the time of the survey,1 33% of parents reported higher levels of stress in the month prior compared to 20% of other adults. Since parents bring their whole selves to work, including their roles as caregivers, it’s critical for employers to 1) recognize the unique challenges faced by working parents and 2) to adapt their employee benefits to meet the whole-person health needs of both the caregiver and child.

Here are 5 ways employers can help mitigate parental stress within their workforce:

1. Flexible work hours and supportive leadership

Employers can support the well-being of parents in the workplace by implementing flexible work arrangements. Remote work, hybrid options and flexible hours may allow parents to better manage family functions that might be meaningful to their children and themselves, like school pick up, alongside their work commitments.

Creating a supportive work environment also involves fostering a culture where parents feel comfortable seeking help and discussing their challenges without fear of judgment or repercussions. Regular check-ins and open communication channels can help managers gauge the well-being of their team members and provide support.

2. Access to behavioral health benefits

Providing access to behavioral health benefits is another way to help meet the needs of parents in the workforce. This includes streamlined access and navigation to therapists and counselors. It can also be options like online behavioral health coaching or apps like Calm Health, where 24/7 access to digital content is available, aimed at helping users get better sleep, experience less stress and more. Calm Health also features guided learning resources written by psychologists.

3. Robust virtual care

Working parents are busy, and time comes at a premium. Options like virtual visits for minor illnesses and mental health support can help them get the care they need for their children without the hassle of driving to and from appointments or spending time in a waiting room. Sometimes parents don’t know where to turn for a child’s need, and that’s where it’s helpful to have an expert waiting on the line on a 24/7 basis to connect parents to the next step for themselves or their children.

4. Financial support

A recent poll showed that nearly 9 in 10 Americans reported financial stress, with 65% of those saying that their finances are the most stressful part of their lives.2 Employers can help mitigate the financial stress through the more obvious ways, such as offering living wage salaries and quality benefits, but also through pretax flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs), which allow employees to use pretax funds to pay for eligible expenses. Employee assistance programs or well-being solutions often contain financial support for employees as well. Some employers even offer support for on-site or subsidized childcare or stipends to help pay for childcare.

5. Out-of-the-box benefits

Employers may also want to consider more creative ways to support parents. For instance, Gurley Leep Automotive Family offers its employees a “Make a Memory” matching vacation fund and dependent college scholarship support, in addition to robust benefits designed to help meet the needs of its unique workforce.

By taking proactive steps to address parental stress, employers enhance the well-being of their employees and contribute to a more productive, engaged and reliable workforce. This approach can benefit the entire organization with the goal of creating a healthier workplace.

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