For Working Parents, the Boundary Between Work and Family Is Often Blurred

Key Points:

• A Pew Research Center survey of 2,242 U.S. working parents in March 2026 reveals that 70% manage parenting tasks while working, and 59% handle work tasks while with their children, highlighting blurred lines between work and family life.
• About half of full-time working parents say their job makes it harder to be a good parent, with working moms more likely than dads to struggle balancing responsibilities and taking on more parenting and household tasks.
• Access to workplace benefits like paid time off and health insurance varies significantly by income, with lower-income parents less likely to have these supports and more worried about job or pay loss due to childcare issues.
• Most full-time working parents find flexibility to work from home helpful, but only 24% report having a lot of telework flexibility; those who work from home still find balancing work and family challenging.
• Childcare costs are the biggest barrier across income levels, with lower- and middle-income parents more reliant on informal care from family or friends, while most upper-income parents use paid childcare services.