Why supporting working parents means looking beyond the working day

We talk a lot about burnout at work, but what happens when the pressures affecting our wellbeing don't begin or end with our working hours?

I think one of the things we often overlook when we talk about employee wellbeing is that people experience work within the wider context of their lives.

For working parents, there's an enormous amount happening outside of work that can affect how they feel when they arrive at their desks each morning.

There's the practical side of parenting, like getting everyone out of the house, managing childcare, remembering school events, organising meals and trying to keep on top of everything that needs doing.

And then there's the emotional side.

Is my child happy at school? Why have they been so upset lately? Am I spending enough time with them? Should I be worried about their behaviour? How do I support them when I'm already feeling overwhelmed myself?

These are the kinds of questions that don't disappear when a parent opens their laptop or walks into the office.

We're misunderstanding what contributes to burnout

In Deloitte's 2026 UK survey, 57% of working parents reported feeling mentally exhausted or burnt out when they were unable to take time for themselves.

We tend to think about burnout in relation to work, and understandably so. Excessive workloads, unrealistic expectations and unsupportive working environments can have a significant impact on people's wellbeing.

But I think there's a bigger conversation to be had about the cumulative demands people experience across their lives.

There's a concept in psychology and neuroscience called allostatic load, which describes the cumulative wear and tear on our bodies from repeatedly having to adapt to stress.

Our stress response is incredibly useful. It helps us respond to challenges, manage difficult situations and keep going when things get demanding. But when we're constantly having to adapt, without enough opportunity to recover, that sustained pressure can begin to affect our physical and mental health.

What I find interesting about this is that our bodies don't neatly separate the different sources of stress in our lives.

A difficult morning with your child, a demanding day at work, worries about your family's wellbeing and a night of interrupted sleep can all contribute to the same cumulative burden.

And yet, when we talk about employee wellbeing, we often focus on helping individuals become better at managing stress.

We offer mindfulness sessions, resilience training and advice about self-care. These can all be useful, but they don't necessarily address the conditions that are creating the pressure in the first place.

For working parents, some of those conditions exist at work, and some exist at home. Often, it's the relationship between the two that matters most.

The emotional demands of parenting are often invisible

As a Play Therapist, I've spent years working with children and families, and one of the things I've come to understand is just how much emotional energy goes into parenting.

Parents are constantly trying to interpret their children's needs, make decisions about how best to support them and manage their own emotional responses along the way.

When a child is struggling, it's very difficult for a parent to simply switch off that concern.

You might be sitting in a meeting, but part of your attention is still on the difficult school drop-off that morning. You might be trying to finish an important piece of work while wondering why your child has suddenly started refusing bedtime.

And sometimes, the worry is less about a specific problem and more about the relationship itself.

Parents want to feel close to their children. They want to know their children feel safe, understood and supported. They want to enjoy being together, rather than feeling as though every interaction is about getting dressed, doing homework or getting out of the door.

When family life becomes dominated by practical demands, it can be difficult to find space for that connection.

This is something I think employers have a real opportunity to understand.

Why family relationships matter for employee wellbeing

Our relationships are one of the most important sources of emotional support and security in our lives.

When things feel difficult at work, having supportive relationships outside of work can help us cope. Equally, when something is happening at home, it can affect our concentration, energy and emotional capacity at work.

For parents, the relationship with their child is particularly significant.

When a parent is worried about their child's wellbeing, it can be incredibly difficult to feel settled themselves. And when the relationship feels more connected, parents may feel more confident in understanding and responding to their child's needs.

This doesn't mean that strong family relationships eliminate stress. Parenting will always involve challenges, and no amount of connection can remove the practical demands of caring for children.

But it does mean that supporting the quality of those relationships can be an important part of supporting parents' wellbeing.

And that's where the thinking behind Treasure Time comes from.

Making connection a regular part of family life

When we created Treasure Time, we wanted to make the therapeutic principles that support children's emotional wellbeing accessible to parents in everyday family life.

We know from child development and attachment research that children benefit from relationships in which they feel safe, understood and emotionally connected.

We also know that parents are busy, and that simply telling them to spend more quality time with their children isn't particularly helpful.

Most parents already want to do that.

What they often need is some guidance about how to make that time meaningful, and a way of making it happen regularly.

Treasure Time gives parents a simple weekly ritual of child-led play, supported by guidance that helps them develop skills like listening, emotional attunement, understanding behaviour and supporting their child's autonomy.

It's a relatively small commitment, just 30 minutes each week, but the learning is designed to influence the way parents and children relate to one another beyond those sessions.

For example, when parents begin to understand what's happening underneath their child's behaviour, they may find it easier to respond with confidence rather than frustration.

When children have regular opportunities to lead play and experience their parent's undivided attention, it can help strengthen their sense of connection and security.

And when parents feel more confident in their relationship with their child, some of the worry they've been carrying may begin to ease.

It's about giving an important relationship a regular place in family life, without making it another complicated thing parents have to organise.

What does this mean for employers?

I think we're beginning to see a shift in how organisations understand their responsibility for employee wellbeing.

Flexible working policies, parental leave and supportive managers are incredibly important. They help create the conditions in which people can manage their responsibilities at work and at home.

But there's also an opportunity to think about what employees need in order to feel supported in their lives more broadly.

For working parents, that might mean creating a culture where it's safe to talk about family responsibilities, where managers understand the pressures parents experience and where support extends to the relationships that matter most to them.

It doesn't mean employers need to take responsibility for solving people's family problems.

It means recognising that family life and working life influence one another, and that supporting employees in one area can have benefits in the other.

At Treasure Time, we're particularly interested in what happens when employers combine supportive working conditions with practical opportunities for parents to strengthen their relationships at home.

Because if we want to improve wellbeing at work, we need to understand the whole person who comes to work.

And for millions of working parents, their relationships with their children are a very important part of that picture.

About Treasure Time

Treasure Time is a therapist-informed programme that helps working parents build stronger relationships with their children through guided, child-led play. We partner with employers to support parental wellbeing, strengthen family relationships and create workplaces where parents can thrive.

Find out how Treasure Time supports working parents and employers.

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