For all the attention being paid to AI, hybrid work, and productivity, one of the biggest changes affecting today’s workforce is happening outside the workplace. The support systems families once relied on are disappearing.
Most working parents would tell you that raising children takes a village. In fact, new research from the 2026 Modern Family Index shows that 77% believe exactly that. Yet 81% also say the village families rely on for support during work hours has decreased compared to previous generations.
Taken together, these findings point to a reality many employers are only beginning to confront.
While the need for support remains constant, the realities of family life have changed considerably. Many parents are navigating work and caregiving responsibilities without the reliable support networks prior generations often relied on.
Numerous working parents are raising children far from where they grew up, without the built-in support systems previous generations often took for granted. Grandparents may live hundreds of miles away, neighbors may be friendly but unavailable, and friends are often juggling the same competing demands. Parenting itself has also become more intensive, household schedules more complex, and work increasingly dependent on predictability and constant coordination. Families feel stretched, with many trying to hold together systems that have become increasingly fragile.
The data makes this clearer: 60% of working parents rely on a patchwork of different people to help care for their children during the workday. Among those who are also caring for an aging parent or relative, that number rises to 71%. In fact, one in four working parents are now managing both child care and elder care responsibilities simultaneously.
Most organizations clearly understand their operational vulnerabilities. Leaders know where technology systems are exposed, where supply chains could break down, and where a single point of failure might disrupt the business. Yet few have the same visibility into the support systems their employees rely on every day. When those systems break down, the effects increasingly show up at work.
According to the Modern Family Index, child care arrangements fall through an average of four times per month for parents with younger children. More than half (56%) of working parents also say they are constantly stressed about what they would do if their regular child care suddenly became unavailable.
Think about what that really means. Every week, somewhere across the workforce, talented employees wake up knowing the entire day may depend on whether a sitter shows up, a family member answers the phone, or a complicated set of informal arrangements somehow holds together. Most manage to make it work, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a cost.
One reason this issue receives so little attention is that its effects rarely show up in the places companies typically measure. It isn’t limited to missed days of work or disrupted schedules; it more often surfaces in the opportunities people decide not to pursue, the decisions that take longer than they should, and the mental energy spent managing competing demands before the workday even begins. An employee who spends the morning scrambling to solve a care challenge may still log into every meeting, but that doesn’t mean the disruption has disappeared.
What’s striking is that employees increasingly recognize that they can’t solve this challenge alone. The same report shows that nearly two-thirds (63%) of working parents wish they had access to more reliable, organized care arrangements. Sixty-five percent say they would like their employer to be more active in their parenting village by helping connect them with resources such as child care centers, backup care solutions, and other forms of support.
If you read between the lines, a clear message emerges: Working parents are asking for a little more certainty in a part of life that often feels uncertain.
When a care arrangement falls apart, families want confidence that they can access care they trust. Anyone who has ever scrambled for a last-minute solution understands the difference. That’s because reliable child care is about more than convenience. It is the foundation that allows millions of parents to participate fully in the workforce and contribute to the economy. As traditional support networks become less dependable, employers play an increasingly important role in helping families access the support they need to work, grow, and succeed.
For years, employers viewed child care and family support primarily as personal concerns that employees managed outside of work. Increasingly, leaders recognize that the distinction is artificial. When care falls through, work is affected.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The shrinking village reflects a larger shift in how families live, work, and support one another. Employers can’t recreate the villages that existed a generation ago, but they can recognize that many of the assumptions underlying today’s workplace were built around a reality that no longer exists.
As support networks continue to evolve, employers will need to think more carefully about what helps people consistently do their best work and what stands in the way when they can’t.
The village may look different today than it did a generation ago, but the need for support hasn’t changed. Companies that recognize this reality and respond thoughtfully will be better positioned for the workforce that’s already here.
Stephen Kramer is the CEO of Bright Horizons.
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