Why 2025 is ‘make or break’ for your working families

As we progress into 2025, leading employers are looking to make their employee experience the most competitive it can be. They are also navigating a landscape of budget controls. Could family friendly benefits be the key to unlocking both engagement and cost savings?

The latest research from Bright Horizons, released in January 2025, reveals clear and compelling trends. Among 3,000 randomly selected UK working parents and carers, there is high stress, coupled with a perception that employers care less about family than they did immediately after the pandemic. Employees with family responsibilities experience frequent care breakdowns and – without other options – they turn to short-notice annual leave or even sick leave as cover.

All this is costly for employers in talent retention, productivity, well-being and career progression. 

On the positive side, the findings reveal the best supports to encourage and empower office presence and the value of providing support for adult dependants – and even pets - as well as childcare. There are actionable insights for better gender representation in the research too: women find it harder to progress their careers while working flexibly than men do and fathers find their work affected by care breakdowns at least as often as mothers.

This Personnel Today webinar, in association with Bright Horizons, lifts the lids on the key trends among working parents and carers and looks in detail at how employers and line managers can respond and remove the barriers for working parents and carers.

Personnel Today editor Rob Moss is joined by Jennifer Liston-Smith, head of thought leadership at Bright Horizons.

Register now to:

• Learn evidence-based insights into what working parents and carers need and how they define an employer of choice.
• Understand how the tide has turned since the post-pandemic focus on family life and the critical choices we have in 2025 to protect employee wellbeing.
• Know in detail the business case for family support and why it matters

• Take action with practical tips to retain your talented workforce, fuel their productivity and support their wellbeing.

This free webinar will include a live audience Q&A session.