Self-Reported Mental Health and Desired Workplace Improvements Among Working Parents, United States, 2024

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined the mental health burden faced by working parents. We assessed the prevalence of fair or poor self-reported mental health and identified desired workplace improvements among US working parents. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive analysis of the 2024 SummerStyles survey, a nationally representative web-based panel survey of US adults aged ≥18 years. Working parents were defined as adults employed full- or part-time with ≥1 child aged <18 years. We calculated weighted percentages and 95% CIs to characterize mental health status and workplace priorities across demographic and occupational groups. RESULTS: Among 1201 working parents, 15.3% (weighted n = 126) reported fair or poor mental health. The prevalence of self-reported fair or poor mental health was higher among women than among men (20.0% vs 11.4%), among those with lower annual household income (<$25 000: 31.6%) versus higher annual household income ($25 000-$49 999: 20.1%; $50 000-$99 999: 19.6%; >$100 000: 10.0%), among those with less versus more educational attainment (high school graduate or less: 20.2%; some college: 20.0%; ≥bachelor's degree: 10.9%), and among those with retail/stores/shopping jobs (26.8%) versus jobs in other industries (health care: 20.4%; education and tutoring: 8.0%; professional, scientific, technical, and business services: 11.4%; finance, banking, and health insurance: 10.2%). Desired workplace improvements included increased paid leave (20%), ability to work remotely/telework (20%), and flexible work schedules (19%), with differences by demographic and occupational characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Tailored workplace policies, such as flexible scheduling and expanded leave benefits, may support the mental health of US working parents. Additional research should explore industry-specific nuances of preferred workplace flexibilities among US working parents to guide work-based interventions.