A recent U.S. Surgeon General Advisory highlights the growing stressors of parenting, calling parental and caregiver mental health and well-being a critical public health issue. Research from Eagle Hill Consulting reveals that this rings especially true for parents working in government as they are 1.5x more likely to report burnout than working parents nationally.
Our research shows that burnout greatly impacts government parents’ effectiveness at work. It signals an urgent need for agencies to address the unique challenges of parents, a vital group within the workforce, with an effective employee experience strategy.
Parental burnout hinders mission success
The stress that parents feel today stems from both routine challenges and complex societal issues—from the high cost of childcare to the surge in school violence. As anxiety around these issues mounts, it’s no surprise that nearly half of parents report their stress is completely overwhelming, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
While stressors like these have a profound impact on all parents, they seem to be hitting government-employed parents especially hard. Our research shows that 52% feel burnout at work, compared to just 35% of working parents nationally and 39% of non-parents in government.
Government parents report that workload (67%), staff shortages (50%), and time pressures (50%) are the top drivers of their burnout. This exhaustion is not only taking a toll on their health and wellness—reported by 36%—but, as our research shows, it is also greatly impacting how they function at work. In fact, government parents are nearly twice as likely to say burnout greatly impacts their job performance and ability to serve customers compared to non-parents.
Government parents are 2x as likely to say burnout impacts their job performance and ability to serve customers.
Source: Eagle Hill Consulting Government Employee Burnout Survey, 2024
Facing flexibility cuts, government parents are more likely to jump ship
Many parents in government are already feeling burned out, and reduced flexibility could be what pushes them over the edge. Government parents are far more likely (58%) than their non-parent peers (38%) to consider looking for new jobs should their employer reduce flexibility around remote and hybrid work.
Government parents are also more optimistic about their job prospects, with 46% believing they could easily find a higher-paying job, compared to just 34% of non-parents. This confidence likely drives their willingness to prioritize flexibility—government parents are nearly twice as likely as their peers without children to accept a pay cut in exchange for more remote work options.
These findings highlight just how important the debate around telework and work-life balance is for parents working in government. It’s clear that they want (and need) flexibility in their schedules to effectively manage their responsibilities at work and at home. Given this focus on flexibility, reductions in remote work are likely to impact future retention of working parents across government.
The confidence gap: why government parents are worrying about their future
Government parents are less confident in the future overall than their peers without children are. This revealing confidence gap between parents and non-parents in government reflects (at least in part) the extra stressors that parents feel, such as burnout and concerns about reduced flexibility.
Just over half (55%) of government parents are more confident in how well they can invest in the future by saving for retirement or their children’s education than they were six months ago. In comparison, 63% of government workers without children are more confident in the future.
This lack of confidence in their future can have serious consequences, leading to decreased job satisfaction and increased turnover as government parents may feel forced to seek more stable and supportive work environments. As a result, agencies risk losing valuable talent if they fail to address the unique stressors that parents face, such as burnout and limited flexibility.
How to support government employees with children
Agency leaders should not wait to address these issues among parents in government. Now is the time to improve the employee experience and cultivate a supportive culture for working parents. Focus first on these fundamentals:
Investigate the root causes of parental stress in government. To understand why government parents report higher stress and burnout, leaders must move beyond conversations to broader, proactive engagement with their workforce. This includes actively seeking to understand the factors driving parents’ disproportionate stress—such as workload, flexibility, and childcare challenges—through focus groups, targeted surveys, and continuous feedback loops. Standard mechanisms like the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) don’t provide this level of insight, reinforcing the importance of direct, ongoing engagement with working parents.
Prioritize workforce planning. As noted, government parents say that workload and staff shortages are top causes of burnout at work. Conduct workforce planning to help your organization adapt to changing workforce dynamics. Done right, workforce planning is a data-driven approach to identify talent gaps, realign job descriptions and responsibilities, and target reskilling initiatives. It can reduce parents’ stress by building workforce capacity in the right places and the right ways.
Embrace flexible work policies. Government parents clearly value workplace flexibility. As possible, encourage and expand telework, flex schedules, and hybrid work arrangements. With 78% of government parents believing that flexibility enhances workplace culture, these policies not only support work-life balance, but they also improve overall morale and retention.
Talk openly about government employee burnout. Half of government employees say they have told their manager that they feel burned out. Yet, most say their managers did nothing to help reduce their stress. This was more commonly the case for women. Bring burnout into the light by opening up dialogues and helping parents connect to each other for support. Also, find smarter ways to work, such as augmenting with technology, re-prioritizing tasks, staffing up, and strengthening training.
Set the tone from the top. Senior personnel within government agencies must lead by example on this issue. Communicate openly and commit to work-life balance and creating a positive employee experience to set the tone for parents, without excluding non-parents. Be empathetic about the need for employees to take sick leave to care for sick children or shift schedules to accommodate school pick-up and drop-off times.
Parents are an invaluable part of the government workforce. But balancing commitments to work and family is difficult. That’s why parents face unique stressors that impact both their well-being and job performance. The more that government agencies offer understanding, flexibility, and resources, the more engaged and productive parents can be—on the job and for their families.
Methodology
These findings are based upon the following Eagle Hill Consulting surveys conducted by Ipsos:
- Eagle Hill Consulting Workplace Flexibility Survey conducted in June 2024 containing responses from 570 federal, state, and local government workers
- Eagle Hill Consulting Government Employee Burnout Survey conducted in August 2024 containing responses from 531 federal, state, and local government workers
- Eagle Hill Employee Consulting Retention Index Survey conducted in Q3 2024 containing responses from 514 federal, state, and local government workers
Respondents were polled on a range of workforce topics including burnout, workplace flexibility, organizational confidence, culture, compensation, and job market opportunity.
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